Jason MoorePalma10/04/2018 00:00
TW
4

The Balearic government has finally seen the light over the tourist tax. No, it is not going to scrap it: the rate of the tax will increase this season. It is going to produce some leaftets which will be distributed to hotels and elsewhere informing tourists how the tourist tax cash is being spent. I thought that tourism minister Bel Busquets rather summed it up when she said that the government wanted to thank tourists for helping make Majorca a better place. This is certainly a step in the right direction. However, the Balearic government does not intend to spend all the tourist tax cash on the industry; some of it will be used to ease the footprint made by tourism over the years.

Whatever your view of the surcharge I do not think it will ever be withdrawn. At the end of the day we are only talking a few euros and so far there have been few or no real complaints from tourists. But the Balearic government must underline the fact that the money is being well spent and that it is being invested to make Majorca a better place. The hoteliers are still deeply opposed to the surcharge. They believe that it is eating into their competitive edge. I do not think that this is the case. Majorca is no longer a cheap holiday destination and the Balearic government says that it is fighting off competition from cheaper competing resorts through quality. Only time will tell whether the tourist tax cash will make Majorca a better place.