Elections: Where do they leave tourism?

Pablo Piñero, the president of Grupo Piñero, of which the Bahia Principe hotels and resorts is one part, sounded a warning before the regional election that the Balearics would be in danger if it was not governed by the Partido Popular. He considered that parties such as Podemos lacked people with the necessary abilities for tourism decision-making in government, comparing the alternative parties with the people that the PP has had at its disposal in government: "great professionals" who have benefited everyone and who have created thousands of jobs. He also attacked the idea of there being an eco-tax. Mallorca and Spain had, not so long ago, been on the point of bankruptcy, why would there now be an eco-tax, one that would be a repetition of a previous mistake?

To say that the elections in the Balearics (and everywhere else in Spain) have dominated tourism matters over the past few days would be an understatement. But not everyone appears to be as concerned as Sr. Piñero was prior to voting day. For example, Juan José Hidalgo, the president of Globalia (which includes Air Europa and Be Live hotels), said that he didn't really see a problem, believing that there would be talks and negotiations with newcomers to government to ensure that everything that is best for Spain will be done. Everyone should take a long hard look at tourism and talk, he suggested, and so respect a rule to create wealth and opportunities. He doesn't think that this "simple rule" will change.

Of course, there are those who believe that things will change. Dramatically so. The possibility of there being an eco-tax in the Balearics has become more likely as a consequence of last Sunday's voting. This might well prove to be unpopular with some, but what about proposals regarding private accommodation for holiday rental, all-inclusives and others?

The belief had been that a shift to the left at the election would lead to a coalition government headed by PSOE's Francina Armengol. This may well prove to have been wrong. Within tourism circles, and others, the belief now is that Biel Barceló of the Més socialists-nationalists could well become president of a PSOE-Més-Podemos triumvirate: he would be far more acceptable to Podemos, and as Més and Podemos together command more seats in the new parliament than PSOE, he may well be destined to become president.

The Més tourism programme does, therefore, require looking at. The eco-tax is one element of it. Otherwise, it refers to regulation of all-inclusives and of private accommodation. What this regulation would be precisely is not as yet clear, but the implication is that there would be restrictions introduced on the former and permissiveness introduced for the latter: essentially, therefore, what a lot of people have been calling for. Més is also proposing that there be tax incentives to facilitate a lengthening of the tourism season. Again, there have been many calls for precisely this type of fiscal intervention to encourage hotels and other establishments to remain open in the off-season.

While alarm bells in the tourism sector will have been ringing since Sunday, the Més programme is not especially radical. Clearly there will be concerns that investment might be undermined, but perhaps Sr. Hidalgo's rather relaxed attitude will prove to be more appropriate than Sr. Piñero's anxiety. It is certainly the case that the industry would love there to be a coalition tie-up between the Partido Popular and PSOE (and if Més were so insistent about having its man as president might this even yet happen?), but in the absence of such an alliance, the industry was alert to the proposals from Més and others, which is why discussions were taking place before the election - typified by the hoteliers' federation meeting with all the parties.

Perhaps the greatest uncertainty lies with the somewhat vague references to a "new model" of tourism. Més and Podemos have alluded to a tourism which affords greater benefits to all and not just a limited sector of society, primarily the hoteliers, and it will be with they - the hoteliers - who a left-leaning administration will have its greatest battles. But were there to be restrictions on new hotel building and on all-inclusives as well as a system that permits more tourism commercialisation of private accommodation (and maybe an airline for Mallorca), would these measures prove to be widely unpopular? And, much though the possibility of an eco-tax has been criticised, it might come as a surprise to discover that the principle of such a tax is one that does also have a good deal of support - assuming one believes opinion surveys, that is.