The deputy of the Galician Socialist Party (PSdeG), Lara Méndez, has publicly criticised the management of the Xunta de Galicia regarding tourism, pointing to a lack of strategy and planning, alongside a budget reduction, despite 2027 being a significant xacobeo year.
During a parliamentary session where the director of the Galician Tourism Agency presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Méndez challenged several figures cited by the Galician government, which she accused of being misleading. For instance, she questioned the reported increase in visitor numbers and overnight stays in the province of Ourense, suggesting that comparisons with 2025, a year marked by wildfires, distort the reality.
Méndez noted that the tourism budget for the coming year does not even rise in line with the overall budget increase. Furthermore, when compared to 2025, it remains lower, which she argued is inconsistent for a budget ostensibly designed for the xacobeo celebrations.
She pointed out that the availability of funds from the central government or the European Union often leads to higher budgets, whereas reliance solely on the Xunta results in less financial support.
Addressing the level of expenditure, Méndez questioned the claims of effective planning, stating that the execution of the budget for the first half of 2026 had not even reached a quarter of the allocated amount. She expressed concern that funds might be diverted for non-touristic purposes, being distributed arbitrarily across various neighbourhoods and parishes.
Supporting her claims, she referenced the final accounts for 2025, which showed that out of 146 million euros allocated, only 34 million were awarded in contracts, leaving 112 million unaccounted for, much of which was likely spent on ad hoc agreements and minor contracts for unrelated purposes.
Méndez also highlighted the imbalance in budget allocations between provinces, noting that funds for new infrastructure, hostel furnishings, digitalisation, and sustainability measures were disproportionately directed to one area. Regarding the xacobeo, she recalled complaints from the hospitality sector about the lack of programming or a calendar just two months before the year's commencement. She pointed out that while the regional president, Alfonso Rueda, claimed in January that preparations were underway, by October he was asking for more time, which Méndez deemed unacceptable given the circumstances.
