PALMA
THE Spanish government is considering lifting or reducing regional airport taxes in order to help the country's struggling airline and tourism industries.
Balearic tourism chiefs raised the issue with the deputy Prime Minster Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega during a meeting in Palma on Sunday and yesterday, the Balearic government declared it is absolutely vital for airport taxes to be ether reduced or scrapped.
This is not the first time the regional government has called for airport taxes to be revised and a number of airlines have been warning the Spanish government that unless it is prepared to be more flexible during the current recession, routes may be closed down.
Michael O'Leary, the chairman of Ryanair, for example, has said that he will only increase operations at Palma's Son San Joan if airport taxes are reduced and in Minorca, where the market-leading British tourist sector is down by 22 percent, the holiday industry believes that scrapping airport taxes will attract more airlines and tourists.
The problem central government faces is that only a few of the country's airports make any money and reducing or lifting airport taxes will wipe out important revenue.
But, the tourist industry maintains that Madrid has got to consider the global picture and start introducing measures which are going to ease the financial pressure on the airline and tourism industries.
In an attempt to consolidate and protect its growing tourism industry, Greece, for example, has announced that it is going to lift all airport taxes from April to September and here in the Balearics, travel bosses want to see Spain take similar action.
The Balearic Transport Minister, Biel Vicens, yesterday waded into the debate complaining that Spanish airport taxes are some of the highest in Europe and the Balearics, which depends on tourism, is currently paying the price.
Vicens said that airport taxes here in Palma have in fact been increased by nearly six percent.
Not only are we in recession, but last year's surge in fuel prices forced airfares up by 30 percent - people are simply not going to pay these prices, they will look for cheaper alternative destinations, he said.
The Balearic tourist industry was not impressed by their two-hour meeting with Fernandez de la Vega who left merely pledging to see what can be done regarding the industry's plea for urgent help.
The President of the Association of Balearic Hotel Chains, Aurelio Vazquez, said that he and his colleagues had expected the deputy Prime Minister to have come to Palma armed with firm decisions and answers. We (the tourist industry) are going to have to start taking some serious decisions soon but we can't without the support of central government, he said.
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