According to the Chairman of the Hostelry Association, Jesús Megías, most hotels are closed or closing, so the Junta aid package has arrived too late.
“This has been the worst summer in history,” considers Sr. Megías, and consequently the sector needs direct aid, because the way things are looking, he warned, they might not be around to reopen come next spring.
The Junta VPM, Juan Marín, said on Tuesday that the bono (voucher) which will become available from the 15th of this month, intends to encourage Andalusians to travel around the region, offering “some extras.” Primarilly the idea is to boost weekend-overnight stays or even 3-to-4 night stays.
Sr. Megías is not convinced, pointing out that during the summer hotel occupation was only around 40% even with prices 30% lower than previous summers. The crunch is that the autumn and winter trade depends heavily on international tourism, without which hotels just cannot survive.
What the association wants is direct economic aid and 100% discount on municipal IBI payments.
The Chairman does admit, however, that the Costa Tropical faired better than other coastal areas precisely because it does not depend so much on foreign tourism during the summer; e.g., as the Costa del Sol does.
Editorial comment: there seems to be a contradiction in Sr. Megías’ words there: do we depend on off-season foreign tourism or don’t we?
(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)
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