Legal companies say that illegal excursion outlets are killing their business

Licenced excursion companies in the south of Tenerife say that they have had enough and can't take anymore. Some claim that so far this month, their turnover has fallen by 50% compared to the last period in which the local council did something against their ‘illegal competitors’ that occupy public spaces to carry out the same activity, as reported by Diario De Avisos.

The difference between the two is massive and leads to unfair competition as the legal companies have a huge amount of costs to cover, and there is a risk for the people buying the excursions from these illegal outlets if something goes wrong.

Firstly, the legal companies have premises that they are paying up to 4,000 euros per month for, as they are located in the busiest areas of Arona and Adeje, which cover the main tourist areas in the south of the island.

They then have to register their employees and pay social security and insurance for them, plus comply with the specified working conditions for them by law, and of course, pay taxes for their business.

Since the pandemic restrictions ended they have seen kiosks ‘pop up’ in various locations on public walkways and areas that have direct access to tourists but aren’t designated commercial spaces. They claim that this is happening without permission, without paying rent, and without the tourist intermediation licence granted by the Canary Islands Government.

This situation is what has led to the creation of the ‘Association of Tourist Intermediation Companies of Tenerife’ (ADETURI), which includes 21 legal excursion sales companies with over a hundred legal employees between them, in 42 licenced premises.

They claim that these illegal operators will say that they have permission from bars or restaurants to use their terrace, but that is not from the council or any legislative authority, and that their staff are contracted, but they are usually on small 5 or 10 hours a week contracts when working 30 or 40 hours which is also illegal.

Currently, they have highlighted eight outlets that are operating illegally in crowded areas full of young tourists looking for activities to do during their holiday, five in Arona and three in Adeje. This period, from May to October is very important for the legal companies as it is when the bulk of their annual income is earned, and it is during this time that they feel the most unprotected.

In May of this year, before the elections, the then local government of Arona succeeded in expelling twelve of these companies from the main walkways and promenades of Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos, but since then, they have re-emerged and started trading again.

ADETURI said: “The Local Police will visit or fine us because of a sign or A-board misplaced on a walkway, but they don't say anything to them. The worst thing is that now they argue that they are tourist information points and, if they are fined say 3,000 euros, they don't care, because that's what they invoice in two or three days."

"We are considering denouncing this inaction, both from the Arona City Council and from the Local Police. We are talking about kiosks in the middle of public spaces, open from 9am to 10pm, without paying anything into the system and offering prices that cannot be competed against because of this”.