After all the talk, the tourist tax came in today and did so with barely a whimper. Social media had let us know that there are tourists who intend refusing to pay. There was no evidence of that today and nor has there been for around a couple of weeks.
At Club Mac, one of Alcudia's largest hotel complexes (over 2,000 places), the word was that everything has gone off smoothly. The hotel had in fact already been charging guests who had arrived before yesterday: those whose stays would include 1 July and beyond, that is. No complaints, no resistance. There was plenty of praise for the tour operators, who have given out information well in advance to their clients. There has been little or no surprise at being asked to pay.
At Alcudia's largest complex, Bellevue (5,000 or more guests), the story was much the same. There were no issues.
Hotels in the main tourism zone of the resort appear to all have adopted the same process: payment on arrival, either with a credit card or cash. There is slight anxiety regarding some clients who might simply arrive without spare money. It can happen with some all-inclusive clients. But as the advance notice has been effective, even this anxiety is minimal. There was also a concern that payment on arrival might slow down the checking-in process. For large hotels with high influxes of guests at given times, this may well be the case.
Not all clients are aware of the tax, however. On Thursday, a British couple, staying in a regulated tourist apartments establishment in Alcudia, said they didn't know anything about the tax. They had arrived the night before and will stay for a week. They added that no one at the apartments had yet told them they had to pay.
From hearing what tourists say, it would seem that issues are more likely to arise with those who have travelled independently and made bookings with, say, hotel places websites. These may or may not have been informing clients about the tax. One certainly has not.
Reactions to the tax from tourists are generally relaxed, given that most have known about it. Using the medium of a local Brit bar to sound people out, there was a pretty unanimous view that they would rather not have to pay the tax, but they were resigned to doing so. There were no expressions of never coming back because of the tax, though there was scepticism regarding the use of tax revenue. "Helping the environment is ok, but is that what will happen? Just become another tax, won't it." Conservation of the environment, preservation of heritage and other purposes for the tax were met with general indifference and even some opposition: "why should tourists pay for it?"
Away from the hotels, leading villa operators in the area seem to have adopted a policy of absorbing the tax: for this year at any rate. There are logistical issues for villa agencies in tax collection, and these are not to the convenience of clients. In the name of customer service, therefore, that convenience is being prioritised.