Letter to the Editor: This essay will explain why the tourist tax, known as eco tax, can be very useful to keeping the Balearic Islands as a top holiday destination and, above all, can preserve environmental sustainability and a balanced local economy.
It is widely acknowledged that tourist destinations suffer from the over use of their own natural resources due to the arrival of millions of visitors. Water shortages, excessive consumption of electricity, crowded hospitals, crowded roads as well as tremendous waste generation are the main harmful effects of mass tourism.
Consequently, it sounds logical and convenient to set up a tax system for tourists in order to raise money to minimize as much of the negative impact on the resources of the islands as possible. These funds should be used to protect and preserve the destroyed areas such as natural parks, aquifers, polluted sea and beaches , roads, landscape and mountains. Furthermore, the sums raised could help to finance, manage or develop local projects such as education, health service and even social aid assistance.
Despite the fact that the holidays will be slightly more expensive, the extra expenditure, which varies from half a euro to two euros a day per person, is easily justifiable due to the altruistic aim of improving the islands’ environment and infrastructure so that it remains competitive with other popular tourist hot spots.
To conclude, the so-called “eco tax” is currently a trendy and controversial topic amidst businessmen and politicians. I personally consider it to be a highly interesting issue for the Balearic Islands, because of the direct impact tourism has on the environment as well as the human impact on our social services.