Mallorca tourism row: Government rejects cuts to tourism

At the Parliament of the Balearic Islands in Palma, Mallorca, Tourism Minister Jaume Bauzá has rejected calls to shrink tourism. He said on Tuesday that a reduction would bring “suffering” to businesses and workers. Més per Menorca deputy Josep Castells countered that overcrowding is the Balearics’ most serious problem.

Bauzá accepted that tourist numbers have risen, but said shorter stays mean more people pass through the islands. The government will not remove tourist places, he said, because of the possible financial liabilities.

Fight over tourist capacity

The minister blamed earlier administrations for adding 115,000 tourist places. A moratorium should have been imposed at the start of those terms, rather than at the end, he argued.

Bauzá said the current government has acted through its tourism-containment decree. He also defended using the sustainable tourism tax, known as ITS, to tackle illegal accommodation offers.

Castells said rising human-pressure figures and tourist arrivals showed how sharply the strain had grown. He accused the government of failing to revise the Plan for Tourist Intervention Areas to lower the ceiling on tourist places, while promoting tourism and new air links.

Menorca places spark fresh dispute

Castells criticised the reactivation of about 900 tourist places in Menorca. Bauzá replied that the places had been restored from the pool because they had already been granted.

The deputy pointed to summer protests against tourist overcrowding across the islands. He said growth was putting pressure on services, roads and resources, while water was running short and homes were unavailable.

Castells also cited the economists’ Fènix report, which warns of falling purchasing power, low-paid work and insufficient tax income to fund needed public services in tourism-dependent regions.

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Topics: Tourism · Traffic · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com