A senior minister in the Canary Islands government says she is open to considering a tourist tax. The possibility of introducing a levy on overnight stays of tourists on the popular islands should be explored, according to Matilde Asián, Minister for Budgets and Finance.
Almost 6.3 million Britons visited the Canary Islands last year where there have been a number of demonstrations against what protestors say is overtourism. Ms Asián suggested the tax could be an option, only if a system could be found to exclude Canarians from being charged, according to reports. The minister, however, said she does not believe a solution currently exists and warned it may be “very difficult” to exempt residents.
“If such a tax were to be applied, it would be very unfair for residents to pay it,” Ms Asián said committee, according to the Canarian Weekly.
She was responding to a call for the tourist tax to be introduced to enable fairer distribution of money generated by the Canary Islands’ tourism sector, the Tenerife-based newspaper reported.
Ms Asián said finding a fair model for the tax is a “real political and technical challenge”.
She argued a more effective alternative could be through wage increases and also encouraged authorities to explore the wider introduction of admission fees to natural parks and protected sites.
The prospect of a tourist tax is said to divide opinion on the Canary Islands, with President Fernando Clavijo reportedly strongly against its introduction.
Deputy of the Socialist Party, Manuel Hernández Cerezo, who brought forward the tourist tax calls, criticised the Canary Islands government.
“The response to all of this has been inaction, or, at best, action for the usual few,” he said.
The Canary Islands, made up of seven islands including Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, are popular tourist destinations thanks to all-year round warm weather, beaches, watersports and more.
There were large protests against overtourism on the islands last month, with around 100,000 believed to have marched in Tenerife.