Unveiling Mallorca’s Tourist Tax

At the time I have to be honest and say I had my doubts, not in the principle of it but exactly where and how the money was going to be spent. The first year, the hoteliers absorbed the costs themselves, thinking it would be so unpopular that the Government would remove it. Whilst it was unpopular, the Government refused to withdraw it, and it kept going.

Now, you need a degree to understand how the tourist tax works here in Mallorca. As I’m not that academically blessed, I will do my best. People staying at luxury hotels will be charged €4, those at a mid-range hotels/accommodation €3, all cruise passengers and people staying in cheaper hotels, apartments and rented villas will be charged a minimum of €2 and guests of modest hostels will pay €1.

During the low season (between 1st November and 30th April of the following year) the tax will be discounted by 75%. In addition, after nine days of any stay, the rate will also be cut by 50%. Children under the age of 16 are exempt from paying the tax.

I would scrap all of the above. Firstly, surely everyone should pay the same regardless of their accommodation? Why should the time of the year be discounted? I would keep the same level all year round. Should the amount of time you spend here be discounted? I would get rid of the 50% discount after nine days. And surely children are part of the sustainability problem as much as the adults? I would charge all children under 16.

Now, let’s remember that we are not the only destination that has a tourist tax. According to Condé Nast Traveller the countries that currently have a charge are, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Caribbean Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Spain and the USA.
In 2024, the UK is imposing a new system called an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), whereby visitors from the US, Europe, Australia and Canada will be required to apply for permission and pay to enter the country.

Next year, the EU will begin implementing a new tourist visa (ETIAS), whereby non-EU citizens travelling from outside the Schengen zone will need to fill out a €7 application to enter the country. That includes the UK, of course!

Once this has all been paid, most people are asking, where is the money being spent and is it being spent on the tourism sustainability it is meant to support? Last month, Balearic tourism minister Jaume Bauzá announced that 31 projects will be funded with revenue raised from the tourist tax in 2023.

The Sustainable Tourism Tax Commission, he explained, had approved 31 projects from 102 that had been submitted and which totalled 279 million euros in value. The 31 have a value of 94.5 million.
Do any of you know what those 31 projects are? In fact, can you recall any of the projects that have been paid for since the tax started? To be honest, me neither. And for me as someone who works in tourism and the media, that’s a bit worrying, isn’t it?

I wrote this in 2018, “Just a thought, why isn’t the Government promoting what they are spending the Tourist Tax money on? A video on that massive screen as you come through arrivals at the airport or pictures on the walls saying “last year we raised....and this is what we have spent the money on. Keeping Mallorca the way we all love it for now and for future generations.” Get Rafa Nadal to narrate the video, as he’s a Worldwide name that everybody knows and loves.”

I think the Government should be more open on where and what the money is being spent, and don’t be afraid to shout it from the rooftops. At the airport seems like a perfect place, and I would extend that to billboard’s around the island. If it is Rafa narrating a video then he speaks Spanish, Catalan, English, French and Italian. Or let him speak in Spanish with subtitles in as many languages as you need. Let’s face it nobody like taxes but if you can see the money is being spent on the island’s sustainability then it makes it a little more palatable.