Fuerteventura Fact to Ponder

[woe10]

News Paper Tenerife - According to data released on Tuesday by the Canarian Institute of Statistics (ISTAC ). By island;

Almost half of the tourists who visited Fuerteventura were all inclusive (47.4 percent )
Followed by Lanzarote with 31.1 per cent
With Tenerife 27.5 per cent
La Palma closing that ranking with 10.6 per cent .

The Tourist Board needs to get a grip with these Tin-Pot 2 Star Hotels, especially in Caleta, that are trading as All Inclusive, only to offer Rock Bottom Service and Quality.

[bedouin]

Times are changing, and people have less cash to splash, yet still want their sunshine holidays.  That's why all-inclusive offers are increasingly popular.  When my wife & I visit the island, we stay in a decent hotel but only B&B so we can choose where to eat.  But when I pop over on my own for a week or so, I happily choose an AI hotel.  I've tried 3 different ones in the last year, and they were all surprisingly good value. As I head for the beach all day, I only really want a clean bed, decent breakfast, plus dinner and a few drinks in the evening.  I'm visiting again in May, paying about £40 a night for a double room all-inclusive in Costa Calma.  With restaurant and bar prices, it's difficult to justify not going all-inclusive.

[JJB]

When we first visited the island (RIU Olivia Beach), we came as part of a group of 36, so AI was the way to go to keep the crowd together, (we have since visited again, (twice), as a group and chose AI).
After falling in love with the place, our preferred location being Caleta, we decided to "give it a go" and stay self catering. This was done for two reasons, firstly we couldn't afford to visit 5 times a year and stay in hotels, and secondly, it gave us a chance to "mingle" and get a feel for the place.
I can understand both holiday maker and local trader viewpoints, and believe that in many cases AI is a necessity for some, especially with kids.
When we come out now, we don't tend to go out much, so unfortunately the bars and restaurants only get a couple of visits per week, although we do nip in at lunchtime for coffee & a sandwich.

[Ivemovedon]

Have to agree with woe 47% a/i is too much to sustain the local economy if you want to see it grow.Tenerife at just over a quarter seems a pretty good level to me.  And 47% may be only the start for Fuert as they seem to be promoting A/I more and more and making every effort to kill off any competition. If they have their way it will end up an exclusive A/I island.

[peggy]

I always go self catering because we like to eat out at different places and try different food, but, the cost of apartments has gone up and up in the last few years. I can see why families with a couple of kids go AL by the time the accomadation flights etc. is paid for they could end up paying for the holiday for the next 12 months.

[Magoo]

We are strictly SC / Local restaurants 

[SheilaW]

A sizeable percentage of tourists just want to 'do their own thing' - you can see that from the discussions on Trip Advisor and similar forums. A few of them want luxury villas with private pools etc., but most are looking for more ordinary apartments or houses. Nowadays, those are mostly illegal lets (maybe they always were, but nobody seems to have told the lawyers and estate agents before, let alone the owners). So properties are being withdrawn as owners fear huge fines. Meanwhile, the local authorities are handing out subsidies to developers (rarely Fuerteventura-based companies) to improve and expand the hotel sector, including AI.

Sure, maybe AI is some people's choice, and maybe there are circumstances (large groups, families with loads of kids, alcoholics ) when it's the only way a holiday here will work even if it isn't the N°1 choice. Fine, they're being catered for, and so are those that want big self-catering complexes with multiple pools and all the facilities. But why are they trying to force all the tourists, whatever their wishes and needs, into the same type of accommodation? Even several apartment complexes in Corralejo that were clearly built for tourists (e.g. with a tiny bit of corridor set aside for a 'kitchen') are no longer legally allowed to house them.

I do hope they're getting somewhere with sorting out the mess in the non-hotel sector. If the authorities were to impose reasonable standards for legal private lettings, and then demand reasonable taxes from owners, then I'm sure the total number of tourists would rise, the percentage in AI would fall, and then maybe things would improve for local businesses. But maybe the big hotel bosses prefer it the way it is.

[woe10]

If the authorities were to impose reasonable standards for legal private lettings, and then demand reasonable taxes from owners, then I'm sure the total number of tourists would rise,

What do you call "Reasonable Taxes". A business earning money is a business whether it's a bar or renting out your Apartment.

Bars are taxed to the hilt.

€135 / Month Music License just to play CD's. That's for a small bar. Bigger ones pay more. Do Rental properties pay tax on their CD / DVD players ??  NO.

A certain number of fire extinguishers required ( not cheap ), depending on the size of Bar. Does a Rental property have to have them   NO.

I could go on. If the Tax system were fairer to Bars and Restaurants, maybe they could then make some money, and lower there prices to compete with All Inc.

I know for a fact that Barcelo pays at least a third of the price that a Bar pays, for a Barrel of beer 

[appy ammer]

Woe how much is a barrell of beer ?

[glenys]

There is a place for AI in Fuerteventura especially in the more remote ares like Riu hotels Coralejo and down in Costa Calma. Where there is a resort I think it should be carefully monitered and maybe include some restaurants in the AI.

[SheilaW]

If the authorities were to impose reasonable standards for legal private lettings, and then demand reasonable taxes from owners, then I'm sure the total number of tourists would rise,

What do you call "Reasonable Taxes". A business earning money is a business whether it's a bar or renting out your Apartment.

I don't think the authorities necessarily see it that way. When you're renting out a home that is maybe mortgaged and where you stay yourself each year, then it's clear that it isn't really a major income-generating business; you're really just covering your expenses. For a holiday let, IBI, insurance, major repairs, community charges etc, etc. should be offset against the rental, resulting in a very small taxable income. But at the moment, it's illegal, so the government doesn't see a cent. If it were legal, they'd sell licences, enforce standards (hopefully sensible ones), and collect small amounts of taxes from a very large number of homeowners. And there'd be all the income from the tourists staying in them. Of course, there'd have to be an amnesty for past practices that, though illegal, were recommended and even arranged by lawyers.

I don't really understand the comparison with bars. My own business here pays about 20% of its taxable income in tax, which I would say is fair - not welcome, but fair. The music licence is partly to cover performing rights, which is outside of the authority's control; the EU controls safety legislation largely (and when I last let a house in the EU it had to have smoke detectors etc); and the Barcelo is part of an enormous chain that must benefit enormously from bulk buying. Some bars here buy from the local supermarket on an 'as needed' basis - that's got to be vastly more expensive. So I really don't think you're making valid comparisons.

[Ivemovedon]

Small businesses are the life blood of any economy. If Fuerte is anything like the UK it is only their taxes keeping the country afloat as recent events have shown that some of the bigger companys are not paying anywhere near the proportions they should. If at all. As you say running a well regulated private rentals industry would earn them a small fortune but they refuse to do it. You have to ask why?. The only conclusion you can come to is that somewhere down the line it is in someones personal financial interests to keep it the way it is. A shambles.

[bedouin]

As you say running a well regulated private rentals industry would earn them a small fortune but they refuse to do it. You have to ask why?. The only conclusion you can come to is that somewhere down the line it is in someones personal financial interests to keep it the way it is. A shambles.

Just to be clear about this, your suggestion is that Fuerteventura is corrupt?

[Ivemovedon]

Its a policy throughout the Canaries. Fuerteventura is part of that. I have no proof but yes i tend to think it is corrupt.

[woe10]

Woe how much is a barrell of beer ?

Barcelo have Over 142 hotels in 17 countries. 51 are in Spain and the Canaries.

I remember when they made a deal with San Miguel to supply all their Hotels in Spain. That's a lot of beer, you can only imagine the discount they get. I was told once, but I've forgotten.

Tropical charge local Bars around €60 for a small barrel of 30 litres, obviously more for a large barrel of 50 litres, depending on what deal you have with them, be it, pay for 3 get one free etc ..  Still nothing like Barcelo's deal.

There are cheaper brands, but it tastes like Donkey Pee, and smells like sick 

[Magoo]

As you say running a well regulated private rentals industry would earn them a small fortune but they refuse to do it. You have to ask why?. The only conclusion you can come to is that somewhere down the line it is in someones personal financial interests to keep it the way it is. A shambles.

Just to be clear about this, your suggestion is that Fuerteventura is corrupt?

The presence of a huge hotel complex slap bang in the middle of a national park would raise the odd eyebrow in Nigeria. However, I am sure it was all above board

[Ivemovedon]

Origo Mare

[bedouin]

The presence of a huge hotel complex slap bang in the middle of a national park would raise the odd eyebrow in Nigeria. However, I am sure it was all above board

In my experience of a number of islands, the designation of a "national park" is a concept intended to make use of land which otherwise isn't usable.