/ Town Hall
Thursday 18th January 2018
THE MAYOR OF CALVIÀ RECLAIMS THE IMPLICATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN IN THE FINANCING AND RECONVERSION PLANS OF THE PIONEER TOURIST MUNICIPALITIES
The day today at FITUR has begun with the participation of the Mayor of Calvià in the round table organised by the Alliance of Sun and Beach Tourist Municipalities, under the title the differentiation as a formula for the repositioning of the pioneers, which has moderated the president of the CEHAT and the Technological Hotel Institute, Joan Molas, and which has taken place in the FiturtechY forum.
The 8 mayors who have spoken at the table, have addressed the different points raised by the moderator from the experience of each of the municipalities.
In his speech, Mayor Alfonso Rodríguez Badal has vindicated the need for the Government of Spain to be involved to accompany the mature municipalities that, at the time experienced a first reconversion -as is the case of Calvià-, and that at this time they need the accompaniment of the State to consolidate the path taken towards the improvement of quality. Thus, he pointed out that what unites the 8 pioneer municipalities is to consolidate quality in order to maintain leadership and for this, supramunicipal financing and Government reconversion plans are needed in some destinations -the 8 of the Alliance- that represent the 20 % of Spanish tourism activity. And he added that, while this implication of the Government of Spain is achieved, the municipalities should be able to make use of the treasury surplus that allows them to invest in the destination.
Financing has been one of the coinciding issues amongst the municipalities, as well as the concern about the effects of the illegal tourist accommodation offer. In this point, the Mayor of Calvià has launched 3 specific messages, the first, if you agree that everyone should bet on quality, there comes a point at which quality and quantity can collide. Second, the municipalities, as responsible for urban planning, should not let such regulation remain in the hands of the markets, the market, he insisted, can not change urban planning. And third message, we must face this illegal offer, as the tourist use of residential housing is making the price of housing too expensive and administrations, including the local, have the duty to preserve the right to a living place.
The mayors have explained the different actions that are being carried out in each of the territories to regulate this problem and there has been a broad coincidence in pointing out that the municipalities do not have the capacity to control all illegal tourist accommodation and that the town councils, in the matter of regularisation, must always have the last word.
The meeting was attended by the president of Exceltur who has claimed the important role that the Alliance of the 8 Municipalities can play before the claims of the Autonomous Communities to the State.
The meeting was attended by the mayors Alfonso Rodríguez Badal of Calvià; Antonio Pérez Pérez, of Benidorm (Alicante-Costa Blanca); Marco Aurelio Pérez, of San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Gran Canaria); Jaume Dulsat i Rodríguez, of Lloret de Mar (Girona-Costa Brava); José Ortiz, of Torremolinos (Costa del Sol); José Miguel Rodríguez, for Adeje, and José Julián Mena, for Arona -these last two of Tenerife-, and the councillor for Tourism Promotion of Salou-Costa Daurada, Benet Presas Sureda.
