The bombshell of the approval by decree law of the new Balearic Islands‘ tourism regulation, that was expected to take at least a couple of months to see light, brings with it a public investment of 102 million euros for the sector. Hoteliers were more than satisfied yesterday with this budgetary injection to continue transforming the main industry of the islands. In addition, it paves the way to undertake reforms in 40% of the hotel facilities awaiting modernization.
The Hotel Business Federation of Mallorca (FEHM) is generally satisfied with an “ambitious” decree law that has been reached after “intense negotiations” with the Ministry of Tourism, said its president, María Frontera, in the courtyard of the Consolat de Mar after the presentation ceremony made by the Govern.
“We consider it very necessary” to allocate the total amount of 102 million to the sector, says the employers’ association in its press release. Of the total, 60 million -increased by 5 million with respect to the preliminary announcement- will be used to adapt to the new regulations: 15 million to implement elevating beds in hotels and another 45 million for energy efficiency and circularity measures. In addition, 22 million will be used to create four training centers for the sector on the islands and another 20 million will go to digitalization.
Habtur Balears accuses the Govern of having “deceived” the tourist rental sector
In the “expanded” Social Dialogue Table – the Govern highlighted in its press release yesterday – in addition to the usual members, the unions and the employers’ associations Caeb and Pimem, the Hotel Federation and the Group of Chains, businesspeople of the sector, representatives of the UIB, mayors, ecologists and the island presidents Catalina Cladera and Susana Mora were invited. And, of course, the kellys, the flag-bearers of the Consolat with the new Law for Circularity and Sustainability in Tourism.
The big absentees were the ones who got the short end of the stick. They were neither invited nor did they have any idea of what was coming their way. “We feel totally deceived and bullied,” declared the manager of Habtur Balears, Maria Gibert, after learning that the reform of the law blocks the tourist vacancy exchange.
The employers’ association accuses the Socialists of “destroying” their sector in order to “please” their partners in government, because the PSIB is their “hostage”, they maintain.
The tourist rental association denounces, after finding that the approval of the decree law of the new tourism regulation of the Balearic Islands includes the freezing of tourist places for the next four years, that they have been “totally deceived” because “it is not acceptable” to go with this measure.
Gibert criticises the fact that “they were sold” that everything in the regulation was agreed on and they were told that they should not worry because they were not going to find “very drastic” measures that would affect them. On the other hand, the sector has been less affected by the pandemic as a result of changes in tourists’ habits. With the covid virus, there has been a boom in the rental of tourist accommodation due to the ease of social distancing that their facilities allow. The hotel industry is watching this change in tourist preferences with concern.
This “blocking” of the vacancy market has come as a bit of a shock to the holiday rental employers’ association. Habtur considers that it has been “an absurdity and a lack of respect” towards a sector on which the regional government had already placed “all the burden of the decrease” in tourism on the islands.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.