By Jason Moore
HOW many tourists are going to splash-out 10 euros on buying the Balearic government's new green card to get a discount on various parks which they wouldn't have visited in the first place? Not many. The green card is a second attempt at the controversial tourist tax and I think it is going to be about as effective. I see that even the Balearic government have had some second thoughts and have decided to include further incentives such as discounts on other attractions and even 10 percent off on beach bed hire. Millions of euros is going to be invested in the card, on its promotion and telling tourists how it will benefit them. It would probably be better to scrap the green card and just spend its budget on environmental projects. While it is voluntary and is not a direct tax I still don't understand why tourists are being targetted as sources of revenue for the government. (Well, I do really they can't vote and if they complain I doubt it will have too much affect on the local community). Tourists appear to be easy targets. These days this is not the case, the Balearics Islands does not have a monopoly on sun and sea and they just might opt to go elsewhere. There are hundreds of resorts across the globe which are crying out for holidaymakers and the Balearics faces tough competition. The green card is a good idea but it should be free to tourists; they shouldn't have to spend their had-earned holiday money on helping the Balearic government. Wouldn't it be great that when tourists arrived in Palma they were presented with a holiday discount card by the government, with the words have a nice stay. Come on Balearics, we are lucky to have a group of loyal holidaymakers who come here every year. Don't ask them for even more money, give them a break. You will probably find that they will come back here year after year and perhaps even spend more money because they feel more welcome.
“Green card” should be free