FEATURE - Spanish islands buffeted by storm over "eco-tax"
Date: 21-Jun-02
Country: SPAIN
Author: Adrian Croft
But the regional government's move to fund these plans through a tax on hotel guests has caused an unholy stink, angering tourists, hoteliers and the central government in Madrid.
The Balearic Islands, which lie in the sparkling Mediterranean off Spain's eastern coast, have just 800,000 residents. But 10.2 million tourists, many of them British and German, flocked there last year to soak up the sun.
Tourism is the lifeblood of the islands, but the tourist explosion has fuelled urban sprawl, clogged roads and threatened the environment as millions of visitors produce tonnes of rubbish and put severe strain on limited water resources.
The islands' ruling Socialist-nationalist-Green coalition wants to move to a more sustainable form of tourism and plans to finance its programme through a tax on hotel stays known as the "eco-tax".
"Studies have shown that tourism is a very contaminating industry," Balearic tourism director Tiffany Blackman told Reuters in an interview.
"The government...has had to introduce a very small amount of money so people can help to preserve our limited resources," she said.
COURT CHALLENGE
The tax, voted through by the regional parliament in April last year, finally took effect at the beginning of May after Spain's Constitutional Court lifted an injunction imposed after a legal challenge by the central government.
The court still has to give a final ruling on Madrid's contention that the tax unfairly duplicates existing taxes on tourism, but that could take years.
The eco-tax averages one euro ($0.95) per person per night spent at hotels in the scenic Balearic Islands, which also include Minorca and Formentera.
That doesn't sound much but it adds 56 euros to the cost of a two-week holiday in the islands for a couple with two children, who are only liable for the tax if older than 12.
The tax, aimed at raising 60 million euros a year, has aroused fears in the local tourist industry that the extra cost could drive visitors to other, cheaper Mediterranean destinations.
Scottish couple William and Isabel McKinlay, visiting Palma, said the extra cost wouldn't put them off coming to the islands but added it could have an impact on families.
"If there are four of them, for a fortnight, it's quite a lot of money. It could make a difference to people on a lower budget," Mrs. McKinlay said. Two of her friends had had to pay the tax and "they weren't very happy," she said
Some tourists ask why they, and not local residents, should have to stump up the money for environmental improvements.
Others are not clear why they are being asked to pay the tax, which is one euro a night for three-star and four-star hotels and two euros for five-star luxury hotels.
Marcelo Quinteros, a 53-year-old accountant visiting from Buenos Aires with his wife and three children, said his hotel had told him there was a special tax to pay when he arrived but did not say what it was for.
He said he agreed with the aim of the tax when it was explained to him. But he said he would have preferred to pay the tax when he booked rather than have to fork out at the hotel.
Quinteros was unlucky in being asked to pay.
VARIED APPROACH
Many of the islands' hotels are paying the tax themselves for now. Since brochures for this summer's package holidays were printed before the court allowed the tax to go ahead, many hoteliers are reluctant to ask guests to pay more.
Other hotels are levying the tax but are sugar-coating the bitter pill by giving guests vouchers for an equal amount to spend on drinks or other goods at the hotel.
Tourists could see the real impact of the tax in next summer's package holiday brochures.
Proposals for projects that could be funded by the "eco-tax" include buying up decrepit hotels for demolition, buying plots of private land in the middle of public nature reserves, building cycle paths and schemes to save water and energy.
One project calls for the