SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 6 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Plenary of the Parliament of the Canary Islands has unanimously approved this Wednesday a Proposal Not of Law (PNL) of the Popular Group in which it requests the Government of the Canary Islands to enable aid for the owners of the houses affected by the volcanic eruption in La Palma.
In addition, via the amendment of the quadripartite groups, the preparation of a map of regulated vacation homes has also been approved and that there is also aid for the owners of residential rental properties.
Jacob Qadri (PP) has commented that the situation with vacation rentals in La Palma is “unfair” because they have been left out of aid from the central and Canarian governments when they are one of the most thriving sectors of tourism on the island and it is “source of income” for many families.
In his opinion, “it is not logical” to leave vacation rentals out of this aid, even though the first homes are the most important, given that there are 2,481 beds affected by the volcano, more than 44% of the market.
According to their calculations, and at an average of 25 euros per night, the losses, during 100 days of eruption, are around 6.2 million, which are added to those of the pandemic, for which they have not had public aid either.
Qadri praised the “consensus” reached between all the groups because it shows that agreements can be reached on important issues.
Ricardo Fernández (Cs) has commented that this sector is a source of income for many palm families and in the face of all the open aid for the tourism sector affected by the volcano, they have been left out as they are not registered as companies or self-employed.
Jesús Ramos (ASG) has affirmed that the Ministry of Tourism is “involved” in the recovery of the island and his group has always supported vacation rentals, promoting its regulation through the law of the ‘green islands’.
Thus, it has proposed that the aid not only go to the owners of vacation homes but also to the owners of houses that were dedicated to conventional rental.
Francisco Déniz, of Yes We Can, has commented that “the fundamental thing” in La Palma is to replace the usual homes and guarantee accommodation, but he also understands that many families obtained additional income through vacation rentals.
To clarify the aid, he has proposed that a map be drawn up with the holiday homes and which ones have been affected by the eruption.
Carmen Hernández (NC) has said that the NLP is “good and reasonable” for the affected palm growers and claimed the advantages of vacation rentals to reactivate the economy given that consumption is encouraged at the local level.
Jorge González (PSOE) has highlighted the “sanity” of this proposal because “it is good” for citizens given that vacation homes bring economy to the destination and will help promote the recovery of the island.
Judith Bayarri (CC-PNC) has commented that the owners need “certainty” from the administration and that they be compensated for the real value of what was lost, stressing that vacation homes were the first source of income for families or served as complementary income to cover their children’s study expenses outside the island.
