A major holiday hotspot is cracking down on over-tourism by introducing a new daily fee for holidaymakers, a fresh blow for Brits.
Mogán, a key town in Gran Canaria, has announced it will introduce a tourism tax for visitors staying in the area from 2025. The profits will be reinvested into the local tourism industry and infrastructure.
Mogán’s mayor, Onalia Bueno, announced the tax during a press conference on Thursday, December 5. Authorities plan to approve it in a plenary session on December 12.
Starting next year, those in a tourism establishment must pay €0.15 (£0.12) per person per day.
However, the €0.15 may not be set in stone; Bueno explained that the daily rate of the tax may vary each year, depending on the investments planned by the local council to enhance the visitor experience.
Unlike similar taxes in the Balearic Islands, the Mogán tax will be strictly ‘finalist’ in nature. All funds collected will be exclusively used for activities, services, or infrastructure improvements within the municipality’s tourist areas.
The mayor assured that this “tax for providing services and carrying out activities derived from tourism action and sustainability obligations,” as it will be called, will be Spain’s first municipal tax of its kind.
This tax will be exclusively used to fund activities, services, or infrastructure in its tourist areas and to promote the key holiday destination, which is just 57 miles outside the capital, Las Palmas.
“This tax for the provision of services and activities related to tourism and sustainability obligations” reflects Mogán’s commitment to maintaining its appeal as a top-tier destination, Beuno said.
After its approval, it will be presented to tourism entrepreneurs and is expected to bring 1.2 million euros to municipal coffers during its first year.
According to Spain’s National Statistics Institute, last year, Mogán registered 4.55 million hotel overnight stays, with foreign tourists making up 4.19 million.
