The local Councillor for Tourism for Orihuela, Mariola Rocamora, has been dealing with a considerable backlash as it came to light government funds have been used to pay for taxis for the general public. Opposition party PSOE asked the Councillor to explain why 890e has been spent on ten taxi journeys between the Coast and the city.
It appears that in order to attract tourists and boost numbers for its cultural events the department offered people the opportunity to see a show or experience a tourist route, with a door-to-door taxi service and for free! The offer came to light when opposition councillor Maria Garcia asked for an explanation as to why there were 10 invoices for round-trip taxis between the coast and the city totalling 890e being put through the municipal accounts. Maria Garcia thought the amount was ‘excessive’ and wondered who had been booking the taxis and why.
She challenged the Tourism Councillor over her findings and was told that free travel to events was offered between the city and the outlying areas encouraging resident from the city to experience coastal events, and vise versa. Councillor Rocamora explained that free transport has always been offered to these events for many years. The department looks at the number of transport reservations made for each event and then allocates buses, mini-buses or taxis to meet residents requirements.
Councillor Rocamora said: “This complementary service has been offered for years in the programming of tourist routes and events, they have also been included in the advertising and reported as required.”
More than 900 people have participated in the summer event programme, with 70 percent of the attendees coming from the Vega Baja and Murcia Region and given the pandemic this is a response that the government team sees as a success.
The PSOE Councilor, María García concluded: “It is worrying that we have to pay tourists for a taxi due to the low demand for tourist activities in Orihuela.” García reminded Rocamora that although free transportation from the Coast to Orihuela has been offered for years, “if an average quota was not reached then maybe an alternative should be considered such as cancelling or re-scheduling the event when more attendance could be secured. ‘Otherwise it seems that we have to pay for people to come and do not notice the lack of demand’ she added.