On Fort in the Grave, with KEITH FORT
ANYONE heading off to the Balearic Islands for their summer holidays will already have had the shock news. Here's another governing body that's hit upon another great revenue-raising idea. Let's soak the tourists.
They want to come here -- why not make them pay? Some more. It used to be good enough that we flocked to the islands of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza in large numbers and poured our pesetas into the pockets of the islanders, and the administration, so vastly increasing the wealth and prosperity of these islands beyond measure.
Now that most of Europe has moved into the euro-zone, the Balearic Islands government has decided to impose a new tax on all visitors -- to be paid in euros. It started on May 1 (I go on May 12!) and applies whether you're stating in an hotel, apartment, villa or small pension and can vary from 0.50 euro (about 30p) to two euros (about £1.20) per person, per day.
Even the Spanish government thinks this is extortionate and is challenging its implementation in the Spanish Constitutional Court. Let's hope they win. But, of course, we can always choose to go somewhere else.
This idea of soaking the tourist has been gathering force for some time. One of the first was Turkey about 10 years ago when, on the pretext of some reprisal or other, they suddenly demanded £10 in sterling at the arrival point from each British visitor before allowing them into the country. It's still in force, now too valuable a government income to relax. They weren't so stupid in asking for sterling. When it was introduced £1 was worth about 2,800 Turkish lira. Today that pound is worth 1,764,780 lira. If you have 60p you are a Turkish millionaire!
If we're so attractive to foreign visitors to this country, perhaps Gordon Brown could have used such an entry tax to fund the NHS, instead of penalising National Insurance payers.
Then there are the numerous port, airport, arrival and departure taxes that are being introduced throughout the world that are adding slowly but steadily to the cost of touring. Even we jumped on that bandwagon in this country with the £10 airport tax.
I suppose the most swingeing additional costs we face are those for entry visas. Particularly those for Russia, India and Nepal. They can cost as much as a whole holiday used to do in the old days. And, of course, now we want to help preserve their tigers, not shoot 'em.
No, soak the tourist is an unwelcome theme at a time when holiday costs are rising, particularly for young families who need them more.
Take the cost of holiday insurance, a mandatory supplement on the holiday I regard it. If you don't believe that, why was one holiday outfit recently heavily criticised for making it a condition of selling you a holiday that you took out their holiday insurance?
Probably like a lot of people I have fared very badly with holiday insurance. It's a bit like car insurance -- unless you pay much more for it, there are so many excesses it's hardly worthwhile making a modest claim. And both are mandatory.
Can you imagine taking out home insurance which stipulates: "If you are burgled you have to pay the first £200." They're doing it more and more with cars. But with holiday insurance you didn't used to find out at all unless you read the fine print.
The first time I had a brand new case wrecked by a shipping line and put in a claim for the £39 cost, guess what the reply was: "As the excess on your policy was £39 your claim has failed."
Talk about twice bitten. It happened again in Singapore. I got a statement of proof from the shipping line.
This didn't satisfy the insurance company who demanded so many conditions and further proof that it was, as intended one suspects, not worth my while. Fortunately, the shipping line proved more honourable and settled the bill themselves.
The only time I fell ill on holiday and required a doctor, the fees were £25. Again the insurance company's response was to pay out only in excess of £30 for medical needs. Bah!
We've all learned what the score is where holidays are concerned. The costs are going up and, if we want to go, we'll just have to dig deeper.
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