The readers of Canary Islands Now they have decanted for charging a fee to access the Teide National Park, but only to tourists and not to residents. This is reflected in the results of a survey launched by this newspaper after the words of last Monday by the vice president of the Cabildo of Tenerife and insular Minister of Tourism, Lope Afonso (PP).
After more than 1,050 votes cast, 68% are in favor of charging only tourism, a figure that greatly exceeds the option of not charging (17%) and making residents also pay (15%).
This controversy arose after Lope Afonso said that it is an “approach” that should be evaluated “seriously” in order to help conserve the environment and regulate the flow of visitors: “It doesn’t seem like nonsense to me,” he stated. . Furthermore, he added that this is not a “question of improvisation” but rather a matter of opening a “calm debate”, at the same time that he pointed out that this possibility had to be studied “quickly” so that it could come into force over the long term. of 2024.
However, hours later he backed down, stating that what he said was just “a personal opinion, like a hypothetical scenario,” and that it is not on the Cabildo’s “roadmap.” Regarding whether Canarian residents would pay this fee to access the National Park, the vice president stated in the interview that “it is one of the questions that have to be raised,” but that since it is “a fee, a tax figure, it is difficult have exceptions beforehand.”
