Mallorca imposes ‘eco tax’ on tourists

A NEW ‘eco-tax’ is being faced upon arrival by holidaymakers to Mallorca this summer. 

This new tax follows months of discussion by local government and will consist of up to around £2 a night depending on the hotel which has been booked. The tax is to hit the popular destinations in the Balearic such as Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca and Malta and is set to start by July 1. The new rates would mean that a family of four (children over 16 years old), over two weeks could be looking at forking out an additional £70 (€89.77). 

Even people who have already paid for their holidays will be made to pay the extra amount.  

This new tax comes amid a record number of tourists are set to visit the island in the summer, after destinations such as Egypt and Tunisia plummet in popularity after they have seen terror attacks. 

Officials imposing the new taxes have said that they are in order to protect the island’s natural resources and will generate tens of millions of euros in revenue. The number of Brits currently visiting the islands every year equates to around three million. 

Travel operator ABTA commented that it “had concerns” about the tax, saying it could “have the unintended consequence of driving tourists away from the islands.”

“Of course, safeguarding the environment of the islands has to be a high priority but this tax is not the most sensible way to fund these efforts.”

The TUI Group who owns UK tour operators such as Thomson and First Choice have confirmed that so far, summer bookings from Britons are up nine per cent on last year. This is even though there has been a dramatic fall in tourism to Turkey and Egypt.

They also confirmed that there had been huge increases in bookings for holidays to mainland Spain, the Balearic and Canary islands.