Álvaro Nadal, the national minister for tourism, energy and the digital agenda, needed to have a good World Travel Market. Here was an opportunity for him to shine in the eyes of any Spaniards who were taking any notice of what was going on in London, which admittedly probably wasn't that many. But the opportunity was presented nonetheless, and Señor Nadal, Mister Christmas, was insisting, among other things, that elections in Catalonia four days before Christmas will help in restoring Catalonia to normality. Most importantly, given that he was at a travel fair, this normality will mean that the streets and hotels of Barcelona are full to overflowing.
Well, he might hope that this is the case, but omens at present don't offer quite the same level of hope. It may well be lonely this Christmas in Catalonia, lonelier still for those who remain incarcerated, and lonely for Mister Christmas if there isn't the hoped-for rebound. You see, Señor Nadal has a slight perception difficulty. One among the citizens. The latest "barometer" of public political opinion placed him rank bottom of all Spain's minister. He had even managed to fall below the chap in charge of the money (and the taxes), Cristóbal Montoro, the Count of the Mount of Gold, for whom last place is normally and deservedly reserved.
What Mister Christmas really needed of course was a pick-me-up in the form of a celebrity rock singer. And where there's a cause, there's normally the frontman for U2. Bono, in all likelihood, will have allied himself with the Pamela Anderson camp in defence of Catalan democracy (what with Ireland and all that), but a bit of a stardust, even of the opposition variety, can work wonders for a minister's ailing approval rating.
So, for a fleeting moment it appeared that Bono, minus The Edge, had cut along to Docklands with the intention of providing the world with his thoughts on the Catalan situation. Unfortunately, the moment was indeed only fleeting. Bono wasn't Bono. He was Octavi Bono, the director-general of tourism in Catalonia and one of the few people in the Catalan administration to not find him or herself in chokey. Things, Bono told Mister Christmas, could have been done better. Which even a member of the Spanish government would surely admit. He, Bono, then went on to hint that information regarding a dramatic fall in visitor numbers was some form of Rajoy government fake news.
Mister Christmas was thus denied the boost to his approval rating, and he wandered off as the muzak at the World Travel Market didn't mangle Elvis but instead trampled all over U2 - "I can't live, with or without you".
Oh Catalonia.
Showing posts with label Álvaro Nadal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Álvaro Nadal. Show all posts
Monday, November 13, 2017
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Madrid In A Muddle Over Holiday Rentals
The secretary-of-state for tourism's visit to Mallorca during the week allowed the industry to get some things off its chest. None of them were particularly new. Politicians and senior officials were there as well. In the case of tourism minister Biel Barceló, he could afford to give Matilde Asián only a few minutes of his time; he had a television interview to get to. It was presumably time enough for her to tell him that Madrid isn't minded to pump more cash into the Playa de Palma reform because of what seemingly went missing several years ago. Even so, Asián, because of the national ministry's policy of modernising old resorts, appeared to also suggest that Playa de Palma will be looked upon favourably: at some point and in some way.
Asián's visit served only to spread confusion. Her boss, Álvaro Nadal, has made much of the resort modernisation. There may be legitimate issues about previous funding, but what is to be done about Playa de Palma? It isn't just one of Mallorca's main resorts, it is one of Spain's. Perhaps in future Madrid needs to take full control of any project. That way it will know that the money's being used wisely.
But Madrid wouldn't do this. While it might provide investment, a project such as Playa de Palma is a regional affair. The Balearics, as with other regional communities, has tourism responsibilities. It is therefore for the regional government to sort things out, as is the case with holiday rentals.
The past week has given the impression of left and right hands being unaware of what both are doing, of some ignorance of legislation and of messages being mixed. With holiday rentals, a fundamental issue for the Balearic government is a reform of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, the tenancy act. The government has forwarded to Madrid, as has the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, its wish for there to be a minimum rental of four weeks. With this, it hopes to overcome the loophole that the act currently offers.
Asián seemed to suggest that she hadn't been asked about reform, said that there was no plan to reform the act (which is what Nadal has also said), but then added that she would look into it so long as someone tells her to look into it and on the grounds that everything can be made better. So what is Madrid's position? The national government, i.e. Asián, has also intimated that it is considering nationwide legislation for holiday rentals. This would represent a U-turn, as Madrid devolved responsibilities to the regions. It was perfectly entitled to, given what the statutes for regional government permit, but it appeared at the time to have washed its hands of the rentals' matter. The ensuing mess is at least partly Madrid's fault.
Despite what it might say about treating rentals of under four weeks as touristic, the Balearic government will encounter problems with effectively enforcing its rentals' legislation unless the tenancy act is reformed. And this obstacle exists in all other regions where there are issues with rentals and where the hoteliers and legislators have been banging their heads against a wall in despair of Madrid taking any real notice.
To cap it all, there is the European Union to take into account. It has working parties considering holiday rentals, including therefore the role of websites such as Airbnb. And what might Brussels come up with? Who can say. Madrid can't, or appears to be unable to. Things will probably have to wait until the EU speaks, which will probably provoke ever more confusion.
While Asián was here, she also had something to say about the tourist tax. She is opposed to it, as of course is her party. That was hardly a surprise, but there was a surprise when she said that she found it surprising that residents in the Balearics have to pay the tax if they stay in tourist accommodation. She was surprised? Was she unaware that the reason for this is because Brussels had decreed it?
Asián's visit served only to spread confusion. Her boss, Álvaro Nadal, has made much of the resort modernisation. There may be legitimate issues about previous funding, but what is to be done about Playa de Palma? It isn't just one of Mallorca's main resorts, it is one of Spain's. Perhaps in future Madrid needs to take full control of any project. That way it will know that the money's being used wisely.
But Madrid wouldn't do this. While it might provide investment, a project such as Playa de Palma is a regional affair. The Balearics, as with other regional communities, has tourism responsibilities. It is therefore for the regional government to sort things out, as is the case with holiday rentals.
The past week has given the impression of left and right hands being unaware of what both are doing, of some ignorance of legislation and of messages being mixed. With holiday rentals, a fundamental issue for the Balearic government is a reform of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, the tenancy act. The government has forwarded to Madrid, as has the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, its wish for there to be a minimum rental of four weeks. With this, it hopes to overcome the loophole that the act currently offers.
Asián seemed to suggest that she hadn't been asked about reform, said that there was no plan to reform the act (which is what Nadal has also said), but then added that she would look into it so long as someone tells her to look into it and on the grounds that everything can be made better. So what is Madrid's position? The national government, i.e. Asián, has also intimated that it is considering nationwide legislation for holiday rentals. This would represent a U-turn, as Madrid devolved responsibilities to the regions. It was perfectly entitled to, given what the statutes for regional government permit, but it appeared at the time to have washed its hands of the rentals' matter. The ensuing mess is at least partly Madrid's fault.
Despite what it might say about treating rentals of under four weeks as touristic, the Balearic government will encounter problems with effectively enforcing its rentals' legislation unless the tenancy act is reformed. And this obstacle exists in all other regions where there are issues with rentals and where the hoteliers and legislators have been banging their heads against a wall in despair of Madrid taking any real notice.
To cap it all, there is the European Union to take into account. It has working parties considering holiday rentals, including therefore the role of websites such as Airbnb. And what might Brussels come up with? Who can say. Madrid can't, or appears to be unable to. Things will probably have to wait until the EU speaks, which will probably provoke ever more confusion.
While Asián was here, she also had something to say about the tourist tax. She is opposed to it, as of course is her party. That was hardly a surprise, but there was a surprise when she said that she found it surprising that residents in the Balearics have to pay the tax if they stay in tourist accommodation. She was surprised? Was she unaware that the reason for this is because Brussels had decreed it?
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Arguing Over Tourismphobia
The national tourism minister, Álvaro Nadal, has not exactly endeared himself to Biel Barceló. The minister, responding to a press question at the Berlin fair about anti-tourist sentiment, said that tourismphobia and prominence given to "saturation" are the result of political interests rather than their being a reflection of social concerns. Moreover, this tourismphobia only exists in the Balearics and Catalonia; nowhere else.
For a Partido Popular politician, which Nadal is, to cite these two regions might itself sound political. Catalonia, politically, we know all about, while its capital - Barcelona - has been right at the centre of the tourismphobia/saturation phenomenon; far more so than the Balearics. The city's mayor, Ada Colau, is light years away from Nadal in political terms.
Biel Barceló doesn't occupy such distant political territory, but he is nevertheless what he is: a left-wing, pro-Majorcan nationalism politician. There is a great deal of water between him and Nadal, some of it the product of more than 200 kilometres of sea. In fact, Barceló would argue, as do others in the Balearics, that it's mostly to do with all that sea: Madrid just doesn't get it where the Balearics are concerned.
Nadal is correct, though, in highlighting the two regions. When I have done research into this so-called tourismphobia, I have only ever found references in the Balearics and Catalonia. It may well exist elsewhere, but if it does, it doesn't make its presence felt.
But is Nadal correct in suggesting that politics have driven the arguments and not society? Up to a point he is. Saturation was first really heard about when Barceló started referring to it in summer 2015. The anti-tourist slogans in Palma appeared several months later. However, is it too simplistic and convenient to draw the conclusion that Nadal has?
Although the word may not have been used, saturation has been an issue bubbling under the surface ever since the days of the old ecotax. There again, one can ask how genuinely societal a development of tourismphobia has been. GOB, the environmentalists, have been agitating in an anti-tourism style for years. Despite their being a "social agent", they are overtly political. There is a blurring, therefore, between social and political. Other groups, ones now enjoying increasing prominence - Terraferida, Palma XXI and Tramuntana XXI - have been a response to the arguments, rather than instigators.
Whatever the political/social balance, Barceló clearly doesn't see politics (his, for instance) as having been the driving force. He was therefore furious with what Nadal had to say. But Barceló can himself appear contradictory. He has spoken against limits being imposed on tourist numbers (saying that it would be impractical to do so), has argued that the tourist tax is not a means of limiting tourists, and yet he wants co-management of the airports for the very reason that the government could then exert some control over numbers.
Responding to Nadal, he made it clear that a way to reduce saturation would be through a reform of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (the tenancy act). This is because it would, he hopes, limit the number of tourists staying in apartments (the main cause of saturation) and also limit the activities of Airbnb and others. Nadal, it would appear, is not inclined to reform the act, thus seeming to himself contradict Matilde Asián, the secretary of state for tourism, who has implied that she is open to considering this. Instead, Nadal said that there will be a tightening of taxation on the likes of Airbnb.
This only made Barceló more agitated. Rather than Madrid coming to the aid of the Balearics via legislative reform, all the national government does is to want to collect more taxes. The irony of this, one would suggest, wasn't lost on many. Nadal, as with all other PP politicians, is firmly opposed to tourist taxes, which only the Balearics and Catalonia have.
Anyway, political or social, we know that this summer will again be about saturation, with tourismphobia tossed into the mix. And if we didn't know, then GOB were telling the Germans that it will be. Who was it that once said that GOB should put up and become a political party or shut up? A PP politician.
For a Partido Popular politician, which Nadal is, to cite these two regions might itself sound political. Catalonia, politically, we know all about, while its capital - Barcelona - has been right at the centre of the tourismphobia/saturation phenomenon; far more so than the Balearics. The city's mayor, Ada Colau, is light years away from Nadal in political terms.
Biel Barceló doesn't occupy such distant political territory, but he is nevertheless what he is: a left-wing, pro-Majorcan nationalism politician. There is a great deal of water between him and Nadal, some of it the product of more than 200 kilometres of sea. In fact, Barceló would argue, as do others in the Balearics, that it's mostly to do with all that sea: Madrid just doesn't get it where the Balearics are concerned.
Nadal is correct, though, in highlighting the two regions. When I have done research into this so-called tourismphobia, I have only ever found references in the Balearics and Catalonia. It may well exist elsewhere, but if it does, it doesn't make its presence felt.
But is Nadal correct in suggesting that politics have driven the arguments and not society? Up to a point he is. Saturation was first really heard about when Barceló started referring to it in summer 2015. The anti-tourist slogans in Palma appeared several months later. However, is it too simplistic and convenient to draw the conclusion that Nadal has?
Although the word may not have been used, saturation has been an issue bubbling under the surface ever since the days of the old ecotax. There again, one can ask how genuinely societal a development of tourismphobia has been. GOB, the environmentalists, have been agitating in an anti-tourism style for years. Despite their being a "social agent", they are overtly political. There is a blurring, therefore, between social and political. Other groups, ones now enjoying increasing prominence - Terraferida, Palma XXI and Tramuntana XXI - have been a response to the arguments, rather than instigators.
Whatever the political/social balance, Barceló clearly doesn't see politics (his, for instance) as having been the driving force. He was therefore furious with what Nadal had to say. But Barceló can himself appear contradictory. He has spoken against limits being imposed on tourist numbers (saying that it would be impractical to do so), has argued that the tourist tax is not a means of limiting tourists, and yet he wants co-management of the airports for the very reason that the government could then exert some control over numbers.
Responding to Nadal, he made it clear that a way to reduce saturation would be through a reform of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (the tenancy act). This is because it would, he hopes, limit the number of tourists staying in apartments (the main cause of saturation) and also limit the activities of Airbnb and others. Nadal, it would appear, is not inclined to reform the act, thus seeming to himself contradict Matilde Asián, the secretary of state for tourism, who has implied that she is open to considering this. Instead, Nadal said that there will be a tightening of taxation on the likes of Airbnb.
This only made Barceló more agitated. Rather than Madrid coming to the aid of the Balearics via legislative reform, all the national government does is to want to collect more taxes. The irony of this, one would suggest, wasn't lost on many. Nadal, as with all other PP politicians, is firmly opposed to tourist taxes, which only the Balearics and Catalonia have.
Anyway, political or social, we know that this summer will again be about saturation, with tourismphobia tossed into the mix. And if we didn't know, then GOB were telling the Germans that it will be. Who was it that once said that GOB should put up and become a political party or shut up? A PP politician.
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