Beating Borrego: The eco-tax

The twin "causes de la mode" for the Mallorcan tourism industry at present - the tourist eco-tax and all-inclusives - have continued to be at the centre of arguments over the past few days. Stepping into the eco-tax fray has come the highly notable name of Ignacio Vasallo, a leading figure at the national tourism agency Turespaña for many a long year. He has taken issue with the secretary-of-state for tourism, Mallorca's Isabel Borrego, and her comments about the allegedly destructive impact an eco-tax will have. She has said that the previous tax resulted in the loss of one million tourists. In an article I wrote (23 July, http://alcudiapollensa.blogspot.com.es/2015/07/eco-tax-crash-myth-or-not-myth.html), I questioned her figure and the implication she made that the tax was the sole reason for what indeed had been a loss of tourists in 2002.

Vasallo has been making similar points, including the perception among German tourists of that time that they were not welcome in Mallorca, a perception, he notes, that was whipped up by "Bild". Vasallo believes that it doesn't follow that a tax will affect a tourism market (there were various other factors in 2002 - German recession having been a key one), and he notes that it hasn't harmed certain destinations where there is one (Catalonia is an example). The previous tax was opposed, this being a general point, through an orchestrated campaign by the then Partido Popular opposition to remove the PSOE-led administration, and it was one that drew in hoteliers and tour operators.

This was indeed the case, though in all likelihood the PP would have won the 2003 election anyway. But Vasallo's observations carry some weight on account of the fact that he is tourism through and through. The same cannot be said of Isabel Borrego or indeed many other politicians who land tourism portfolios: in Borrego's case, her qualifications for the government post were tenuous to say the least. So, here, in a sense, is a challenge from someone who knows the industry to someone who is just passing through it in a political capacity.

There again, exactly the same can be said of the new government in the Balearics and of Biel Barceló, the tourism minister, and one of the prime preachers of an eco-style tourism perspective, David Abril of Més. Despite the fact that Borrego conveniently ignored factors such as recession that had been an influence in 2002, it cannot and should not be ignored that there was also a political agenda that the 1999-2003 PSOE-led administration had. It was one that had been summed up by the then tourism and environment ministers, when there were allusions to ending mass tourism. At minimum, a reduction in the region of two million tourists had been referred to.

The point is that there are very similar views lurking within the new government. Barceló himself, largely because of one particular press interview, is currently being characterised as moderate. But behind him is David Abril, from the same party (Més), who is less so. Though a new tax might not result in fewer tourists, is there, nonetheless, a policy to seek a reduction in tourism numbers? It has been implied but not overtly stated, but what most certainly has been stated has been the policy pursuit of the "quality" tourist, a being the 1999-2003 administration also craved. In this, there is the link to all-inclusives.

Llucmajor is another town - in addition to Manacor and Calvia - where the changes in regional and municipal administrations have been the backdrop to political demands for all-inclusive regulation and to calls from various associations which now sense that there are administrations more amenable to their cause. One of these is the small to medium-sized businesses association, Pimem. It has called on Llucmajor's mayor, Jaume Tomás, to apply the maximum possible rates on hotels which offer all-inclusive: presumably, this is aimed at Arenal. One fancies that were this to be done, then the lawyers would have a field day.