After the fuss and fury, calm seems to be returning. After the resounding anger expressed last Friday by representatives of the hotel employers association of Ibiza for not having been informed of the Govern’s decision to include the blocking of the number of hotel beds in the Tourism Law, this Tuesday the Minister of Tourism and Labor, Iago Negueruela, met with the Hotel Federation of Ibiza and Formentera (Fehif) to resume dialogue.
The meeting lasted an hour and three quarters, almost twice the planned duration. At the end of the meeting, the president of the Fehib, Ana Gordillo, declared that it had gone “very well” and thanked the councilor for visiting, with whom she had not had contact since last Friday: “It was a pleasant conversation and we have tried to iron out the issues“.
Gordillo assured that it will not be the last meeting on the subject: “Each party defends its interests and the important thing is good understanding”.
Anger from the hotel employers’ association
The spokeswoman of the hotel employers’ association admitted her “anger” after learning by surprise that the Tourism Law was approved by decree law and that it included the suspension of new tourist accommodation: “We had held meetings for three weeks and we were annoyed not to have had the text before”.
Negueruela and Gordillo enter the meeting. | JUAN A. RIERA
On whether Fehif is in favor or against the measure, Gordillo pointed out that it is still premature: “We have not been able to meet with the members and it is too early to make an assessment”.
The spokeswoman for the hoteliers insisted on her concern for the only youth hostel that exists on the island, an issue that she said worries “those of us who are from Sant Antoni. We have been told that they will not expressly prohibit them, but they are going to regulate so that there can be no more,” she said.
“Everyone is taken into account”
For his part, the Minister of Tourism and Labor insisted again on his will of “consensus” and assured that three of the four pillars of the Tourism Law were agreed on with the employers and the unions, and that they are created with a very broad base of agreement: “The social pillar, that of circularity and that of hotel classification have taken into account and incorporated many of the contributions that were made to us,” explained Iago Negueruela, who admitted that the only aspect that was not negotiated and was only reported at the last minute was that of the blocking of tourist accommodation.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.