Andalucía rejects tourist tax and calls for new funding model

The first was to rule out the implementation of a tourist tax in the region, as called for by several mayors of Andalusian provincial capitals, including the Mayor of Malaga.

Gavira is clear that a new tax would not solve the funding problems most tourist-heavy municipalities face. He called for a more creative approach to finding solutions, urging the government to initiate changes to the funding model so that those local authorities bearing the greatest pressure from tourism have access to investment funds.

"If there is a funding problem for local authorities, then we must urge the Spanish government to pass a law allowing local councils that receive the highest number of visitors to have a different funding arrangement," Gavira stated.

The regional minister said that the region needs solutions that do not involve a tourist tax, which Spaniards themselves would have to pay. He feels strongly that Andalusians should "not feel like foreigners in their own land".

Gavira pointed out that the majority of domestic tourism in Andalucía comes from within the region and asked: "Do we want Andalusians to pay more tax? Well, no. We certainly don't."

"What needs to be done is, first, to analyse the current management and, if there is a funding problem in providing services to those cities that receive large numbers of tourists, see how those cities are funded. For example, the Spanish government could devise a new funding model that looks after those cities in Andalucía and Spain that receive a large number of visitors," the regional minister said.

He said that the tourist tax in other parts of the country does not have a strong track record of how the money is spent and whether it improves public services.

Gavira reiterated his commitment to defending the sector against ideological attacks from those who blame the industry for all evils. That said, he is committed to safeguarding the coexistence with local residents.

"The sector will not succeed simply because more and more people visit us. What matters is that tourism keeps getting better. That is the balance we will strike in our department," the regional minister said.

Gavira denied a link between tourism and the housing crisis. "Unfortunately, we have to put up with that ideological foe who wants to blame tourism for any problem that politicians fail to resolve. In this specific case I am referring to housing. The problem does not stem from tourism but from the politicians who have governed us in recent years, from both sides of the political spectrum, and who have failed to resolve it," he stated.

He also pointed out that the solutions to ending the housing crisis lie in "liberalising land use and construction". "If homes are built, the problem is solved. There is no other way out," Gavira said.

Gavira was firm that his department would not tolerate "any attempt to undermine or attack a sector that generates so much wealth". "Tourism generates a great deal of income tax, a great deal of IVA, a great deal of corporate tax and a great deal of capital gains tax," he said.

When asked to assess the summer season so far, Gavira said that the fires in Almeria and Huelva and the events in Ceuta are deterring tourists. He announced that he will be holding meetings in the coming days with representatives from the tourism sector in the two Andalusian provinces to assess the impact and devise measures.

He also pointed out that the closure of beaches in Malaga "is clearly having a negative impact".

He took this opportunity to criticise the government's management. "We have a government that does not look after infrastructure, does not look after the roads and does not look after the trains. You, in Malaga, know this because you suffered greatly as a result during Semana Santa," Gavira said.

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