Hoteliers have expressed their objection to these measures, which they describe as “irresponsible”, “anti-competitive” and “harmful” for all Spanish tourist destinations, and have called for a plan to recover demand and the definition of a strategy to gain competitiveness.
In their view, it is a mistake to raise initiatives like these, especially now, as it will prolong the crisis in Spain and the difficult situation in which tourism workers and entrepreneurs find themselves in. The latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on tourist movements at borders (Frontur) and tourist spending (Egatur) reflect falls close to 90%, never seen in the Spanish tourism sector.
The president of the Cehat also stresses in a statement that the price factor is very sensitive to the movement of people: “ while competing countries are dedicated to implement measures to encourage tourism, Spain seems to be dedicated to imposing obstacles . It is time to work to gain competitiveness and help to increase both turnover and revenue, otherwise the opposite effect will be achieved,” he says.
The employers of the Spanish accommodation sector regret that there has been no prior consultation with the sectors involved, such as tourism, and accuse the Executive of having “forgotten this industry that is a key driver for the Spanish economy. “It is a blow for the tourism sector to have learned from the media that the Government will tax the mobility of people. Instead of applying these types of measures, let’s think about investing in this sector in exchange for all that tourism brings to Spain,” stresses Marichal.