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The EU countries subsidising holidays - BBC's Fast Track examines "Social Tourism"
22/11/2011 | 3 comments
At a time when European leaders are facing up to a massive debt crisis, 1.5 million euros of taxpayers' money is being spent on sending EU citizens on free holidays.
Sheer lunacy you might think, but is there method behind what might sound like madness? Fiona Foster reports.
Watch the video on the BBC Fast Track channel:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/fast_track/9644082.stm
Get in touch with Fast Track via Facebook or the above webpage.
3 comment(s) posted
- Posted by Ambrose Ivor on 2011/11/22 - 11:14:46
For the sake of accuracy, it should be pointed out that the statement above: "1.5 million euros of taxpayers' money is being spent on sending EU citizens on free holidays." - is NOT correct.
Seniors from abroad who participate in the Spanish Senior Tourism programme (as shown in the BBC film) pay an amount themselves and the Spanish regional governments subsidise the hotelliers.
No-one gets a "free holiday" at the EU's expense.- Posted by Ambrose Ivor on 2011/11/22 - 15:11:57
BBC Fast Track replied via Facebook:
fast:track wrote: "Thanks for your comments Ivor. The text is being changed to clarify the meaning. You are quite correct when you say the Spanish Senior Tourism programme is heavily subsidised rather then entirely free, though interestingly there IS a free scheme for Andalusians, called 'Know Your Region'. Some other schemes offer subsidies of up to 95 percent. As well as criticism of the principle, we do also explore the potential benefits in the film."
See the comment thread:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?BBCfasttrack%2Fposts%2F188719701212443&mid=5359132G5af31de6fe05G1687c0fG13&bcode=8Qp51Snw&n_m=enat%40accessibletourism.org- Posted by Ambrose Ivor on 2011/11/22 - 16:45:15
The BBC page has been changed and now reads:
"At a time when European leaders are facing up to a massive debt crisis, millions of euros of taxpayers money are being spent every year, sending elderly, poor or disabled EU citizens on holiday."