A Spanish tourism boss has issued a stark warning over taxes on tourists amid worries it will put off the millions of Brits who visit each year. Malaga tourism councillor, Arturo Bernal, told Spanish parliament he opposed a tourism tax as it would dissuade visitors from coming to the country impacting more than just hospitality businesses.
He said the country’s tourism industry had been “put in the spotlight as a source of problems” but warned that any plans to introduce a new tax would be “killing the goose that lays the golden eggs”.
Mr Bernal warned a tax would have a negative impact on 76 Andalucian industries including companies in his city, adding “we have to be careful with certain apocalyptic speeches”.
During his speech, he urged the government to do more with the taxes it already receives such as the VAT from tourism which generates £2.1bn in revenue. Mr Bernal said: “We need to be able to better manage the taxes that are already being collected.
“The VAT applied to tourism generates an income of 2.5 billion euros, the key would be to better distribute what is already being collected.”
He added that 84 percent of Andalucians opposed plans for a tourist tax adding that two-thirds of the tourists the area receives are Spanish nationals, with half of them Andalucians.
Mr Bernal added: “Would Andalucians have to pay this new tax?”
But he was met with opposition from Spain’s left-wing PSOE, Por Andalucia, and Adelante Andalucia parties which backed the tax, claiming it would mitigate the harsh impacts of mass tourism.
PSOE mayor of Getafe, Isabel Aguilera, said Mr Bernal appeared “half-hearted” in his claims adding she felt he was “forced” to make the appeal by mayors and the president of the Junta de Andalucia.
Among the potential introduction of new taxes, a report also suggested a curb in bar opening hours, which prompted some reaction from Brits who vowed to swerve the holiday hotspot.
Speaking to GB News, one would-be tourist said they would “boycott” the country as new rules are introduced “every day”. They said: “There are new regulations every day. This is an awful way to treat tourists in their country. Boycotting Spain.”
Another branded the move a bid by Spanish officials to “cut off their nose”, while a third said they would “spend my money in my own communities”.
