ARCHIVED - EU green travel plan would make it more expensive to go on holiday to Spain
A new ‘ticket tax’ on flights and compulsory green fuels could harm the Spanish economy in the short term, but it also presents a unique opportunity
According to a new report entitled ‘Flying towards a sustainable future’, by the consultancy firm Deloitte, the ‘Fit for 55’ plan by the European Union which aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% before 2030 will mean flying to Spain will become more expensive and fewer tourists will go there on their holidays.
The Deloitte report predicts that the environmental measures included in the Fit for 55 package would mean the loss of 11 million international tourists coming to Spain, not to mention the 12 billion euros they would spend and the 430,000 jobs that rely on them.
The measures being considered include a possible ‘ticket tax’ that would add an extra 7.85 euros onto the cost of plane tickets to Spain, and an obligation to use 5% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is three to six times more expensive than conventional fuel, among other initiatives to cap CO2 emissions.
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While at first glance this seems like bad news for tourists and for the Spanish economy, which relies heavily on the tourist sector, it’s exactly the kind of drastic measure which governments and the EU should be taking to combat the climate crisis, and which is in fact most likely too little, too late.
The fact is that air travel is ridiculously cheap, and even the figurehead of cheap flights – Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary – has admitted as much himself and predicted that the days of cheap air travel are over. It’s no wonder that we’re experiencing such severe and lethal weather events as deadly heatwaves and fatal floods, with such little regard being taken to stop the climate from changing dramatically and the prioritisation of budget holidays over the planet.
Spain is a wonderful country to come to on vacation, and it has been one of the favourite destinations for Brits and many other Europeans for decades, but it is time that sea changes be made to the way international tourism is handled to make it more environmentally friendly.
If anything, the EU’s Fit for 55 plan is an opportunity for Spain and other popular Mediterranean holiday destinations to develop a new kind of ‘green tourism’ that in the long run would place them ahead of other economies and actually leave them well-placed to compete in a future where ecological concerns are the foremost challenge for any modern country.
There’s a lot to be said for train travel through Europe and taking the slow, scenic route, while the rise of virtual tourism, including online guided tours that became popular during lockdown, actually allow many more people to ‘travel’ and have ‘freedom of movement’.
What’s more, the ticket tax and carbon taxes being posited will allow more compulsory investment into technologies that effectively contribute to the reduction of emissions, something that airlines and the rest of the aviation sector has been loathe to do of its own accord until legally forced to do so.
Yes, the introduction of more expensive air travel may mean we take fewer holidays abroad or that expats living in Spain visit their home countries a little less often, but surely this is a small price to pay for the future health of the Earth our children are going to inherit.
Images: Archive
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