ASOFUER rejects La Oliva’s tourist levy and warns: ‘A tax does not become a fee just because you change its name’

The Fuerteventura Tourism Business Association (ASOFUER) has expressed its firm opposition to the initial approval by La Oliva Town Council of a fiscal ordinance proposing a so-called tourist fee of €0.56 per person per night of accommodation in the municipality.

ASOFUER president Antonio Hormiga says the association’s position is not new. “We have spoken out publicly and at various institutional meetings and gatherings about the serious doubts over the legality of this type of municipal charge.” He regrets that the initiative is continuing to move forward despite questions over its legal basis and “the existence of a significant judicial precedent in the Canary Islands”, he stresses.

For ASOFUER, the debate is not about whether tourism should contribute financially to the upkeep and improvement of the destination. The association has no doubts on that point. “Tourism should undoubtedly contribute to this,” it says.

The real question, it argues, is how that contribution is structured, what legal safeguards apply, what specific purpose it serves and what tangible returns it brings to the area and its residents.

The Mogán precedent: a judicial warning that should not be ignored

ASOFUER notes that last July the ruling of the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC), dated 28 May 2026, was made public. The court declared the ordinance regulating Mogán’s tourist fee, in Gran Canaria, null and void, upholding the appeal brought by the Las Palmas Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Business Associations (FEHT).

The court found that the ordinance did not specify in sufficient detail the services and activities that justified the charge, questioned whether it complied with the principle of equivalence, and warned that the legal instrument of a fee was being distorted to raise municipal revenue.

Although Mogán Town Council announced that it intended to appeal the ruling, “the judgment constitutes a precedent of undeniable significance”, Hormiga says.

ASOFUER says it is difficult to understand why, in the knowledge of this precedent, La Oliva Town Council is insisting on a similar approach instead of opening a dialogue to explore alternatives on firmer legal ground.

A fee is not a tax, however much it may be called one

This distinction is not a matter of political interpretation or terminology. It is a fundamental legal difference set out in the General Tax Law and the Law Regulating Local Finance.

At various technical seminars and meetings on tourism taxation, attended by university specialists and professors, the difference between the two instruments has been explained.

A tax is levied on an indication of economic capacity without requiring an individual service in return. A municipal fee, by contrast, must fall within the cases established by law, such as the provision of specific public services or activities that particularly benefit or affect those required to pay it. Its amount must also comply with the legal rules on valuation and cost recovery.

The law sets specific limits on municipal fees. For example, Article 21 of the consolidated text of the Law Regulating Local Finance prohibits fees for street cleaning, general public policing and civil protection. ASOFUER therefore considers it essential to rigorously examine the services cited in La Oliva’s ordinance, their specific connection to those required to pay, the financial study underpinning the amount, and the legal basis for the proposed exemptions.

“It is not enough to link tourism in general to municipal spending, or to call a charge for an overnight stay a fee, to change its legal nature,” the head of the Fuerteventura employers’ association insists.

ASOFUER does not question the funding needs of tourist municipalities, which it understands and advocates for. What it opposes is “using those needs to justify any revenue-raising instrument, regardless of legal limits”.

ASOFUER supports tourism contributions, “but with clear objectives and verifiable results”

Instead of a general charge per overnight stay, ASOFUER has long advocated an alternative more consistent with sustainability and the destination’s real needs: where legally appropriate, fees, public charges or other suitable instruments linked to the use of specific facilities and services, as well as organised visits and the management of sites of tourist interest.

It considers it entirely reasonable for certain activities, services or types of visit to contribute financially to their conservation, maintenance, specific monitoring, environmental restoration and infrastructure improvements.

The association also points out that such mechanisms can serve two purposes: generating revenue and managing visitor flows through capacity controls, bookings, visitor numbers monitoring and measures to reduce pressure on the most vulnerable environments.

ASOFUER highlights La Oliva’s exceptional natural, cultural and scenic heritage, as well as its sites and tourist facilities, “whose potential for management and sustainable use deserves to be explored”.

The business association states categorically that it does not support privatising public space or charging indiscriminately for access to natural heritage. “We support the creation of legal management and funding mechanisms that make it possible to preserve and improve it, and to ensure it can be enjoyed in the long term.”

ASOFUER says the neighbouring island of Lanzarote offers an interesting example through its Centres of Art, Culture and Tourism, which combine the management of distinctive sites with tourism services, heritage conservation and revenue generation.

According to the figures for 2025, the centres recorded close to three million visits, generated €52.5 million in turnover and accrued more than €7.5 million in payments to Lanzarote Island Council and the beneficiary town councils. Approximately €5.6 million of that sum went to the municipalities of Haría, Yaiza and Tinajo.

While the model has its own characteristics and scale, it “shows that managing tourist resources can generate significant economic returns for public authorities and contribute to the upkeep, conservation and enhancement of heritage”.

ASOFUER believes this is the approach that should be examined and adapted to Fuerteventura’s potential, and specifically to La Oliva.

The aim is not simply to raise more revenue, but to manage better. “Visitors should know and understand what they are contributing to, the area should receive an identifiable benefit, and residents should see real improvements,” Hormiga stresses.

ASOFUER to consider necessary legal action and reiterates its willingness to engage

As the representative association for Fuerteventura’s tourism businesses, ASOFUER says it will not stand by in the face of measures it considers legally questionable and which directly affect the sector it represents.

It says it will therefore examine the municipal file in detail and exercise its right to submit the relevant objections during the public consultation period.

If the ordinance remains in place in a form the association considers unlawful, it says it will pursue the appropriate administrative and legal action, leaving it to the courts to determine its legality, as happened in the Mogán case.

This position does not mean closing the door to an agreement. Quite the opposite. ASOFUER is once again inviting La Oliva Town Council to establish a forum for dialogue and joint work, involving public authorities, businesses and technical experts, to identify lawful forms of tourism contribution, priority actions, and transparent funding and results-monitoring mechanisms.

Tourism is Fuerteventura’s main economic activity and one of the key drivers of the economy and employment in La Oliva. It is a strategic industry that generates activity across numerous sectors and should be part of the solutions to the area’s present and future challenges.

ASOFUER therefore supports a competitive, sustainable tourism model committed to Fuerteventura’s society, based on institutional cooperation, technical rigour and respect for the law.