Popular Spanish holiday spot plot to turn the screw on tourists with new tax rule

Brits could be turning their backs on a that is plotting to change the way a controversial to tackle overtourism is enforced.

This summer have swept with locals recently marching through Palma, the island’s capital, demanding ‘immediate measures’ from the government to address the housing crisis and tourist overcrowding.

And now the Balearic government seemingly wants to go a step further to tackle overtourism. They are calling for tourists to be the only group that coughs up cash for a controversial tax.

At the moment a levy is paid by all who stay in hotels and apartment complexes across the Balearics, however, this could soon change.

When the levy was first introduced it was announced that everyone would have to pay the charge from residents to tourists otherwise it would break law.

Despite the saying at the time that it would be a discriminatory charge if it was only levied on tourists, officials at the Balearic government are now looking at ways to change the ruling to ensure only tourists are hit with the tax.

Although the move would be welcomed locally it could cause an outcry abroad and could lead tourists to abandon the Balearics and instead favour somewhere where they feel more welcome.

Currently residents complain that even though they pay their taxes locally they still have to pay the tourist tax when staying in hotels.

It seems that Brits may already be finding alternative holiday destinations as Magaluf has found itself in a ‘crisis’ as its economy plunges due to

Magaluf’s economy has found itself in a dire spot after the Majorcan hotspot reported having empty tables outside its usually busy nightspots.

A bar owner claimed that the anti-tourist protesters’ “wishes had been granted” following a series of anti-tourism protests this summer.

According to statistics from Exceltur, a staggering 45 percent of the Balearic Islands’ revenue is derived from its vibrant tourism industry.