Sí Podemos warns that life is getting worse and worse in the Canary Islands and calls for the disqualification of land to avoid new tourist beds
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 26 Oct. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, rejected this Wednesday the approval of a tourist moratorium on the islands, emphasizing that “this is not the time” and that “high-mindedness” must be taken to achieve the “balance” between the territory, the environment and the generation of employment and wealth.
In an appearance before the Plenary Session of Parliament requested by Yes We Can, he has criticized the “tourist electoralism” of the purple formation, which also requests the creation of an eco-tax and is against long-stay tourism.
He has rejected “zero growth” in tourism and stressed that a moratorium “is not the solution” to the problems of the archipelago while asking what was achieved with the last one and that the needs of councils and town halls.
Castilla has pointed out that Canarian tourism has not yet overcome “the consequences” of the zero tourism caused by Covid-19, since there are still 10% fewer open tourist places, 5% fewer tourist companies and 0.15% less of tourist affiliates.
He has also said that hotel rehabilitation “does not create net employment” and that in any case it is necessary to initiate a “calm” debate on the carrying capacity of the Canary Islands “and where” it wants to advance with a “rigorous diagnosis”.
He has also questioned that previous experiences “were not good” because “land speculation increased” and there was early execution of licenses and he understands that a moratorium would add more bureaucratic complexity to a sector marked by up to 84 regulations.
Francisco Déniz (Yes We Can) has said that “it is undeniable” that there is a “loss of quality of life” in the Canary Islands, he has demanded that “one more bed” not be built, since the Canary Islands have some 550,000 beds between legal and legal, according to data from the ULL, and with the potential to grow 30% more if everything planned is carried out.
DÉNIZ: “WHAT IS COMING ABOUT US IS COSMIC”
He has commented that the Canary Islands are paying for the development “nonsense” of the 70s and the “urban corruption” of the 90s and has warned that there are “many” ‘Cuna del Alma’, an urban project that “must be stopped”.
He has also indicated that Tenerife has a “very exhausted” carrying capacity and Fuerteventura has the possibility of building half a million tourist beds, which is why he has defended the declassification of tourist land that has not been developed. “What is coming at us is cosmic,” she has indicated.
Déniz has vindicated the consensus that was reached in the moratorium at the beginning of the century and now the situation is worse, since tourism “is one more pollutant” that consumes water resources and energy, something that has been exemplified in Playa Blanca, south of Lanzarote , “an absolute disaster”.
CS: “IT IS NOT TIME FOR MORATORIES”
Ricardo Fernández (Cs) has highlighted that “this is not the time for moratoriums” beyond the interest of some groups to “paralyze” projects, stressing that there is not “a boom” in the construction of hotels as at the beginning of 2000.
He has welcomed businessmen who want to create jobs in the archipelago and defended the creation of a “new offer” to gain competitiveness against other destinations. “Otherwise we would be doomed to disaster,” she said.
Jesús Ramos (ASG) believes that “this is not the time for moratoriums” but rather “rethink tourism” to make it “more intelligent and sustainable”, especially now at a time of “uncertainty” due to inflation and the war in Ukraine. “Right now it is not advised”, he has highlighted.
He commented that tourism is the main sector of the Canarian economy and generates “drag” in others, underlining that the offer is not the same as that of the Balearic Islands, where there is a four-year moratorium, and that the previous moratoria in the Canary Islands “have finished in court.”
Luis Campos (NC) sees it as “opportune” to open a debate on the tourism model of the Canary Islands that seeks the “maximum consensus” and now an opportunity opens up with the study commission on the demographic challenge in Parliament.
He has said that between 1999 and 2003 a moratorium was approved under the presidency of Román Rodríguez (NC) and although there were court rulings, he believes that it is possible to “learn” from that period and study in which islands it can continue to grow.
He has given as an example that Fuerteventura doubled the tourist beds in four years but now the circumstances are different.
PP ACCUSES YES WE CAN OF WANTING TO “LOAD” TOURISM
Carlos Ester (PP) has stressed that “this is not the time” to implement a moratorium, not even to open the debate, disfiguring Yes We Can who “wants to kill” the tourism sector when what you have to do is help it.
He has charged against the ecotax of the purple formation and his intention to “limit” business activity and the generation of employment and wealth. “Who are you?”, He has pointed out, while he has asked Castilla to be “forceful” when setting his position.
Nereida Calero, from the Nationalist Group, has questioned the “contradictions” of Sí Podemos between its discourse and management in the institutions, has called for more investment in degraded tourist areas and to put an end to “interventionism” since there is a nucleus of the islands that deserve to have development tourist.
He has asked to “work with head” on the environment and tourism development “and without big headlines”, but betting on the realities of each territory.
Rosa Bella Cabrera (PSOE) has commented that the current “uncertainty” does not allow making decisions of “great significance” as a moratorium, even though there are no doubts to guide the sector towards sustainability and taking into account the specificities of each island.
