Agents of the Operational Unit of Internal Security and Administrative Police (UOSIPA) of the General Corps of the Canary Police opened a sanctioning file last weekend against a false active tourism company for carrying out sports activities without the corresponding titles or permits.
Specifically, two agents, accompanied by an accredited official canyoning guide, located in the Badajoz ravine, in the municipality of Güímar (Tenerife), a false guide and a collaborator carrying out, together with twelve clients, activities of hiking and canyoning.
According to the investigations carried out by the agents, the company was not registered as an active tourism company and offered its hiking and canyoning services through social networks. In addition, payments were allegedly made without invoices through the Bizum platform, with prices significantly lower than the usual rates for these activities.
The agents verified that both the guide and the collaborator lacked the mandatory official qualification for this type of activity, in addition to not proving that they were insured. Likewise, clients did not have approved equipment for this activity – they used skating helmets or climbing harnesses instead of their own for ravines – nor did they have auxiliary rescue rope, which is mandatory for this type of service.
To these breaches it must be added that to carry out this activity in the aforementioned ravine it is necessary to request permission from the Cabildo de Tenerife, which they did not have either.
Therefore, it has been proposed to sanction this false company before the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands for, presumably, not complying with Decree 226/2017, of November 13, which approves the Regulation by which it is established the legal regime for the development of active tourism activities; and Law 7/1995, of April 6, on the Tourism Organization of the Canary Islands. The possible sanction he faces ranges between 30,001 and 300,000 euros for violating section 3 of Article 75 of the aforementioned law, which indicates that non-compliance with the current provisions on tourism infrastructure, regulations quality or provision of services.
