The federation of businessmen shares the arguments of NC, PSOE and AV-PP in the plenary session of San Bartolomé de Tirajana in the face of proposals that put employment in the municipality at risk
The Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs (FEHT) of Las Palmas today highlighted the coherence and consistency of the arguments shown by the political forces, both from the government group and the municipal opposition, which continue to defend the tourist use of the planned non-hotel complexes and built for this purpose in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, in the face of proposals that seek to destroy the principle of unity of exploitation, promote the residentialization of tourist plots and put at risk economic activity and employment in the most important tourist municipality in the Canary Islands.
On this issue, the FEHT shares the arguments presented in the plenary session held yesterday, October 28, by the spokespersons of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Nueva Canarias (NC) and Agrupación de Vecinos-PP, which by a notable majority rejected the proposal in defense of the legislative initiative that promotes the liquidation of the principle of unit of exploitation in tourist properties, with serious and harmful consequences for the development of this activity.
For tourism businessmen, the position of the three groups mentioned "defends the general interest of the municipality and the maintenance of San Bartolomé de Tirajana as a competitive tourist destination at the regional, state and international level", as has already been accredited by studies such as the prepared by the Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development (Tides) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), which has estimated the loss of income in economic activity caused by 591 million euros annually (in conservative estimates) the residentialization process in tourist complexes only in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
The FEHT also emphasizes that, as the spokespersons for PSOE, NC and AV-PP recalled, the current sectoral regulation contemplates an exceptional situation, articulated through the Canary Islands Land Law, which allows residential use for those situations consolidated before the January 1, 2017. But the same regional regulation is categorical regarding the possible generalization of this practice, due to the obvious harmful consequences for the activity of tourist complexes.
For this reason, any attempt to blow up the principle of unity of exploitation, as promoted by the Canarian Coalition (CC) motion in the plenary session of San Bartolomé de Tirajana held yesterday, represents a very serious precedent capable of causing irreparable damage to tourist complexes and employment in the municipality. And, in particular, it would harm the activity of non-hotel operations constituted by small family businesses of Canarian citizens that form a core part of the productive fabric of tourism in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, and that are represented by the Association of Tourist Accommodation Entrepreneurs (AEAT) of Las Palmas, integrated into the FEHT.
The FEHT considers, in this sense, that proposals of this nature confuse legitimate and mutually compatible objectives, such as housing needs and the maintenance of economic activity, to the detriment of the general interest, collective prosperity and social equity. That is why he shows his surprise at the content of the motion presented by the spokesperson for the Canary Coalition, as it represents notable damage to a fundamental sector for the municipality's economy.
The leader of the Canarian Coalition added in the plenary session that what was proposed was that the Tourism Law contemplate the current reality, "we are not asking that the tourist area be residentialized, we are asking that what exists is maintained and legalized."
Finally, he reminded the plenary session that in other countries and cities “tourists and residents coexist in a peaceful and enriching way; they do not live divided but rather cohabit in the same space.” “It is a fallacy to say that residential use prevents tourism development, as demonstrated by the fact that in 2019 Maspalomas Costa Canaria broke a record, despite the fact that more than 10.000 residents lived on tourist land at that time.”
Finally, the motion was rejected with the votes against PSOE, NC and PP-AV.
The FEHT adds its surprise at the behavior and vote expressed by the councilor of the Ciudadanos (Cs) group, also the delegate councilor for Tourism in the San Bartolomé de Tirajana government group, by voting favorably for a proposal that is detrimental to tourism in the municipality , explicitly rejected by the social and economic agents, in the case of the majority unions in the sector, Workers' Commissions (CCOO) and the General Union of Workers (UGT), and by business associations such as the FEHT. This behavior of the Councilor for Tourism is particularly incomprehensible and represents a breach in trust and the capacity for dialogue between social agents and public officials, attributable exclusively to the Councilor.
The FEHT will continue to defend all those measures that contribute to the maintenance of economic activity in tourist municipalities, due to its commitment to the collective progress of the Archipelago, with a desire for dialogue, coherence and respect for legality.
