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Majorca calls for tourist tax
Copyright 2000 Guardian Newspapers Limited Tourists to Majorca could face a new arrivals tax of up to £10 as part of a proposed 'eco levy' to protect the environment, writes Joanna Walters. The regional government of the Balearic Islands Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza fears that the massive influx of package holidaymakers over the past two years has put an unbearable strain on the main resorts. The authorities want to devise an environmental tax and are debating whether to charge hoteliers or impose an airport tax on visitors. But the central Spanish government is opposed to the move on the grounds that it will make the holiday islands 'uncompetitive' in the international tourist market. The matter is currently being fiercely debated, with no date set for a decision. Around 10 million tourists descended on the Balearic Islands last year, a quarter of them from the UK, and visitor numbers are rising by up to 12 per cent a year. Majorca, the largest island in the group, has a resident population of just 600,000 yet had to cope with more than seven million package holidaymakers in 1999. There are tight planning restrictions to limit further development. The regional government wants to use money raised from an eco-tax to clean the beaches, increase the fresh water supply, plant more trees and buy land back from developers so that no more hotels can be built. Martin Brackenbury, chairman of the UK Federation of Tour Operators, said: 'There were far too many people in the Balearics last year and local people are saying they have had enough of tourists. But we do not think the proposed eco-tax is a helpful remedy.' Manuel Butler, director of the Spanish tourist office in London, said that an eco-tax
in the Balearics could damage the tourist industry and the central Spanish government
planned to invest up to £70 billion in environmental schemes and tourism improvements
throughout Spain over the next six years. |
