60 proposals for another 60 years of Maspalomas Costa Canaria

 

 

1) The value of Tourism and its management

 

The pandemic has once again relaunched Tourism and placed it where it has always been, as the only economic engine - almost alone - of the Canary Islands, on which more than 90% of jobs depend directly, indirectly and induced. Therefore, it is not about trying to desperately look for avenues for growth in industry and/or agriculture (which barely have them), but rather about continuing to diversify within the sector where we are leaders, Tourism, creating unique combinations of services that do not exist anywhere. place. 

 

Regarding tourism management, it would be important to establish an ethical code for public leaders against demagoguery and populism in their tourism messages, which often generate aversion to tourism or tourists. Likewise, it is vital to agree on a "pact for Tourism", so that on the most basic issues there is a clear line to follow. Tourism issues have nothing to do with political ideologies, so they must be clearly separated. In this sense, it is a priority to define a long-term Strategic Plan and follow it.  

 

 

(2) Population & "carrying capacity" 

 

If the demographic debate is on the table, it is because, at a minimum, the social and/or infrastructural carrying capacity would be reaching its ceiling. We must not confuse the carrying capacity with a static figure bordering on the Apocalypse, but rather identify the relevant variables and work on a "bilateral approach to balance", that is, increase the reception capacity in the areas that allow it (e.g. . infrastructural capacity), while at the same time we activate mechanisms to contain the increase in population, such as, for example, an improvement in the employability of the resident (vocational training, languages, attitude).  

 

 

(3a) Accommodation capacity: hotel development 

 

The need to simplify tourism and urban planning regulations was also mentioned, with very little progress in this regard having been made in the last decade. For example, a municipal General Plan, a vital element for the development of a tourist plot, takes more than 10 years to be approved, while tourism regulations are set out in several laws, decrees and regulations that are added one on top of another. 

 

 

 (3b) Accommodation capacity: regulation of vacation rentals  

The proposals in this regard were presented in five steps, starting from the 2015 decree, the rulings against it and the draft of the 2018 preliminary project: 

 

1) Regional regulation: It is sensible to regulate vacation rentals from the same legislative level that has powers over areas such as training, housing plans, tourist inspection and strategic tourism planning. The scope of regulation is, therefore, the regional one (see more in: "Five keys to vacation rental regulation")

 

2) Vacation rentals in complete buildings: If it is evident that the use of a building is going to be mainly for vacation, it could be understood that the regulations corresponding to collective accommodation must be applied, that is, “apartment” in tourism and “public building” in buildings. . The latter have more restrictive accessibility and firefighting conditions than homes, as they are used by sporadic users, not familiar with the building. Likewise, it is proposed to establish a percentage of vacation activity (e.g. 40%), above which a building can be considered tourist.

 

3) Activity on tourist land: It is the most controversial issue of decree 113/2015 and different scenarios arise here: 

 

a) Vacation rental homes within buildings in tourist operation: In these cases it is advisable to maintain the prohibition of vacation rentals in any case, in order to maintain the unity of operation of the complex or building.

 

b) Vacation rental homes within residential buildings on tourist land: Here, first of all, it will be necessary to define whether the prohibition on tourist land is made more flexible, allowing the activity under certain circumstances, or the prohibition is maintained, as the 2018 draft intended, in which case the argument would have to be well motivated. The judges, in their 2017 and 2018 rulings, did not rule against the prohibition of activity on tourist land itself, but rather did not consider this prohibition to be sufficiently argued, which should be supported by “compelling reasons of general interest” according to art. 5 of Law 20/2013 guaranteeing market unity. That is, either the prohibition is maintained (reasonably argued) or exceptions are made. 

 

If the use for vacation rentals in residential complexes is allowed, what was mentioned in section 2 could be applied: for implementation of less than a certain percentage of a building or complex (e.g. 40%) apply the specific regulations for vacation rentals. (new decree), while for implementations greater than said percentage, consider them a tourist establishment and apply the tourist regulations, forming these a "management unit" with certain services offered together (e.g. reception).

 

4) Minimum quality/equipment standards: In the draft of the 2018 draft, the legislator intended to finish regulating the minimum standards of the activity, which were incomplete in decree 113/2015, such as 24-hour customer service, civil liability insurance, minimum equipment , the delimitation of the residential use of the home by the owner, etc. All of this should be taken up in the next regulation process and also be controllable by Tourism inspectors and/or the Local Police.

 

5) Vacation rental development limits: Although the legislator finally evades the motivation of "compelling reasons of general interest" in the limitation or prohibition of vacation rentals in tourist areas (see section 3b above), in the global island context it will be unavoidable that he will have to face it. The 2018 draft included it in its article 9, where it contemplated the establishment of a "maximum standard of implementation of the complementary use of vacation homes" through  island management instruments. This does not mean anything other than defining the maximum allowed zone by zone. It seems unavoidable that in this process the legislator will have to argue well those reasons of general interest once and for all. 

 

That is, in the case of vacation rentals, the “I have the right to do whatever I want with my property.", since the use of that property also implies the use of tourist infrastructure and public services, so it is obvious that the decision of use cannot be left anarchically in the hands of each person, being subject to maximum implementation.

 

 

(4) Resident's job competitiveness

    

From the considerations on carrying capacity, the need for an urgent improvement in the employability of the resident worker is derived, either to find employment in the Canary Islands (therefore, less foreign labor would be attracted) or to be exportable outside the Canary Islands. In this context, four areas of action have been discussed: 

 

1) Languages: Bilingualism must be encouraged, so that all residents have a good command of English. Furthermore, following the proposal of Lourdes Rodríguez, teacher at an IES in Lanzarote ("Ponte al Día", TVC, 20.10.22), it should be guaranteed that the student who chooses the second language (French or German) as an optional subject, I can continue it in high school. 

 

2) Dual vocational training: The most notable proposals for improving dual vocational training are: increasing the training cycle to 3 years, more duality (increasing internships to more than 50% of the cycle), with remuneration for the apprentice and greater adaptation of the programming to the needs of entrepreneurs (see: "The need for more duality in the Canarian FP") 

 

3) Willingness to serve: In this case it is not about achieving new, but about maintaining it at all costs. The canary has hospitality and kindness in its blood and that is exactly what must be preserved for future generations. It should not be taken for granted that this provision stands alone, especially with so many statements against Tourism, many times by our own rulers. 

 

4) Attitude: Another factor is the attitude towards work, which can be favorably influenced from the cultural context (promoting the transmission of values ​​such as effort, responsibility and commitment) and, in the context of the tourism field, with campaigns to improve the image of tourism professions. In any case, we must decisively move away from the “subsidy culture”, characterized by low levels of performance, commitment and work ambition, always seeking to live off some temporary subsidy. 

 

 

(5a) Rehabilitation of tourist infrastructures    

 

Proposals 40-49 are aimed at the rehabilitation of tourist centers. In this context, I highlight the need to develop new Modernization Plans (PMM) more quickly, which are necessary to provide legal coverage for important renovations, for example those of shopping centers. PMMs are nothing more than shortcuts to accelerate (or enable) processes in the face of insurmountable complexity of regulations and planning. Therefore, it follows that in parallel we must work on the simplification of all these regulations. Another question that should be addressed, in relation to the transfer of Costas' competence, is whether the beach will be given greater use for certain tourist products, such as beach weddings.  

 

 

(5b) The age-friendly destination     

 

The elderly have always been the main winter tourist in the Canary Islands and now, more than ever, they continue to be an interesting macro-segment for the future. Therefore, if we want to make a destination attractive for this macro-segment, we must focus on the adaptation of the destination itself, applying the criteria that are being imposed in the age-friendly-cities, in order to obtain an “age-friendly destination” (see "Silver tourist and age-friendly destinations"). I highlight proposal 58, which deals with the regulation of specific accommodation typologies for seniors such as the "non-hotel vacation cohousing complex", after cohousing in the residential field is having great success with this segment.

 

The cohousing proposal is closely linked to the previous two (56 and 57), on activities and programs to promote health and places for socialization, all of them under the common denominator of avoiding loneliness for the elderly, one of the most accentuated problems of the elderly. Finally, the last proposal recommends using the slogan of the best climate in the world also for the summer season, based on the scientific study by Thomas Whitmore, in which in a comparison between 600 cities Las Palmas de Gran Canaria obtained the best score for all the months of the year (see "The best climate, also in summer") 

 

 

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