The Board of Directors of the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism has approved this Tuesday the Forecast of Income and Expenses for the year 2024, which amounts to 36.3 million euros. This document includes an income of 24.5 million euros from tickets, 7.2 million euros from catering services and 4.4 million euros in stores.
Likewise, the Labor Chart and the P.A.A.I.F. (Annual Program of Action, Investment and Financing) for 2024 have been approved.
The counselor, Ángel Vázquez, explained that the Forecast is based on a management model that "aims to recover the essence of the Centers to improve the visitor experience; to enrich the enogastronomic proposal and to promote measures that favor its roots and proximity to the local population".
In this framework, the launch of the Social Work of the Centers for Art, Culture and Tourism stands out, an initiative that, with an initial allocation of 500,000 euros, will allow to activate projects related to sports, health, education, inclusion and accessibility. "It is about giving back to society a part of the economic benefit generated by an effective and efficient management of resources."
The 2024 Income and Expenditure Forecast allocates 4.4 million euros to the execution of "strategic" projects such as the rehabilitation of the Monument to Fertility of the Casa Museo del Campesino, the elimination of the treatment plants of that center and the Cueva de los Verdes, the improvement of the electricity supply and the reduction of polluting particles in Montañas del Fuego, as well as the renovation of the fleet to zero-emission vehicles, among others. It bets, especially, on sustainable projects that help to combat the effects of climate change.
Similarly, according to a statement from the Centers, the item to resize the enogastronomic proposal of the Tourist Centers will be reinforced with the aim of "becoming the flagship of island restoration through the enhancement of local products".
In another line, the Board of Directors of the CACT will allocate 500,000 euros to give visibility to the talent of artistic creators.
Losses during the first semester of 2023
During the Council, an advance of the Entity's accounts was presented comparing the periods January - June of the years 2022 and 2023.
The document reflects an increase of close to four million in income during the present 2023, but also of expenses with respect to the previous year in items such as other services (175%), promotion and advertising in the media (+156%) and contracting through ETT's, in which "the previous management of the Centers spent half a million euros more than the 900,000 euros that it budgeted for the whole year," explained Vázquez.
In this way, the report reflects a difference between the result of 1.6 million euros of profits of the Entity in the period January - June 2022, compared to a negative balance of almost 10,000 euros in the present year 2023.
Debate on the new rates for non-residents
The Board of Directors hosted an intense debate around the adequacy of access fees for non-resident visitors to the island, which was finally left on the table. According to the note issued by the Centers, Ángel Vázquez, despite having an absolute majority in the Council, "made available to the councilors all the documentation and information that support the measure".
However, the counselor of the Socialist Group Benjamin Perdomo pointed out that this proposal has been rejected for "lacking a technical report".
