Escuela de Turismo de Ibiza

History 1965-2015
1965-1983
1965-1971
The creation of School Tourism Ibiza and Formentera
The School Tourism Ibiza and Formentera appeared in the late sixties and represented a key moment in the history of tourism in Ibiza, as the centre was the first to give specialized training in tourism. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the Balearics and is purely of Ibizan origin. It was created on the initiative of several entrepreneurs and people of prestige in the field of tourism, before the UIB and its present owner, the Consell Insular of Ibiza.
It all started in 1965 in the private academy of Enrique Ramón Fajarnés and his brother Ernesto. The idea of creating a school of tourism resulted from the fact that in those days only the only option was the official School of Madrid. This idea came in the wake of two problems; the first problem was the students’ need to move to the capital to carry out their studies and the second one was the need of professionals in the tourism sector. The creation of the school meant the possibility of getting a degree on the island, although this was not issued by the school, but by the Official School of Madrid, where the students from Ibiza had to go and sit a final exam once they finalized their studies. The creators of the project were Mr. Antoni Cardona, Ernesto and Enrique Fajarnés, but this would not have been possible without the involvement of Felipe Moreno Rodriguez, founder of the Balearic Tourism School in 1964, which was legally recognized by an O.M. on July 9, 1971, whereby the school of Tourism Baleares of Ibiza was granted the title of “non-official centre for the teaching of tourism legally recognized (B.O.E. 13 August 1971)”.
COURSE 1971/1972: The Ministry of Information and Tourism recognizes the School of Tourism in Ibiza,
dependent on Palma, as a non-state Centre for the teaching of tourism, but the financial situation of the school
was of total bankruptcy.
1972:
The School of Tourism moves to the Consolación School premises for two or three years, and the
management is taken over by the Balearic School of Tourism, dependent on a private institution, the Luliano
de Palma General Study, though the school director continues to be Enrique Ramón.
PERIOD 1972-1978: In 1975 the TS moves to the San Vicente Paul school. Students who were not in possession of a secondary school certificate but could prove a minimum of nine years’ experience in the sector were given special qualification courses. Because it was necessary to provide the hotels with qualified managers, the School was a great help for many candidates.
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History 1965-2015
Shortly after that, the School moved to a flat of Antoni Cardona’s property on Calle Aragón. Sr Cardona was the new director at the time, and he remained in that position until the end of his life. His demise endangered the continuity of the school because of the endless financial difficulties, so an interim committee undertook negotiations with the Instituto de Formación Profesional to ask to be allowed to share their facilities.
1978-83
TOT AIXO QUE VE ARA ES REPETICIÓ
In 1978 the School moves from the San Vicente de Paul school to a flat in Calle Aragón which was owned by Sr Antonio Cardona Roselló, the director of the School. At the same time, negotiations were undertaken with the Blancadona Vocational Training Institute in order that the School might be allowed to use its premises. His death threatened the continuity of the School, not only because he owned the premises where the teaching was imparted, but because of the School’s financial difficulties.
But in 1979 the Consell Insular d'Eivissa and Formentera was created, and that would decisively influence the future of the School of Tourism and the tourism sector in general. The president of the Consell, Cosme Vidal Juan, decided to take charge of the School debts and finance its operation, taking the ownership of the institution on February 11, 1980. Thus, the School of Tourism of the Consell Insular became recognized as a non-official centre for the teaching of tourism, through Royal Decree 860/1980. At the same time it became dependent on Spain’s only official Tourism School, the Escuela Oficial de Turismo de Madrid, and its old connection to the Estudio General Luliano de Palma faded into the background. The first director of this new phase of the School was Miguel Juan Costa. In this period, students were mostly tourism professionals, but in order to be able to work with a proper work contract, they needed the qualification provided by the School, that of Técnico de Empresas Turísticas, (Expert in Tourism Business and Activities).
1984-2000
1984-1988
In June 1984, students from the School of Tourism visited the ocean liner Enrico C during its stopover in Ibiza. This visit was included in the school curriculum and the goal was to learn on site different facilities and procedures of a tourist resort. In this year the number of students enrolled exceeded 100 and 15 students received a qualification of Expert in Tourism Business and Activities. With respect to tourism regulations from that time, it is worth mentioning the Cladera Decree, created with the aim of reining in the uncontrolled building of tourist establishments in the Balearics, whereby a minimum of square meters per guest was required.
In 1985, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of Transport, Tourism and Communications, the Hotel Business Federation of Mallorca, the Business Association
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History 1965-2015
of Travel Agencies of the Balearic Islands and the Balearic Tourism School, by which students of the School of Tourism would do a work placement in tourist establishments lasting a total of 300 hours.
The biggest problem the school had in 1985 was the need for a suitable place where to conduct the classes, as Carlos Eznarriaga stated in the newspaper Última Hora: "... We now give the classes in the Blancadona Vocational Training Institute, for which we have been granted permission on a provisional basis, but the number of students is growing every year, so more classrooms will be needed. Every day that goes by we are having to endure a more and more pressing shortage of space, which as you can imagine is a serious inconvenience. There is a formal commitment by the Consell Insular to provide us with adequate premises, but... the Institute we are now using is bound to tell us any day now that we can no longer continue to use their classrooms. Then we'll see what happens... " Of all the autonomous communities, the Balearic Islands is the most dependent on tourism, which accounts for 59.6% of its gross domestic product, whereas on a national level it is a mere 9.8%.
The Autonomous Community’s financial aid to the School of Tourism totals 2,737,000 pesetas divided as follows: 1,050,000 pesetas for 30 student scholarships of 35,000 pesetas each, 300,000 to finance the study tour by 60 students to FITUR 85 in Madrid, and the purchase of teaching equipment amongst other things.
During 1985/86 there is a change regarding the requirements to enrol in the school: either COU (an extra pre- university year after secondary education), or second degree FP (third to fifth year of Professional Training), or a pass mark on special exams for people aged over 25 was required. Until now, only bachillerato (a secondary education certificate) was needed.
la posibilidad de la obtención de éste en la isla. En 1980 se reformó el plan de estudios en 1980 el cual exigía a los alumnos que dispusieran de COU y que además hicieran un examen de ingreso que consistía en: ? Resumen por escrito de una conferencia
In1986, the Island Council awarded the construction of the building for the School of Tourism, Conservatory and Nautical School to the company Cubiertas y MZOV SA for 140,396 pesetas.?????????????
In the late 80s Ibiza experienced an increase in the tourist industry. Nonetheless, both employers and employees needed further training and professionalism. The Pityuses (Ibiza and Formentera) islands’ economic and business world was run by people with low educational level who took important decisions by intuition, business instinct and experience, which, though necessary, are not enough. To ensure they had proper training in business and tourism, managers were obliged to obtain a degree in business and tourism management. The School of Tourism of Ibiza and Formentera played an important role in those days, offering the possibility of obtaining it on the island. In 1980 the curriculum was altered. Apart from the requirements mentioned above, students would now be required to sit an entrance exam consisting of:
• a written summary of a lecture
• a translation of a text in French, German or English, to be chosen by the student
• solving three mathematical problems or answering as many questions.
Under the direction of economist and secretary general of the PIMEEF, Carlos Eznarriaga from 1981 through
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1988, and under a teachers’ cooperative who took care of the academic management, the Tourism School issued the TEAT (Expert in Tourism Business and Activities) certificate, in effect equivalent to a University Diploma.
Note that some teachers were themselves students at the school. Gesine Held taught German at the same time as she studied tourism. Joaquin Añó Añó, was the Law Professor, and Juan Ribas Riera taught the students all about travel agencies. The School of Tourism was attached to the Official School of Tourism of the University of the Balearic Islands as well as a member of ANESTUR and AMFORT and a collaborating centre of the Goethe Institute. The School offered internships with companies and tourism institutions both in the Balearics and abroad. Students also had a chance to access grants from the Ministry of Education and Science, the Chamber of Commerce, the Island Council and the town councils.
The curriculum consisted of the following subjects:
Training areas 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year Business management - Economics
- Accountancy I - Computer science I -structure of the Tourism Market - Financial mathematics
- Business Economics - Accountancy II - Statistics - Staff management - Computer science II - Labour Law
- Financial Management - Tourism Marketing - Production Management in Accommodation and Catering - Applied Informatics Business Law - Introduction to Law - Administrative Law in
Tourism
- Tax Law
Humanities and tourist culture
- Tourist Geography of Spain
- History of Art and Culture
- Seminars
Languages - English I -English II - English III
History 1965-2015
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History 1965-2015
- French I or German I - French II or German
II
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- French III or German III

Languages: Throughout the whole of the three-year course, students were required to study two languages. Prior to enrolment in the course, students sat an exam so as to be able to join the class which best suited their level.
There were also specialized 80-hour courses on computerized Reception, languages (German, French, English and Italian) on 3 levels and Tourist Entertainment.
Subjects could be validated with a Business Studies certificate and the studies were recognized by the E.U.
Some career opportunities afforded were:

>Hotels >Apartments >Holiday camps >Campsites >Travel agencies >Transport companies and organizations
>Tourist Information >Tourist inspection >Tour Guide >Congresses, Conventions and Exhibitions >Tourist animation >Car Hire

The academic year 1988-89 saw the opening of the new venue for the school in Cas Serres, which Tomàs Mendez, doctor in economics, agreed to direct.
1989-1995
There is no doubt that some developments in the period between the years 1989 and 1995 were milestones in the history of both Ibiza island and of the University School of Tourism, since some of the changes were of great importance for the former and helped to improve the latter in many respects.
A cooperative of teachers was created to take over the academic management of the school. The School issued the TEAT (Expert in Tourism Business and Activities) and the Business Studies certificates, since the UIB, the University of the Balearics, had no college on the island of Ibiza. Most of the subjects were taught by the School’s teachers. However, after they finished the course, the students had to sit a final examination overseen by UIB lecturers coming from Mallorca.
The inauguration of the new venue in Cas Serres took place during the 1988-89 academic year. Tomás Méndez agreed be the new director. That was also the year when a Reception course was run by the School.
History 1965-2015
It was in the 90s that the School of Tourism became specialized. Tomás Méndez, doctor in economics, was the director for most of this decade. What had started as a modest, austere academy in a flat on Plaça de St Elm had now become an important centre with around 300 students. 1995-96 saw record enrolment figures exceeding a hundred in the first year of the course. The School had a faculty of 30 teachers. Until 1996, the School, dependent on the Ministry of Tourism, not Education, continued to issue a certificate which was equivalent to a diploma. Tourism graduates have always had a job guarantee, but in those days even the students found employment easily. The explanation lay in a curriculum which was perfectly adapted to the needs of the businesses on both theoretical and practical levels, and stressed the importance of foreign languages. The School of Tourism of Ibiza and Formentera now has an Advisory Council made up of hotel chains and prestigious businessmen. In the 1990s, as Ibiza’s only centre offering university studies, promotes the diploma in business studies and the TEAT certificate.
1996-2000
The School is integrated into the UIB
Halfway through the 90s, as many as 300 professionals are leaving the School of Tourism annually. Success is such that 1995-96 sees over 100 enrolments for a faculty totalling thirty teachers. Until 1996 certificates were issued that were equivalent to diplomas, as the School depended on Tourism and not on the Ministry of Education. Then came the change. At long last the Escuela de Turismo de Ibiza and Formentera came to be a University School. Starting this year, each Autonomous Community devised its own curriculum adapted to the reality of its own tourism-related circumstances. During the course 1997-98 it was agreed that the School should become attached to the UIB so as to enable it to offer valid qualifications which would be recognized officially. An Advisory Board of the School was created, formed by hotel chains and businessmen of prestige, focused on improving their professionals. In 1999 the qualification issued changed from TEAT (Expert in Tourism Business and Activities) to Diploma in Tourism. Once attached to the UIB, in 2001 Josep Antoni Tur was appointed Director of the School, while Tomàs Méndez, who had been in charge up to then, became Academic Director, and Gerard Mora Academic Secretary. 2001 was also the year when the School received the Most Important Institution award from the Diario de Ibiza on the centenary of the newspaper. The School was essential to ensure that tourism is not just a passing fad, and that our professionalism shone through a quality product seen as a model by the rest of the world. The teachers, who up to then had formed part of a cooperative of faculty and staff administering both the Consell’s and the Govern’s budget, became a part of the Consell.
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History 1965-2015
2001-2015
2001-2005
The beginning of this period saw as Director Sr Vicente Barros, Assistant Director, Sr Tomàs Mèndez, and Academic Secretary, Sr Gerard Mora. In 2003 there was a change, and Sra Yolanda Ortiz was appointed the new Academic Secretary. In 2001 the School of Tourism started the new course with students from 11 different nationalities and the elimination of the 4th year from the curriculum. This implied a reduction of the number of hours of language teaching. Languages were at the time not mandatory in all of the courses, as regulated by the UIB, which the School was attached to. One of the reasons was financial: that year the total amount spent on the School came to 4.3 million pesetas. No more funds were available due to the economic crisis which the government had begun to go through. In 2004 the School of Tourism and 97 collaborating companies enabled 400 students to do a work placement with the aim of finishing their studies. The students drew up their own curriculum in their first year and decided what sort of business they wished to go into. The School contacted the company and had them taken on. The coordinator of the students' training programme was the teacher César Sànchez. That same year the School offered certificates in English and German. The exams to obtain the London Test of English and the Goethe certificates were going to take place in Ibiza. The aim was to enhance the quality of language teaching and at the same time have the students obtain official recognition from outside. But not only the students: these certificates were offered as well to anyone working in the tourism sector who was willing to brush up their foreign language skills through the required preparation. The School also wanted to arrange student exchanges with other European universities. The total number of students enrolled in 2004 was 210. That year there was also talk of finishing the classes at Easter so that the students could go to work and make the most of the tourist season. To make up for the lost school time, a fourth year would be added on. That would enable the students to combine their studies with their jobs. Another point to mention was the idea of increasing the number of languages taught, like Italian or Portuguese. The School had at the time agreements with various European universities to enable the students who might be interested to have a double qualification. One of these universities was that of Kempten, Germany, though anyone going there would need to study for an extra year. It is also worth mentioning that the Consell bought the Comandancia building (Ibiza's military headquarters) for €2m to convert it and use it as a university. In 2005 the students of the School travelled to the Canary Islands with the aim of learning about their culture, gastronomy and evolution as a tourist destination. The students stayed at Adeje, a municipality in the south of Tenerife which at the time welcomed many more holidaymakers than the Pityuses. The students also visited the Cabildo (local Council), where they met members of the Tourist Board and learned about the island's tourist promotion. Notable personalities in the history of the School are: Carlos Buj, a student who finished his studies in Germany. José Sánchez, also a student, who set up his own travel agency and worked as Iberia flight coordinator. The President of the Island Council back then was Pere Palau, who was once a student at the School too. Joan Mesquida was the Director General of the Ministry of Defence Infrastructures.
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History 1965-2015
They signed the sale agreement for the Comandancia building. Organisation of the School of Tourism
Organization of the School of Tourism Period 2001- 2005
Director & Assistant Director Faculty Director: Vicente Barros Assistant Director: Tomas Mendez
8 Yolanda Ortiz Blánquez
Juan Ramon Ferrer Vicente Barros
Vicente Guasch Tomás Méndez
Gesine Held Maria Jose Amengual
Pilar Infante Joaquin Añó Añó
Eva Malats Hector Bonet Mari Michael
Pedro Matutes Buades
Gerard Mora José Ramón Bueta
Juan Ribas Ignacio Homes
Eva Riera Joan Carlos Cirer
Cesareo Sanchez Mauricio Costa
Jose Ramon Soler Carlos Eznarriaga
Jose Manuel Soriano Mario Wendt
Paul Tanner Maite Torres
2006-2010 Between 2006 and 2010 the School of Tourism endeavoured to enhance the quality of its teaching and maximise the opportunities offered to its students. The era of economic prosperity helped, of course, and the students were able to take several school trips to enrich their experience. Tomàs Méndez highlighted as well the importance of the students' training within the various tourist companies in the tourism sector. Also in 2006, the School began to anticipate the future European curriculum for Higher Education (the Bologna Plan), which would limit the flexibility which it had enjoyed up to then, as far as calendar and schedule- planning were concerned: until 2006, for the students who attended classes in the afternoon, the School started the classes at the end of October and ended them in March, so for them the School operated off season. This fostered the training of future professionals in tourism, even though it meant the lengthening of the tourism course by one year. In the years of economic bonanza, the School was able to offer the students the chance to go on several trips, as well as to attend tourism trade fairs. So ran the announcement in the Diario de Ibiza: "New initiative of the School of Tourism: it will include visits to other tourist destinations with the aim of broadening the students' minds, thanks to the collaboration of various enterprises on the island." In the first quarter of 2007, fifty students travelled to Mexico invited by an Ibizan hotel chain to one of its establishments on the Riviera Maya. There they visited the universities of Chichen Itza and Cancún, and learned about the hotel management in the area, and were able to compare it with Ibiza's way. In 2007 there was still talk of substantial changes at the School, contemplating the idea of a new building for the School, though no dates had been put forward. Xicu Tarrés, President of the Consell at the time, claimed that "the improvement of the [tourism] studies is nothing new. We've always maintained that we've got to offer the tourism course in the best conditions possible, because our future and the good health of our most
History 1965-2015
important industry depend on today's students." At the end of the 2006-2007 course, students and teachers at the School of Tourism created awards to give the island's enterprises which offered the best quality and creativity and which enjoyed the greatest international projection. The first winners were Pachá, Insotel and Café del Mar. In spite of all the enthusiasm, this project was not repeated again. In October 2007, the German teacher Eva Malats and the student Isabel Henrión participated in a series of lectures on Sustainable Tourism (a ón??????)with the aim of publicising the plans to raise awareness of the importance of the environment and at the same time promote the Pityuses as a tourist destination. Eva pointed out the need to create new attractions, and not limiting ourselves to sun, sea and sand. Only one of the schools which had been invited was European: the School of Tourism of Eivissa and Formentera. Also noticeable at the time was the increase in the number of new students of Tourism. The School had the highest number of registrations (d’Eivissa? Balears?)(up 67% over 2006), preceded (segur???) by Business Studies. At the end of that year, 28 students and 3 teachers were able to travel to China to learn about its culture, visit the University of Shanghai, and promote the island of Ibiza. The Assistant Director of the School at the time, Yolanda Ortiz, commented to Diario de Ibiza that "without the help of financial institutions, private businesses and the Consell of Eivissa the trip to China would not have been possible." The Rotary Business Club granted a scholarship to a student so he could get through the three-year course to obtain the Tourism Diploma. In the early 2008 the Diario de Ibiza stressed the fact that the tourism professionals found a job in the sector quickly and even in banking. In March of the same year four students of the School of Tourism attended the Internationale Tourismus Börse in Berlin, where two new La Guia magazines were presented, in Spanish, English and German. The issue was received favourably to the point of running out. Celebrities such as Claudia Schiffer and Boris Becker visited Ibiza's stand. In 2009 the School offered several free courses aimed at training students in Tourism: Revenue Management, Travel 2.0, On-line Marketing, Viral Marketing and Search Engine Marketing. In addition, 10 scholarships were offered to Junior Managers, which involved 150 hours of marketing tuition by expert professionals, and a four-month paid internship. It was also in 2009 that the curriculum was changed from Diploma to the Bologna Plan. This adaptation affected the afternoon groups. According to Yolanda Ortiz the change for them would imply a course duration of 5 years, not 4. But this did not happen for two weighty reasons: one was the small number of students in the afternoon, and the other the financial problems the School was starting to have due to the beginning of the global economic crisis.
Finally, in 2010, once again invited by a local hotel chain, the students travelled to Sicily, where they were able to enjoy the cultural tourism offered by the Italian island.
2011-2015
As mentioned above, the financial crisis did not go unnoticed at the School. The 2012-13 academic year began later than usual due to the adjustments that needed to be made because of the cuts in the School budget. The main consequences were that hours of language teaching were lost, as well as all of the afternoon classes. There were also some improvements, however. The School managed to associate with the Certiuni programme, which would have enabled students to do the exams for different languages at the
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History 1965-2015
School, thus obtaining official certificates through just an examination done on the computer.
At the beginning of this period, the School building was located in the Edifici Polivalent on Calle Ernest Ehrenfeld, where it had been for many a year, sharing premises with the island's library and the UNED (Distance University) delegation. Due to the bad condition of the building, the roof and some of the facilities, in 2013 the School was moved elsewhere. The building chosen was the former seat of the Consell Insular, which up until that year had been used by the UIB. The location was more central, and the installations were better, the only snag being the non-existence of parking spaces. Short term projects, besides the Certiuni programme, involve broadening the School's offer to include the teaching of Russian, as well as the running of language classes in the afternoon, and the signing of agreements with other universities with a view to facilitate the Erasmus programme.
Notable personalities
A large number of outstanding teachers and students are in or have been through the School. But in this period Vicente Guasch Portas deserves a special mention. Sr Guasch, a law graduate, became a doctor in 2013 with a thesis dealing with a current and very relevant issue: security in the cloud. His thesis, entitled International Data Transfers and Spanish and European Law, is available via this UNED link:
http://e-spacio.uned.es:8080/fedora/get/tesisuned:Derecho-Vguasch/Documento.pdf
The news also appeared in the Diario de Ibiza:
http://www.diariodeibiza.es/pitiuses-balears/2013/05/10/nube-desata-tormenta- legal/619601.html
This thesis has been considered by the Spanish Data Protection Agency as the best research of the year and received an award. Here is the news item:
http://www.agpd.es/portalwebAGPD/revista_prensa/revista_prensa/2014/notas_prensa/co mmon/ene_14/140128_Premios_Proteccion_Datos_2013.pdf
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