The Balearics government has ‘welcomed’ central government for joining the fight against illegal tourist rentals in the Balearics, after nearly 2,400 properties failed to obtain the registration number required to continue advertising on holiday rental platforms. This was the reaction of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Jaume Bauzà, when asked about the statements made by the central government on Sunday.
He said that ‘it was about time’ that the central government allocated resources to the fight against illegal rentals because, in his view, this first figure provided is ‘high and considerable’. ‘Taking action against those who break the law is the first thing that governments should be concerned with,’ he added. Even so, he pointed out that it remains to be seen whether this figure is ‘correct’ or whether more cases can still be found, as the regional government also allocates resources from the sustainable tourism tax (ITS) to this issue.
Bauzà stressed that even if there is only one person breaking the law, he considers this to be a ‘high’ figure, which is why he has set himself the goal for the remainder of the political year of fighting those who are ‘breaking the law’ and ‘abusing a destination’ such as the Balearics. Asked about the statements made by representatives of Habtur Baleares, in which they claim that there are legal tourist properties that have been left out of the register, he stressed that ‘surely’ the central government’s provision for the register ‘can be improved’ and attempts made to ensure that it is ‘not unfair’, but he valued the objective of combating illegal offerings.
‘This register will have been designed for properties that are outside the planning regulations and each case will have to be assessed, but any property that applies for its licence within the deadline and in accordance with the regulations of the island councils will have no problem in obtaining this registration,’ he argued.
Another issue on which Bauzà was consulted was the statement by the president of Exceltur, Gabriel Escarrer, in which he criticised the lack of action by the institutions against illegal tourist rentals, which he described as ‘unfair’. He maintained that the government’s various ITS plans have allocated resources to increase the staff of the island councils that fight against illegal rentals and, although he admitted that the resources that can be allocated to combating illegalities are ‘few’, he claimed that the government has been investing resources since 2023.