The progress of the revision of the Island Plan of Lanzarote (PIOL) opens the possibility of opening small hotels in urban areas of rural areas, such as Haría, part of Teguise or Tinajo. The planning has been presented this Wednesday by the president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, as well as by the drafting team to the media.
The head of the drafting team, José María Ezquiaga, explained that this offer would be "additional" to that of the tourist areas. The proposal would be to build or rehabilitate farms and turn them into small "city hotels", but in rural centers. "Imagine a house in Haría, which has a small farm of 200 square meters. It can be transformed into a small hotel", Ezquiaga pointed out.
These would be "very small" hotels, with capacities that could range from 20 places to a maximum of 50. "They are very well-kept hotels, of four or five stars", explained another of the heads of the drafting team, Gemma Peribáñez. In this sense, she has stated that these small tourist infrastructures would be located in "land classified as urban" and, therefore, "would not violate the regulations of the Government of the Canary Islands".
"Landscape, gastronomy, interior and history tourism is growing and we cannot give it up, especially when the economy of the island's interior municipalities can be reactivated", Ezquiaga defended for his part, during the presentation of the PIOL, as well as the Special Territorial Plan for Tourism Planning of Lanzarote. In this way, these nuclei could "participate in the tourist benefits". Although the drafting team is aware that this type of tourism "is not massive", it does consider that it is "relevant". "We cannot lose it. Furthermore, we are no longer in an era of big hits".
These infrastructures must comply with the planning of the different municipalities where they are installed. "If the idea is to build a new hotel in Tinajo, it will have to have the conditions of the Tinajo plan, the same floors as the common elements, etc.", said José María Ezquiaga.
Ceilings for this tourism
Ezquiaga explained that the drafting team intends to introduce a "ceiling", in case this idea is "a success". "This will not happen in a short time, but we will introduce an alert to stop the influx of these hotels", he indicated. However, Ezquiaga has stated that for him it would not be "a risk" that "5 small hotels were created in Haría", but that it would be "a blessing".
In addition, he has acknowledged that "if there are no entrepreneurs who make these investments", the actions of the planning would remain "on paper". "But it is also true that if the planning does not open this possibility, the entrepreneurs will be left wanting. These small hotels must be promoted by small business owners. An investment like the one in Princesa Yaiza is not necessary", Ezquiaga gave as an example, while pointing out that this can be "a remedy against the crisis".
The president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, has also valued this "novel" idea and has pointed out that for him "it has been a surprise", since the proposal has been "induced exclusively" by the drafting team.