Accommodation accounted for nearly half the bill
The Cabildo, Lanzarote's island government, paid the full cost of the visit, according to the report released in response to the Socialist Group's request for information. Hotel expenses for the three travelers totaled 12,335.97 euros, nearly half the overall bill.
Monzón's share of the spending was 9,265.14 euros. His accommodation cost 4,111.99 euros, while tickets and transportation accounted for 2,462.41 euros. The report also recorded 1,750 euros for subsistence and an islander allowance, 400 euros for a rental car and 540.74 euros in other authorized expenses requiring justification.
The delegation's other members were the department's head of events and area coordinator. Their expenses totaled 8,152.03 euros and 8,142.02 euros, respectively.
PSOE seeks invoices and an explanation
Socialist councilor Benjamín Perdomo called the spending "disproportionate" and urged Cabildo President Oswaldo Betancort to explain why his government paid for three people to make the ten-day trip. He argued that Lanzarote's public money needed greater care.
Pointing to the Cabildo's own figures for Monzón's accommodation and allowances, Perdomo said: "We want to see the invoices and know the criteria by which this expense was authorized."
The report cites meetings with Ironman officials, study of the championship's organization and preparations for the 2027 Lanzarote event as reasons for the visit. The PSOE says those explanations do not establish why three travelers needed ten days or identify specific commitments sufficient to justify spending more than 25,500 euros.
Another opposition party had already questioned the costs. On October 20, 2026, Unidos por Lanzarote spokesperson Laureano Álvarez said flights and hotels alone cost 20,123.20 euros and estimated that total spending would exceed 30,000 euros, according to Biosfera Digital. UPL also said Monzón would receive 2,700 euros in per diems, about 300 euros a day, in addition to his salary. Those were UPL's figures, separate from the amounts subsequently detailed by the PSOE.
Monzón cites negotiations over the event's future
Monzón defended the visit in an October 20 interview with Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, according to La Voz de Lanzarote's English edition. He said he had traveled at the invitation of Ironman's CEO and that the main purpose was to negotiate with the company's owners to secure the event's continuity and improvement after Club La Santa stepped down as organizer. He also said he did not know the trip's cost.
He said the negotiations produced an agreement for the 35th-anniversary Ironman Lanzarote in 2027 to join the Ironman Pro Series, which he described as a top-tier circuit offering qualification for the world championship.
Rejecting criticism that the visit was a vacation, Monzón said flights took roughly two days in each direction. That left the delegation in Hawaii for "practically five days," which he said were devoted to the event's organization.
The Spanish Triathlon Federation, FETRI, says the 35th edition is scheduled for May 2027. It will be the first Ironman Lanzarote organized directly by The IRONMAN Group, following Club La Santa's long tenure as organizer.
