Hotels in Benidorm have always received free licences , allowing them to have live music on their terraces.
The council has now levied a tax of 180.30 euros for this licence.
The council claims that the tax is to pay for protection against acoustic contamination.
The hotel industry claims that it has been introduced because the council has lost revenue in other areas, such as construction.
They claim that the hotel industry is one of the driving forces behind local commerce .
However residents living near hotels welcome the move in the hope that there might be less noise on summer evenings.
Campaigns are being launched to encourage Spanish nationals to take their holidays on the Costa’s rather than go abroad.
