Tourist industry calls on the government for tax cuts

PALMA

REPRESENTATIVES from the various sectors of the tourism industry agreed yesterday that the government needs to offer them greater fiscal incentives to help them improve the industry and become more competitive.

The market situation may well be looking up for this season with bookings well up on the past few years, but the recession has hit the industry as a whole hard and yesterday, captains of the tourist industry unanimously agreed that the government needs to provide more assistance.

The tourist industry is not only the driving force on the Balearics economy, it is one of the pillars upon which the Spanish economy is built and, while the construction bubble has burst, the retail sector is continuing to struggle, the tourist industry is the only sector which has managed to more or less brave the storm and come out fighting.

However, now Spain and the Balearics face rising competition from new and emerging destinations in North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean and, in order to maintain its position as the third most popular holiday destination in the world, yesterday it was pipped by China which moved into second place, the industry wants the government to help it maintain its high level of competitiveness and position as a market leader. And, to begin with, the industry would like to see IVA (VAT) reduced to four percent.