Douglas wins £3m role as the face of Majorca

The actor Michael Douglas has landed a £3.3m deal to promote the Spanish holiday island of Majorca at international tourism fairs over the next four years.

Douglas owns an estate in the historic town of Valldemossa, where he spends part of the year with the Welsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones and their young family.

Tourism officials hope his box office appeal will attract more British and American visitors. The Hollywood star will formally sign the deal at the World Travel Market in London on 12 November.

The Majorcan Tourist Board announced the pact on the opening day of the annual convention of the Association of British Travel Agents in the island's capital, Palma.

As part of the deal, the Balearic government will acquire the Costa Nord Cultural Centre, which Douglas created and opened four years ago in Valldemossa.

Earlier this week, the Balearics announced that an "eco tax", introduced last year to pay for work to protect the environment, was being scrapped. It was levied on every visitor at the rate of €1 a day, adding about £10 to the cost of a typical holiday.