SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, September 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The vice president and Tourism Councilor of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Lope Afonso, this Friday expressed his support for opening a “calm and responsible” debate on the possibility of introducing a fee for visiting the Teide National Park.
In response to a question from the Socialist Group in the Plenary Session of the Cabildo, he denied that he had contradicted himself these days after saying on ‘Radio Club Tenerife’ in a “personal capacity” that he was in favor of setting a rate and that payment could begin in 2024.
Afonso has expressed himself more in line with the clarification he used hours after that interview and has made it clear that the decision must be made “collegiately” and not depend on the “sole criterion” of a counselor.
The vice president has indicated that the Cabildo does not have “specific deadlines” for an eventual implementation and has indicated that a possible collection could be allocated to new services, resources or equipment that can improve the visit or also to improve the conservation of the park. “I am in favor of the debate but not lightly,” he explained.
The advisor of the Socialist Group Javier Rodríguez has ironically stated that the government group is “fixated on 90 days” – in reference to the desire to alleviate queues in that period of time – and has agreed with Afonso that the rate should come from a “calm debate” and that addresses “all interlocutors” related to the park, not just politicians.
He has criticized his “hastiness” with the statements because he was forced to qualify them hours later and has pointed out that there cannot be a “dissociation” between the position he holds and his personal opinion because “when one is in government work one cannot dissociate”.
Rodríguez has made it clear that the position of the Tenerife socialists involves residents not paying to visit the park.
