The Local Police of Arrecife inspected this Tuesday the premises that were offered on the Airbnb platform announcing "shared room" and where tourists - after making reservations, and appearing at that establishment in the capital of Lanzarote - found "campaign booths".
The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, after learning - through news spread by various media - of the existence of this type of "tourist activity" in the municipality, requested the Local Police, a body for which he is directly responsible, to verify and inspect that premises, and proceed to initiate the corresponding police report.
The local agents went to the premises - which previously housed the Kitea store, as La Voz has learned - and where those responsible for it allowed free access of the police officers inside the building.
In the proceedings carried out by the Local Police, the existence of multiple campaign booths, bathrooms and shared toilets is recorded, and their probable use as an "accommodation establishment".
The tourism regulations in the Canary Islands determine that any establishment dedicated to tourism activity requires prior authorization, in addition to meeting certain requirements and characteristics. That aforementioned premises did not display or provide, as determined by the Canarian regulations, its corresponding plates and authorization number.
The mayor of the city, Yonathan de León, has detailed that the reports raised by the Local Police "will be sent from the Arrecife City Council to the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, so that through its Department of Tourist Inspection it acts accordingly".
Yonathan de León has reiterated that "Arrecife and Lanzarote are among the preferred destinations for national and foreign tourists, where we have a wide range of regulated and quality accommodation. We do not want or want this type of 'tourist activity' to be in our city. We work for a better type of tourism where when you arrive on the island you really find the accommodation product that you have contracted and planned".