The opposition on Prohens's backtracking on the ITS: "Two years of deception because she doesn't believe in it"

PalmThe Government does not plan to approve any major measures against overcrowding this legislative term and, in fact, no longer considers an increase in the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) necessary. This has been stated advanced the ARA Baleares And this has been confirmed by the First Vice President, Antoni Costa, at a press conference. In his view, given that the increase in tourist arrivals during peak season has remained below 1%, "extraordinary measures" such as this increase are no longer "necessary." This represents a change of position by the government, which last December defended this measure and agree to move forward with the PSIB"This is the culmination of two years of deception by Prohens, who has repeatedly lied about her commitment to addressing tourist overcrowding," laments Socialist MP Llorenç Pou.

The parliamentarian, who last Tuesday defended the increase in the Tourism Tax (ITS) during a question period with the tourism minister, Jaume Bauzá, insists on this discontent. "It was the president herself who, in May 2024, stated that the 17.8 million tourists in 2023 was an unbearable figure and that bold measures were needed," he explains. "Two years later, with over 19 million tourists already, a clear sign of the worsening situation, she dares to make such statements." "It will be a lost legislature, while tourist saturation continues to break records year after year," he argues.

The leader of MÁS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, has also criticized the PP's change of tone. "They have never believed in restraint or anything resembling it," he states. "It was all a smokescreen to mask the public's discontent with the problems stemming from overcrowding." The eco-sovereignist has accused the PP of having "distracted everyone with scraps of paper about the Dialogue Table and false proposals." "Either the president is irresponsible, saying the first thing that comes to mind and constantly changing her mind, or she simply has no word and no convictions," he lamented.

The GOB spokesperson, Margalida Ramis, opined that the PP "had no intention of implementing any measures that would contain" tourism. "They wanted to contest a political narrative to generate headlines devoid of content," she lamented. "They have focused on managing and regulating flows, as they said at Fitur," she continued. "Who expected the PP to pass any measures that would affect such a powerful economic sector?" she asked. The environmental organization withdrew from the Pacte for Sustainability meetings due to disagreements with its operation.

The CAEB welcomes the change of criteria

Conversely, the Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands (CAEB) welcomes the Government's position. "We always advocate for tax reductions to alleviate the heavy burdens borne by businesses," sources from the organization point out. The increase in the Tourism Tax (ITS), they assert, "does not serve to regulate the flow of visitors and, moreover, could harm sectors such as retail, restaurants, and leisure, which are already experiencing difficulties, by reducing tourists' spending power." For its part, the UGT union, through its representative Pedro Homar, warns that, following this change of heart by the Government, they will attend next Wednesday's Pact meeting, where the ITS increase was to be debated, with "a different attitude": "It's been a real blow." "We expected this increase to be implemented," he asserts. "It's economic capital that Balearic society will no longer receive, and it could be used to compensate for economic inequalities," he laments. "We assume this is being decided by pressure from the hotel industry and Vox." The president of PIMEM, Jordi Móra, is also in favor of raising the ITS (Tax on Sustainable Tourism). However, he emphasizes the importance of these funds being invested "in sustainability" and "being put to good use."