The return of the Balearic eco-tax:

Tax will operate from 1^st July and repair some of the environmental damage related to tourism

About 11 million visitors visit Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca each year, allegedly causing water shortages and leaving an estimated 90,000 tons of rubbish in their wake. The islands have a resident population of less than 1 million.

There is growing local impatience with this huge invasion. German and British people buy almost half the property for sale on the islands, forcing up prices for locals.

On the other hand tourism accounts for 85% of the regional income. It has raised the standard of living of islanders above the European average.

In what is being viewed by many in the travel industry as a return to a policy which failed once before, the Balearic Parliament has approved a new Sustainable Tourism Tax whereby visitors to the Balearic islands, including Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca, will have to pay up to €2 a day

The Balearic Government says that the ‘eco-tax’ will help preserve the environment.

The government said that the money raised would be spent in six main fields, with a committee including representatives of the tourism industry, environmental groups, government and trade unions deciding on the measures taken.

The proposed spending is on:

• improvement of the quality and competitiveness of the tourist sector, especially in regard to its promotion during off-season
• construction of new infrastructures for sustainable tourism
• protection and preservation of the environment
• conservation and restoration of historical and cultural heritage
• research and technological innovation
• better employment opportunities in the tourist sector.

The tax starts at €1 a day for stays in one-star to three-star hotels and cruise ships, doubling to €2 for some four-star and five-star hotels. The tax will be halved during low season from November to April, and the tax payable by long-term holidaymakers will be reduced to 50% from the ninth day of their stay. Children aged under 16 will be exempt from the tax, but stays in high end apartments will also cost €1-€2 per day and holiday rentals and campsites will also fall under the tax.

The islands’ vice-president and tourism minister, Biel Barceló, said: "With the help of the tax revenue, we will be able to maintain and improve the quality of tourism on the Balearics.

"We are grateful that our visitors will help to protect and preserve this little paradise with this small contribution."

The government is developing a specific website on the tax which will provide visitors, tour operators and locals a way of monitoring how the funds raised are being used and of the different projects and initiatives that will be developed.

Many in the tourism industry have expressed concern that the wrong message is being sent to potential holidaymakers, and that the tax could lead to a fall in visitors.

A similar tax on tourists was introduced in May 2002, but abolished just a year later. The tax, which added around £60 extra to the price of a two-week holiday for four, raised some £12 million for environmental projects, but contributed to a dramatic decline in visitors, particularly from Germany. In the period from 2001 to 2003, German arrivals in Mallorca plummeted by 25%, from more than four million per annum to a little over three million.

Increasingly Spanish regional governments are taking an interest in the massive social, cultural, economic and environmental costs of hosting millions of tourists without direct benefits to local communities.

Valere Tjolle

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