On Tuesday, tourism minister Iago Negueruela called for doubts not be sown in respect of holiday rental accommodation places that are not affected by the freeze on new accommodation places that is contained in the tourism circularity and sustainability decree.
In statements to the media at parliament, Negueruela reiterated that in no case will 90,000 holiday rental places automatically disappear due to this freeze. These places, which were regulated in 2017, are not affected. "It is dangerous to say that the law affects something when it is not true." He added that the manager of the Habtur holiday rentals association, Maria Gibert, has herself now said that the situation has been "explained clearly".
In the chamber itself, Salomé Cabrera of the opposition Partido Popular claimed that rentals associations had been "deceived" by the minister. The government had been looking for an excuse for an "umpteenth decree" and had therefore used circularity and labour measures to justify a moratorium on new accommodation places.
Negueruela asked Cabrera if she was in favour of improving the condition of workers, the environmental measures contained in the decree and the modernisation that is envisaged. He added that these points had been agreed with employers and unions.
"The underlying debate is whether we are committing to quality or quantity." There has to be a "rethink" of the tourism model and definition of how many more accommodation places are suitable for each island.
Cabrera argued that the decree is "authoritarian and prohibitionist". The moratorium is one "for de-growth which goes against economic recovery."
Under the decree, there is a four-year freeze on a total of 18,718 new accommodation places in the Balearics, 8,486 of which are in Mallorca. Island councils will have to determine whether they want to have these places (or some of them) or allow them to expire.