With European cities grappling with overtourism, some have implemented various tourist taxes while others debate introducing a levy.
A community in the Canary Islands, a group of Spanish islands off the coast of Africa, is seeking to implement a tax that would fund infrastructure projects to handle the numerous tourists.
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The Mogán City Council proposed a 16-cent per person, per day, tax for travelers staying in hotels or other tourist accommodation.
Onalia Bueno, the mayor of Mogán, said “the tourists who stay in the municipality contribute to paying what proportionally corresponds to them for the services and activities they enjoy during their stay,” the Irish Independent reported.
“Mogán does not turn its back on tourism but quite the opposite. We embrace it and expect it with quality services,” Bueno added.
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The tax was struck down in court one day after it was introduced, according to the British television and radio outlet GB News.
Judge Francisco José Gómez de Lorenzo-Cáceres said the tax created “an inappropriate and disproportionate burden” and should have been regulated by a formal law, the Canarian Weekly reported.
A spokesperson for Mogán City Council confirmed that the group will appeal the decision, the Independent reported.
Last year, 9.9 million tourists visited the Canary Islands between January and September, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute.
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Thousands of people protested at holiday resorts against overtourism in October, arguing that travelers price locals out of the housing market, Reuters reported at the time.
Some locals protested on the beach, chanting “this beach is ours” as tourists were sunbathing.
Fox News Digital reached out to the judge’s office for comment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
