Andorra Ends Fuel Vouchers After RN-20 Road Reopens Post-Landslide
Tourism Ministry halts €100,000 voucher program for French visitors as Pas de la Casa access returns to normal with enhanced monitoring.
Key Points
- Over 3,500 vouchers worth €100,000 issued from Feb 21, €30 per vehicle for French tourists.
- Road reopens Monday with enhanced monitoring; existing vouchers valid until March end.
- Merchants sought expansion, but visitors often dispersed without local spending.
- Aid for buses, hauliers, and Andorrans traveling abroad also terminated.
Andorra's Tourism Ministry will cease issuing fuel vouchers on Monday, following the reopening of the RN-20 road after its closure due to a landslide.
The programme, which distributed more than 3,500 vouchers—equivalent to over €100,000 in fuel—ran from February 21 until Sunday at the Pas de la Casa tourism office. Officials handed out around 400 vouchers daily to offset extra travel costs for French visitors forced to take longer routes to the area. The vouchers offered €30 per vehicle to encourage continued cross-border tourism.
With the road set to reopen Monday under the same conditions as before the closure, but with enhanced monitoring, the government views the measure as unnecessary. Existing vouchers remain redeemable through the end of March.
Merchants had requested expanding the vouchers' scope, but local business sources noted limited impact beyond fuel stations. They reported that many recipients dispersed across Andorra rather than spending locally, with some attempting to claim multiple vouchers per vehicle despite the programme targeting vehicles as a unit. The initiative succeeded in drawing visitors but failed to boost shops effectively, according to these accounts.
The reopening also ends related aid, including €200 payments for buses and hauliers using detours to reach Pas de la Casa, as well as support for Andorrans traveling abroad for supplies.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: