The Bureau of Tourism has approved the establishment of the Working Committee on the possibility of creating a tourist tax, according to the website Euskadi.eus. The meetings will be regular and divided into three large blocks. It will enable the institutions and associations to express their views.

The Commission’s objective is to turn meetings into “serious forums”. Also, Councilor for Tourism, Trade and Consumption, Javier Hurtado, clarifies that all variables will be taken into account: “The Labor Commission sets out and proposes what kind of professionals we should call in the next legislature to lay the solid foundations for dealing with such a project. It is about dealing with data, clarifying concepts and establishing the legal framework.”

Representatives appointed by the Tourism Bureau shall meet at the meetings: Department of Tourism and Department of Economy and Finance of the Basque Government, Deputies, Municipalities of the three capitals, EUDEL and Associations representing the sector: Hostelería de Bizkaia, Hostelería de Gipuzkoa, SEA Entrepreneurs Alaveses, ADEGI, Destination Bilbao, Euskadiko Kanpin Elkartea, Nekatur and Aparture.

Meetings in three blocks

In the first block will be represented the autonomous communities and municipalities with experience in the taxation of tourism (Catalonia, Balearic Islands) and which have worked in its development (Valencian Community).

In Barcelona, for example, the tourist rate during the first seven days of stay is five euros per person per day. The Spanish who are on holiday pay the tax as foreign tourists and the money raised is intended to improve the tourist spaces of the city.

Representatives of associations, accommodation establishments and Basque hospitality industry will meet in the second. In the third, representatives of the institutions, municipalities of the three capitals, EUDAL and Tourism and Finance of the three Members will meet.

Closure of the third block with the interventions of the Department of Tourism and the Department of Economy and Finance of the Basque Government. The Commission notes that its objective is “to establish a working framework”: “After discussing and analyzing different casuistic, implications and problems, the objective is to have a serious and profound debate”. It also clarifies that the intention of the meetings is not to draw a model or proposal: “If I had it, it would be in the next legislature.”