Hoteliers in Majorca have regularised a total of 5,527 hotel places in the past six years. These were the result of a decree that was passed in 2009 by the previous PSOE-led administration, with one aim having been to assist investment. The decree was extended by the last government of José Ramón Bauzá, but the period for requesting regularisation has now ended. Because of the deadline, the tourism ministry has been receiving a recent avalanche of requests.
The amount raised by this process is over 28 million euros - hoteliers had to pay for places that hadn't received proper planning permission - and the revenue has been made available through a fund managed by a consortium for the "bolsa" of tourist places. This fund has been used to improve tourism infrastructure, to assist with redevelopment of accommodation and to diversify the general tourism offer, with tackling the problem of seasonality a key aim. The consortium has been responsible for approving projects, of which there have been various ones in resorts.
The 2009 initiative was a means of resolving a situation with the growth in size of hotel establishments that had been going on for several years. It was also intended to ensure quality and to recognise the rights of consumers and users as well meeting regulations to do with safety and habitability. It only affected Majorca, as responsibilities for tourism accommodation management had been passed to the respective councils on the other islands.
Since the extension, which was approved last summer, 576 hotel places with a value of 2.7 million euros have been regularised. Under the decree, there could only be one extension; hence, the current government will not be granting a further one.