The Balearic Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Jaume Bauzá, has stated that the Balearic Islands are ready to welcome the expected influx of tourists this summer, as he believes the regional government is now ‘taking care of it’.
He made the comments on Tuesday during the plenary session of the Parliament when questioned on the matter by MÉS per Mallorca MP Maria Ramon, who estimated that around 20 million visitors will arrive in the archipelago this year. ‘The Balearic Islands are indeed ready because now, unlike before, someone in the government is taking care of the preparations,’ replied the Minister.
Bauzá contrasted the current government’s commitment to “a tourism policy not aimed at breaking records but based on limits” with the previous administration’s approach, which he claimed was based on the idea that “the more visitors, the better, and we’ll ask the questions later”. This shift, he argued, ‘is already evident’ in the reduction in arrivals during the high season and the increase during the low season.
‘Less pressure in summer with higher spending. Better returns, less pressure,’ he emphasised. His intention, he insisted, is not to break arrival records but to eliminate illegal accommodation. Ramon criticised him stating that since he became Regional Minister for Tourism, “accommodation capacity has increased and all measures to tackle the collapse have been rejected”, such as the rise in the sustainable tourism tax (ITS) and the water levy for large consumers, or the tax on car hire companies.
The eco-sovereignist, to illustrate tourist saturation, spoke of bus passengers suffering “anxiety attacks” because the buses are full and they cannot get to work; of how going to the beach is “an odyssey”; of how delivery drivers “lose a whole day’s work” if they have to make a delivery in the busiest towns; or of water cuts in certain municipalities whilst “hotels and golf courses have an open bar”.
Bauzá also had to respond to a question posed by PSIB MP Marco Antonio Guerrero, who criticised him for the centre-right Partido Popular parliamentary group having raised the possibility of increasing the number of beds in hostels and legalising those operating outside the law. ‘It’s the same old PP, the party of illegality and chaos. Either you’re lying or you’re unaware of the wording of the amendments your political group is tabling,’ he snapped at him.
The Socialist referred specifically to a youth hostel in Sant Antoni that has been ordered to close and cease operations and which, under these legislative changes, could continue to operate. The minister, although he did not specifically address this issue, assured that the government is “ensuring the containment of places by setting limits”.
“We don’t want more places, we want a better provision. That is why we have banned places in multi-family buildings, with zero growth, and we prioritise quality over quantity. All of that, with your vote against it,” he replied. He did address the matter when the Socialist MP Pilar Costa pressed him during her question time. “You’re not answering anything. You’ve just been asked a question about amendments to increase the number of beds in youth hostels. Do you agree with them? Are you aware of this? Can you answer once and for all? This is very serious,” she pointed out.
‘The Sant Antoni hostel will have us up against it, both the Government and the Ibiza Council. I cannot make it any clearer: the tourist and youth activities taking place at this establishment will have us up against them,’ he replied. They also clashed over their views on binge tourism, as whilst Costa considered that there is now ‘more excess than ever’, Bauzá defended the measures adopted by his department throughout the current legislative term. Among these, he highlighted the increase in fines for those consuming alcohol in public places and the crackdown on so-called “party boats”.