Jurídicos y Administrativos

🚩 Catiana Tur from ACAVE warns that the doubling of the tourist tax in Barcelona will damage the city's competitiveness, especially as it will become the most expensive in the country. Tur criticizes the allocation of tax revenues to housing policies instead of reinvestment in the tourism sector and beneficial city infrastructure, fearing it could divert tourists to other destinations and discourage off-season travel. The concern extends to impacts on both vacation and MICE tourism.

💸 Óscar Perelli, the Executive Vice President of Exceltur, criticizes the planned increase of the tourist tax in Barcelona, arguing it's not the solution for managing tourism's negative externalities. He suggests improving the management of overcrowded urban areas and combating illegal offerings as more urgent than raising taxes. The measure could harm Barcelona's competitiveness and disproportionately affect less affluent travelers. Perelli also labels the proposal to allocate a quarter of the tax revenue to housing problems as inappropriate, as tourists shouldn't be held responsible for local housing issues.

🏰 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently advocated for a transatlantic free trade agreement with "zero" tariffs between the EU and the USA, echoing statements by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The US needs inhabitants and their data for tech research competition with China, while Europe requires lower taxes, reduced welfare state expenditure, increased labor dynamism, productivity, entrepreneurial spirit, and cheap energy. UK's King Charles III is prepared to offer the US "associate member" status in the Commonwealth during President Trump's upcoming state visit, a proposal Trump enthusiastically greeted on Truth Social.

📍 Estados Unidos y Europa han congelado $280 mil millones de Rusia por la invasión de Ucrania, con activos en situación ambigua. La relación entre Rusia y Estados Unidos, bajo la administración de Donald Trump, ha mejorado. Vladimir Putin ofrece devolver los fondos en forma de aviones Boeing si termina la guerra. Rusia tiene pedidos de 28 Boeing 737 para UTair y seis B777 para Volga-Dnepr Airlines, y propone reanudar vuelos de Aeroflot con Estados Unidos.

🔥 The unions rejected the latest proposal from the tourist and hospitality employers in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Wednesday and are maintaining the strike set for Thursday and Friday during Holy Week. The Canarian government has mandated minimum services for hospitality. The proposal, mediated by Canarian President Fernando Clavijo, was rejected by 57 votes to 51 in an assembly of Sindicalistas de Base delegates. Around 80,000 workers from Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro are called to strike, with about 30,000 in the lodging sector. Employers offered a 6% salary increase, adjustable beds, and a pledge to maintain purchasing power. Hospitality in Tenerife employs 76,821 people: 33,633 in lodging and 43,188 in food and beverage services. Minimum services decreed are between 15% and 25% in various operational areas.

🛈 Over half of the global tourism sector companies are using generative AI to assist customers during the booking process, as per a survey by Amadeus. Despite this, data protection concerns and lack of training are major hurdles, with 35% of sector executives citing these issues. Additional barriers include data quality and inadequate tech infrastructure (33%), ROI concerns (30%), and high recurring costs (29%).

🏨 In the Canary Islands, a government decree mandates minimum services during a strike: 15-25% staffing for cleaning, reception, maintenance, and kitchen services in hotels. Specifics include one cleaning team per establishment per day, 25% staff at reception and maintenance, and a minimum 15% staff for restaurants and kitchens per shift. This action aims to uphold sanitary, safety, and hygiene standards during the Easter week, with hotel occupancies around 95% and the presence of children and disabled persons. Unions like Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) plan to challenge the decree in court, arguing it infringes on the right to strike.

✈ The Guardia Civil's Central Operative Unit (UCO) discovered that Koldo García used the codename "alas" (wings) to discuss the bailout for Air Europa. A week before the official bailout request, on August 3, 2020, Koldo contacted Aldama for a talk on the "alas" issue. Conversations between August and November 2020 suggest Aldama used his connections with Koldo and Ábalos to influence the bailout. Javier Hidalgo, ex-CEO of Globalia, contacted Begoña Gómez, Spain's PM's wife, which contributed to the rescue being authorized on November 3, 2020, amounting to €475 million—the largest granted. José Luis Ábalos allegedly received an economic benefit for his role, involving a payment for a chalet rental worth €9,800. Air Europa denies any involvement in accelerating the bailout or the chalet payment.

🏠 Over the past 8 years, tourist accommodation in the Balearic Islands has grown by 5% (23,000 places), with vacation rentals increasing by 135% (92,000 places). In Mallorca, conventional lodging increased by 6% (19,000 places), while vacation rentals jumped by 172% (66,000 places). The population has risen by nearly 42% in the last 20 years, with residential housing growing by only 21%. Salary negotiations in the Balearic hospitality industry are ongoing, with unions demanding an 8% raise this year, 6% in 2026, and 5% in 2027. Hotel employers consider a 19% increase over three years unsustainable, given that wages have risen by 11% over the past decade. The reduction of the workweek to 37.5 hours is estimated to cost an additional 6.15%. For Semana Santa, hotel openings are at 92%, with occupancy expected to average around 70%, reaching up to 80% in some areas. March employment exceeded 500,000, 10,000 more than in the previous year. The Balearic Islands anticipate around 20 million tourists this year, despite concerns about tourism saturation and infrastructure deficits.

🏠 In Mallorca, private rooms, caravans, and tents are illegally listed on Airbnb for Easter, from April 17-20. A room at Playa de Palma costs €70 per night, totaling €246 with fees, without a tourist rental license. Prices for caravans and vans reach around €100 per night, despite regulations against such tourist rentals. The Consell de Mallorca is working with Airbnb to remove illegal listings, focusing first on clearly non-compliant accommodations like tents and adapted vehicles. They will also target properties under infraction proceedings, with a list being sent to Airbnb shortly.