Avilés, Spain – The Municipal Group VOX in the City Council of Avilés has brought to light the situation of the Municipal Tourist Office, which is currently without tourist information staff and remains closed on weekends after the previous service contract expired. The new contract has not yet been put out to tender.
“Despite our city receiving more visitors, the City Council of Avilés has not tendered the tourist information contract after the previous one expired, a service it is obliged to provide,” stated VOX Avilés spokesperson, Arancha Martínez Riola.
Martínez Riola warned that those who visit the municipal offices seeking tourist information end up being assisted by employees who are not part of this service. “They help out of goodwill and altruism, providing a map, which clearly exceeds their obligations and competencies. They are covering for what the City Council should be doing as a matter of duty,” she asserted.
Tourist tax controversy
The municipal spokesperson finds it particularly contradictory that the local government intends to implement a tourist tax while, according to VOX, it fails to ensure adequate information services for visitors. “The City Council plans to charge a tourist tax to visitors who will not receive the expected service in one of the municipalities with the most tourists in Asturias, constantly encouraging them to explore the city without being able to provide the minimum expected services,” she argued.
With the service contract expired and the new one yet to be tendered, VOX considers the situation especially serious given the upcoming holiday weekends and Christmas vacation. “This is an inexplicable negligence on the part of a government that claims to promote the city while leaving those who come to visit unattended,” Martínez Riola stated.
As a result, VOX Avilés is demanding that the municipal government urgently tender the tourist information contract, open the Tourist Office on weekends, and provide a service that matches the volume of visitors Avilés receives.
