For months, the island councilor for Tourism, Marcial Rodríguez, had found himself in a dead end. This Tuesday, he officially resigned, and will be replaced by Guillem Ginard, bringing to a close nearly two and a half years in office marked by political, social, and media pressure. The decision wasn't new: Rodríguez had expressed his intention to leave the post on several occasions, but hadn't been able to do so until the People's Party (PP) found a replacement willing to take on the challenge. But what brought the councilor down?

The Consell de Mallorca's inspection campaign against illegal tourist accommodation has resulted in the removal of more than 4,400 tourist rental listings that lacked any registration number, eliminating over 20,000 beds from the market. The Island Councillor for Tourism, José Marcial Rodríguez, gave an update on Wednesday regarding the latest inspection campaign against illegal accommodation in Mallorca, which began on May 15th and continued until last week. In his remarks, Rodríguez emphasized the importance of the agreements reached with platforms like Airbnb and Holidu to combat illegal offerings, an activity that, as he stressed, is "unfair" and "very damaging" to the sector. "This is a decisive step, especially since the platforms remain committed to continuing to deactivate any unauthorized or illegal listings," the Island Councillor for Tourism affirmed. According to data released this Wednesday, the Inspection and Sanction Service concluded the summer campaign with a total of 3,043 actions, 19.1% more than last year, when the campaign lasted one month less than this year's. The actions carried out by the 27 inspectors of the service focused on illegal tourism offerings. Specifically, 1,659 targeted illegal offerings, and the remaining 1,384 targeted legal ones. The total number of actions is triple that of the 2023 campaign, when this plan was launched, while this latest campaign was similar to that of 2024, Rodríguez indicated, who also highlighted the improvements in managing the inspection process and reducing response times. Regarding the ongoing investigations into illegal tourist rentals, the Minister of Tourism also commented that the Holidu platform, with which the Consell (Island Council) reached a collaboration agreement, now only advertises legal properties on its website. "Collaboration, rather than confrontation, is the way to guarantee compliance with regulations and strengthen the quality of life for residents," he emphasized. During the campaign, the inspection service issued 144 violation reports against illegal listings and 138 reports against legal listings. He specified that 9.2% of inspector visits resulted in a report. The inspection team also focused its efforts on ensuring compliance with the law in establishments. Rodríguez commented that of the 102 establishments that have been asked to provide the necessary accreditation, 20% of the documentation has already been reviewed, and the compliance rate is 100%. Another line of action for this service, he said, concerns adjustable beds, with a campaign involving 100 establishments, 77 of which have already submitted the required documentation for review. In this regard, he reminded hotels that they have until 2028 to demonstrate compliance with the regulations. "The implemented plan is working."

"The implemented plan works. It is the right one despite the many voices that criticized it, and it allows us to fight against illegal offerings," argued the head of Tourism, who highlighted the 180 cases opened throughout the year and the 221 resolved. Regarding the total proposed amount for the open cases, this has been 10.05 million euros, more than double the amount proposed in 2024. "It complies with regulations and the law," he asserted.

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The PSIB of the Consell de Mallorca (Mallorca Council) denounced this Tuesday the "chaos" that, in its opinion, exists in the Department of Tourism and the "incompetence" of the minister who heads it, José Marcial Rodríguez. "He is incompetent and we are very concerned about his management of his department. The Consell has not done, nor does it intend to do, absolutely anything to combat mass tourism," stressed the Socialist spokesperson, Catalina Cladera.

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The PSOE claims that the Tourism Minister of the Mallorcan Council, Marcial Rodríguez, inflates the figures for the fines his department imposed on illegal tourist rentals last year. They claim that the 8.3 million euros the PP attributed to the initial 2024 fine proposals include all the fines imposed by the island's institution, not just those from last year. "in evidence", stated the PSOE in a statement.

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