Salou. Costa Dorada. Salou City Council will lead to approval at the next plenary meeting a motion on the financing of the tourist towns which aims to join forces to take into account the unique characteristics of such places. The details of the motion were presented by Mayor Salou, Pere Granados, in Fitur, the International Tourism Fair 2010 that is between 20 and 24 January in Madrid. The motion, once approved by the City of Salou, will be moved to other municipalities Catalan and Spanish in order to form an association of tourist towns to defend the uniqueness of these populations so that the specific model of financing of the tourist towns take into account the seasonal tourist population as the number of accommodation places of tourist establishments and places of second homes. One of the key issues that emphasizes the motion is the fact that tourist towns such as Salou multiplied up to nine times the number of residents during the tourist season, a fact that forces increase the services offered (security, cleaning, maintenance beaches, circulation, etc..) with the increased expenditure that entails, as a result of increased population. The inadequacy of the current model of local financing, along with the fall in revenue due to the stagnation of real estate sector negatively pressured tourist towns, they have to provide more services because of the rise of so-called floating population. 'Our visitor services require four-star accommodation, the mayor said Pere Granados, and our duty is that public services that we offer Mantega, at least this threshold four-star quality'. Moreover, the increase in value added tax (VAT) from the second half of 2010 will be another negative element in the municipal coffers since VAT paid by municipalities is not recoverable, a fact that will translate In the case of Salou in additional expenditure under this heading of around 400,000 euros, according to estimates made by the City of Salou, which recently passed a motion requesting the suspension of the tax hike. Salou currently has a registered population of 27,500 inhabitants, but in peak summer months reaching 200,000 residents. Tourism is its most important activity accounting for 70% of the activity of the municipality. Salou is mostly a destination for sun and beach, family-type are also important tourism-related segments l arthrit senior tourism. During 2009, 1,800,000 visitors recorded Salou generated 7 million overnight stays.  

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