Business owners complain about street sellers taking trade away from them

Business owners are complaining about unlicensed street sellers in the area of the Maspalomas Lighthouse, in San Bartolomé de Tirajana in Gran Canaria, which has become a ‘hotspot’ for the street sale of all kinds of products, mostly handbags, sunglasses, belts, and caps, saying they are fed up with an activity that, they claim, is illegal, gives the area a bad image, and is taking trade away from them unfairly as their prices are lower than theirs as they don’t pay any rent, staff, or tax.

On Saturday owners counted how many sellers had laid their goods out, saying that there were more than ten. "There are more and more sellers and no one controls it, we have called the Council and haven’t even had a response," complains one of the businesswomen who has a shop close to where they are setting up, and considers herself affected by the illegal sellers, but prefers to remain anonymous to avoid problems as she fears possible reprisals.

“Sometimes the local police pass by and they disappear for a couple of days, but then they come back,” she said, fed up with seeing how they not only take away customers but are, in most cases, selling fake products which is another illegal activity.

“There are shops and stores now that no longer even consider selling glasses or hats, as they are selling them much cheaper. We comply with the regulations and pay taxes, but we do not feel protected”.

In addition, there is another group who walk among the tables of the terraces of the complex's restaurants, while others take advantage of the length of the walk along the promenade, that they claim, act aggressively towards anyone who tries to stop them hassling people.

“A waiter caught one of them a few days ago hassling people on his terrace, and the seller reacted violently hitting him with a belt buckle. The consequence? No one tells them to stop anymore.”

Municipal sources from the City Council, disagree with the business owners and assure that they do act on a daily basis, but immediately afterwards they recognize that it is not easy to remedy it. If there is something that street vendors have, it is mobility, in such a way that when Local Police agents take them out of one place, they go to another.

For now, the municipal regulations themselves are clear. Article 47 of the regulatory ordinance on the promotion of civic behaviour and protection of public spaces, strictly prohibits street vending except for “specific authorizations".