Holidaymakers are being issued with a major tourism warning as a popular Spanish resort loved by Brits is set to introduce a controversial new levy.
Mogán, a key town in Gran Canaria, has announced it will introduce a tourism tax for visitors staying in the area from this year, in a fresh blow for Brits.
The profits will be reinvested into the local tourism industry and infrastructure.
This means that anyone staying in accommodation within Mogán, including hotels, apartments, and holiday rental properties will have to pay the new tourist tax.
Residents of the Canary Islands using such establishments will also be subject to the tax.
The fee will be set at €0.15 per person per day for those staying at a tourist establishment. It is estimated the council will make €8.9 million per annum from the new levy.
The council says a family of four staying for a week will pay a total of €4.20, equivalent to €1.05 per person.
However, this fee is not set in stone as the daily rate of the tax may vary each year, depending on the investments planned by the local council to enhance the visitor experience.
This tax will be exclusively used to fund activities, services, or infrastructure in its tourist areas and to promote the key holiday destination, which is just 57 miles outside the capital, Las Palmas.
According to Spain’s National Statistics Institute, Mogán registered 4.55 million hotel overnight stays in 2023, with foreign tourists making up 4.19 million.
An estimated 44% of Mogan’s population are tourists who flock to the area for its beaches, culture and climate.
More than 16 million tourists visited the Canaries in 2023, a number that is expected to be surpassed this year.
Tourism is a major contributor to the local economy, with visitors spending as much as €20 billion (£16.6 billion) last year. Overall, tourism accounts for 35% of the Canary Islands’ GDP and 40% of jobs.