The Government will devote two out of three euros of the ecotax to environmental plans and the water cycle, as agreed today by the commission of the so-called sustainable tourism tax (ITS), which approved a contribution of 376,988,790 .52 euros to be distributed among 79 projects. Of these, more than €247 million will be invested in sustainability and the management and reuse of water resources; in fact, two out of three euros of ITS will be allocated to environmental projects linked to the water cycle. This was announced by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Jaume Bauza, today, during a press conference, in the company of the Director of Tourism, Pep Aloy.
The councilor framed the decision adopted by the ITS commission to allocate two euros out of three to environmental projects and the water cycle for “commitment acquired by the Government since it comes to allocating resources to environmental projects and, above all, to the water cycle, since it is considered one of the great footprints left by tourism and in which no investment has been carried out over the past eight years.
Mallorca will receive an investment of more than 229 million dollarse euros (63.35% of the total) follows Ibiza with more than 67.5 million investments (18.66%). For his part, Menorca will receive 53.7 million euros (14.85%) and Formentera will develop projects for more than 11.3 million euros (3.14%).
In general, Environmental and water cycle projects are those that stand out the most, followed by those for seasonal adjustment, those intended for historical and cultural heritage, responsible tourism, research and development, and finally training and quality of employment in the tourism sector.
In relation to this meeting, it should be noted that the four members of the Confederation of Business Associations of the Balearic Islands (CAEB) who participate in the Sustainable Tourism Tax Commission (ITS) abstained in the vote held today at the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports to approve the projects to which the 2024 and 2025 annuities will be allocated, considering that Menorca is harmed in the distribution of investments.
Although the chosen projects are generally considered positive, on the part of the Hotel Association of Menorca (ASHOME), integrated into the CAEB, “we do not agree that the percentage of investments attributed to Menorca established in the Tax Regulation is supplemented by the eight million euros that Menorca has at its disposal. were allocated in accordance with the law on biosphere reserves, because they benefit from specific funding.
The projects which will be financed by the collection of ITS come from a specific tax and “it is not justified to include resources such as those allocated to the biosphere reserve to this end.” ASHOME has been working for years with the Balearic Government and the Menorca Island Council to achieve a fair distribution of ITS.
“The Administrations assured us during multiple meetings that ITS revenues would be reinvested in improving the infrastructure of our tourist areas, particularly those which have suffered progressive deterioration due to the lack of public investment.” The current distribution in Menorca “does not reflect this commitment”.
Of the total 24 million euros allocated to Menorca through the ITS, 8 million comes from the law on biosphere reserves. Menorca hotel employers share the importance of environmental conservation, but disagree that funds from this law are counted in the ITS, because the biosphere reserve “has its own law and should be part of another direct allocation.
