Valencian Government insists that region “does not have a problem with tourism-phobia”

Nuria Montes, the Valencian Tourism Minister, has insisted that the Comunidad Valenciana “does not have a problem with tourism-phobia”, during a visit to Benidorm to promote the campaign ‘Yo también soy turista’ – ‘I am also a tourist’ – which aims to raise awareness amongst both tourists and residents of the powerful and positive link between the two sides.

The campaign is being promoted by HOSBEC, the region’s hotel and tourism business association, in collaboration with Turisme Comunitat Valenciana and Patronata de Turismo Costa Blanca in response to the growing anti-tourism sentiment which has spread through several tourist areas of Spain during the summer, with Montes declaring that “all those who want to blame and criminalise tourism for some of the problems we have as a society, only want to find a scapegoat for their own shortcomings”.

She stressed that tourism is “the great social achievement of our generation and it has become something that unites us”, disagreeing with those who try to spread a message of hate to tourists because “we are all tourists and, furthermore, we are very proud to be world leaders in this sector that accounts for 16% [of the region’s] GDP”.

Montes also insisted that tourism must prosper in “an appropriate and sustainable manner to mitigate the possible inconveniences that it may cause,” adding that it is a “productive sector that we cannot do without, just as we cannot do without other sectors”.

At the launch event for the new campaign, the minister highlighted that “the tourism industry in the Comunidad Valenciana has been an example of [good] management for many years, including those very hard years”, adding that the promotion ‘Yo también soy turista’ has been “thought out with the heart in contrast to the hate the others exude”.

“We are going to stop looking for culprits among the tourists who visit us and who this year will contribute more than 4,000 million euros in taxes in the Comunidad Valenciana alone.”

Rejection of the Tourist Tax

In response to statements made by Valencian party Compromís leader Joan Baldoví who demanded the implementation of a tourist tax in the Comunidad Valenciana, the minister confirmed the regional government’s rejection of it, adding that “tourism is not to blame for the lack of doctors, schools, health centres, day centres or teachers” and insisting that “the fault lies in the underfunding of the Comunidad Valenciana” by the Spanish Government.

She berated Compromís for trying to convince that there was a need for a tourist tax by comparing what would have been collected if such a charge had been applied to the entire region. In a statement earlier in the week, Baldoví claimed that around 109 million euros could have been collected through the application of a two euro overnight stay charge in 2024 which would have funded 2,000 extra doctors, provided rental assistance to 5,000 more citizens, or funded 2,500 more teachers in the region’s educational system.