Honorable Mr. President of the Island Council of Lanzarote;
In light of the news of new license applications for the construction of more hotel infrastructures on the island, as a citizen, I want to express my concern that these licenses will be approved.
The irrationality of continuing to grow in the number of tourist beds leads to a general impoverishment, as the island's territory deteriorates with so much human pressure and, as a consequence, the deterioration of the quality of life of the resident population. More pressure leads to the loss of attractiveness and a weakening of the long-term competitiveness of the island's main economic sector.
As the highest representative of the island government, you must ensure the common good and not just that of a few who, in their eagerness for profit, contribute to the increased pressure on the territory, the collapse of mobility, healthcare, etc. According to the report "Evaluation of public savings produced by containing the growth of the tourist offer in Lanzarote" published by the Island Council, it is known that each new tourist bed entails 2.06 more inhabitants (direct, indirect employment, and family). The prompt entry into the market of the new beds that are currently under construction and those pending authorization would mean a significant increase in population on an island that is already clearly saturated.
In recent years, the development of new technologies and, in particular, the emergence of digital platforms, has meant substantial changes in the way of accessing the tourist accommodation offer and has facilitated the expansion of the offer of tourist use homes. This has meant a true revolution in the market and structure of tourist accommodation; the vacation beds offered on the platforms specialized in this activity on the internet, added to the current tourist beds, exceed the ceilings established and set in the PIOT.
It is regrettable that the culture of tourist development based on the increase in the number of tourists and the increase in the capacity of the accommodation plant, as well as the tourism-construction binomial as an erroneous concept of progress, has not yet been abandoned.
Without further ado, and appealing to the responsibility involved in facing the climate emergency that puts the future of this society and future generations at stake, making wrong decisions means that future generations will have to emigrate because life as we have known it in this remote corner of the Atlantic is unsustainable.
