For expats, the impact could be immediate. Credit: ReneS / Creative Commons
Alicante Provincial Council has withdrawn its funding for the Bono Consumo, a voucher scheme that previously allowed residents to benefit from discounted purchases in local shops during key periods such as Christmas.
The decision removes nearly €3 million in support across the Costa Blanca, a blow that many small and family-run businesses say they will feel acutely during the most important commercial season of the year.
For expats, the impact could be immediate
Many foreign residents rely on local shops, value personal service in family-run stores, and welcomed the relief the vouchers offered during the costly festive season. Without the scheme, shops may see fewer customers at a time when they usually depend on increased spending. Some traders warn this could affect prices, stock levels and, in the longer term, the survival of smaller businesses popular with international communities.
Responses vary across the province. Denia has chosen to use municipal funds to partially maintain the programme, while other towns, including Javea, have cancelled it outright. Beyond the economic effect, the move also reflects shifting political priorities — something expats engaged in local life may wish to follow closely.
Even the €13,000 that the Provincial Council previously allocated to the two least populated municipalities, Vall d’Alcalà and Vall d’Ebo, was considered essential. For communities already facing acute social and economic challenges linked to depopulation, that small sum made a significant difference.
‘According to Mazón, it was the best project in history’
The regional coalition Compromís has highlighted what it calls a striking political paradox. The Bono Consumo was once one of the flagship initiatives of former Provincial President Carlos Mazón, who led four campaigns in 2022 and 2023 worth almost €60 million across the province.
Mazón described the scheme as “the greatest support for shops and families in the history of the Valencian Community”, particularly during the 2023 election period.
Yet the story has now taken a sharp turn. Compromís points out that “the same party that defended the initiative as a historic measure has now eliminated it entirely, leaving the programme with a budget of zero euros”. The current PP-led provincial government argues the scheme “does not work and must be reviewed because it does not generate the expected benefits”.
Even the Provincial Council’s second vice-president, Maria del Mar Sáez, has said that some mayors viewed the scheme as a problem — a claim presented in a recent audiovisual statement.
However, enthusiasm for the programme was evident in past years, when numerous town halls promoted the vouchers with great energy. Javea’s councillor for Commerce, Juanlu Cardona — also from the PP — recently described it as “a shame” that the Provincial Council chose not to support the scheme this year. His comment suggests not everyone in the party agrees with the current stance.
In this context, Compromís MP Ximo Perles has criticised the Provincial Council’s decision and underlined what he calls a contradiction within the Popular Party:
“During the last legislature and the electoral period, the PP insisted that the Bono Consumo was essential. They even increased funding each year and presented it as a major lifeline for local commerce. But now that there are no elections on the horizon, they have stopped investing and abandoned the very programme they once praised.”
‘A tool to capture votes’
Perles added that this shift demonstrates the electoral use that the PP made of the vouchers:
“It was used by the PP and by many town halls in our region as a tool to capture votes. Now, outside an electoral period, they reject it and justify its elimination with alleged technical issues.”
He has called on the Provincial Council to restore support for local commerce in the Marina Alta, reminding officials that small businesses and local shops need “real, brave and long-term policies — not one-off measures designed purely for election campaigns”.