OPERATORS have been accused by the Balearics tourism
ministry of burying their heads in the sand over the introduction of a tourist
tax.
Director for the Balearics tourism ministry Tiffany
Blackman, who visited the UK to announce a new corporate image for the islands,
said operators did not want to accept the tax. She said the fuss now being
created over the tax – proposed for May 1 – was misleading.
“Tour operators seem to think the tax is more
important than what happened on September 11. A lot of operators are using the
eco tax as an excuse due to the problems surrounding tourism at the moment,”
she said.
But the Federation of Tour Operators – which plans
talks with the Balearics government next week on the tax – strongly denied the
allegations.
Chairman Martin Brackenbury said the tax remained
“hypothetical” because it had yet to be passed by parliament and confusion had
arisen after three different proposed start dates. He said: “We have not got
our heads in the sand. We will tell customers as soon as it becomes official.”
Brackenbury warned of mass
rebellions in resort if the tax is introduced too quickly.