The Cabildo of Tenerife has rejected the motion by the Socialist Group to implement a tourist ecotax on the island, a measure that the Canary Coalition publicly claimed to support in the days leading up to the May 18 demonstration called against mass tourism and overcrowding on the islands. The proposal was rejected with votes against from CC, the PP, and Vox, “revealing the lack of coherence and political opportunism of the island’s governing group,” according to the PSOE.
While the PP in the Cabildo and the Canary government has openly rejected the implementation of a tourist tax, the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, from the Canary Coalition, surprised others days before the protests with a speech defending many of the demands of the protest organizers across the Canary Islands and even announced an ecotax for Tenerife only 24 hours after voting against this measure in the insular corporation. At that time, the socialists considered this turnaround by the insular president as a “blatant inconsistency,” which, in their opinion, was confirmed this Thursday.
The president of the Socialist Group in the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, regretted the “falseness” of the Canary Coalition, which defended the ecotax to the media but preferred to “align with the right to block it when it came time to vote.” “Citizens do not need more empty statements or more maneuvers to look good to the public. They need courageous decisions, and today the Canary Coalition has once again failed Tenerife,” stated Martín.
The motion proposed studying and implementing a specific tax for the tourism sector, aiming to finance the improvement of the environment, public spaces, and services linked to tourism. The Socialist Group notes that this measure is already in effect in communities such as the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, or Valencia, with positive results.
Pedro Martín recalled that the PSOE has been advocating for this proposal since 2019, while the Canary Coalition has changed its stance based on media and social pressure. “What we saw after May 18 was a rectification for appearances’ sake, but not a real willingness to act. Today it has become clear who has a sustainable tourism model and who lives off empty headlines,” he added.
The Socialist Group has noted that this initiative will be debated again in the extraordinary session that will be held on Wednesday, June 11, at 12:00 p.m., at the Group’s own proposal. “They will have another opportunity to stop deceiving the public and truly commit to a fair, balanced, and sustainable tourism model,” concluded Martín.
