Seville and Malaga coming together to force the Board to support the tourism tax | Economy

2024-09-12 16:50:38

Far from staging the contests that separate them, Seville and Malaga this Thursday through their respective mayors showed unity to force the Andalusian Government to support the implementation of the tourist tax, an issue that affects axes various of the governing Popular Party. in Andalusia. Although the municipal governments of the main tourist cities in the community – all controlled by the popular ones – have been proposing this compensation for some time, the regional Executive is reluctant. “We must raise our voice and not engage in sterile debates,” said the councilor of the Andalusian capital, José Luis Sanz, who spoke with his Malaga counterpart, Francisco de la Torre in the city of Seville.

The two have set up this alliance in front of the Minister of Tourism of the Board, Arturo Bernal, who this week again rejected the implementation of the tourist tax, claiming that it did not solve the problem of financing or the concentration of foreign visitors. De la Torre is confident that if the measure is agreed with the tourism sector, the self-governing government will also support it. “To promote high-quality tourism it would be: more five-star hotels and more quality for tourists,” he said, after a colloquium organized by the Seville Chamber of Commerce. The mayor of Malaga also explained that the proceeds could subsidize rents for families with fewer resources.

Sanz has also been defending the fee as a source of additional revenue for some time. In the middle of the debate on regional funding, the mayor of Seville spoke of the need for municipalities to have an “extraordinary financing instrument”. The popular leader has emphasized the coexistence problems arising from mass tourism. “We have to see what measures we can take because there is discomfort among the residents of our cities, not forgetting that tourism represents 25% of GDP and employs 30,000 Sevillians,” he said, after highlighting that Seville receives more than five million visitors. per year.

Tourism and aristocracy problems are one of the reasons that contribute to housing problems in both cities. Malaga has become the capital of Andalusia where it is not only more expensive to buy a house, the square meter on the Costa del Sol is twice the average for the rest of the community, standing at 1,700 euros per square meter, but when it costs more. to rent, 900 euros for 70 square meters, according to the Barometer of the Andalusian Housing Market, prepared by the Gloval real estate council. De la Torre has accused the central government of the current Housing law. “The state law has reduced the supply,” he declared while pointing out that it is necessary to end the problem of house prices. As a solution, he plans to build more public and private housing and highlighted Malaga’s “good stock of public housing”.

Sorry about international flights

Trying to show their unity, the two mayors have tackled the issues that create the biggest rivalry between the two cities, the capital law demanded by Seville and opposed by Malaga. Another of the worst questions is the possibility of Malaga taking the direct flight with China, a possibility that the city of Seville does not like at all, after the direct connection with New York, which was almost closed with the Andalusian airport in 2022 .

Then the municipal team, led by the PSOE, accused the Board of the “dynamic” agreement. Now, the socialists warn that they have been working for many years so that “now they choose Malaga again.” and attract international flights. De la Torre used diplomacy and expressed that “whatever China decides will be good for Andalucía”, regardless of which airport is chosen.