PSOE Accuses Island President of Data Manipulation
The Socialist Party (PSOE) has accused the president of Tenerife’s Island Council (Cabildo), Rosa Dávila, of “manipulating and falsifying” the balance sheet data for the new ecotax. They claim this is to hide “the chaos in the management of Teide” and to “justify charging for access to certain trails.” The socialist spokesman, Aarón Afonso, stated that the figures offered last Wednesday for the measure’s first month “do not hold up” and are “directly impossible.”
Questioning the Visitor Numbers
Afonso argues that the real reason for the drop in visitors is the snow, the closure of the cable car, and “the lack of real access control measures” to the summit. He recalled that the president claimed over 38,000 people had used those trails in one month, a figure which “cannot correspond to individuals with prior authorisation” in a period when charging was not yet in effect. “That data is impossible,” stated Afonso.
Revealing the Access Cap
The Telesforo Bravo (No. 10) and Montaña Blanca (No. 7) trails “have had an access control system for years that limits entry to a maximum of 300 people per day each.” This means that “in one month, only 9,000 people per trail can be authorised, 18,000 maximum between the two,” although, the socialist councillor points out, “that figure is always somewhat lower because a percentage of users have authorisation to do both trails on the same day.” Therefore, talking about 38,000 visitors on those trails is a figure that “does not hold up,” unless the president “is telling us that the access control system meant to preserve the stratovolcano is being flagrantly violated.”
Flawed Comparison of Time Periods
Furthermore, according to the PSOE, the president is comparing periods when the charge for accessing those trails was not yet being applied. The Cabildo announced the measure would take effect from 19 January, and “Dávila explained that payment would only apply to reservations made from that moment onward” and that “it would not affect [people] until well into February.” That would mean, Aarón Afonso emphasises, that people who accessed those trails in January and early February “still did not have to pay.” Consequently, he argues, “comparing those periods to attribute a reduction in visitors to the charge simply makes no sense.”
The Real Reasons for the Visitor Drop
Afonso also notes that the decline in visitors to the national park during that period “has an obvious explanation that the Cabildo omits from its account.” He points out that since mid-December, several park trails remained closed to the public due to snow and ice, which reduced visitor access. To this is added the fact that the Teide cable car, the main route to the final stretch of the peak, was closed for 30 of the 60 days analysed. “The drop in visitors has a very clear explanation: snow, closed trails, and the cable car shut down for weeks. It has nothing to do with charging for access,” he concludes.
Concerns Over Resident Exclusion
The PSOE is not against establishing regulation mechanisms, or even payment, but warns that reducing pressure on the park is only possible with “real” carrying capacity and access control measures. The socialists describe it as “worrying” that barely 4% of Tenerife residents access trails 7 and 10 on Teide, because “provided the data are true,” this system “excludes island residents from being able to enjoy their crown jewel.”
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