Spain is a tourist country. As much as the pandemic has brought it under control and the need to reconsider the dominant model of mass tourism – a recurring debate since before the outbreak of the coronavirus – has accelerated, a debate on this sector remains open. essential part of the Spanish economy. It is currently estimated at around 10% of gross domestic product (GDP), and in 2019 it exceeded 12%. It is necessary to remember that Spain is still a tourist country in order not to lose sight of its employment (December closed with 2.3 million social security affiliations linked to tourist activities) and to take this into account when the model-economy of the country. It is true that there are emerging areas that need to be promoted (the energy transition, for example), but economic recovery in the short and medium term depends largely on the reactivation of tourism. Having revealed all of the above, the confusion of tourism entrepreneurs is understandable when they saw last April, when the government presented the major investment projects that would absorb the bulk of European funds, that tourism in the discrete eighth place was, with a plan to modernize and promote the sector equipped with 3,400 million euros in three years, behind other plans such as sustainable mobility (13 200 million) or housing rehabilitation (6 820 million). Fitur, the tourism fair held in Madrid these days, has served as a loudspeaker for companies in the sector to insist on their demand for more aid, in line with their weight in the country’s economy.
The big companies grouped in the Exceltur lobi and the CEOE employers demand that tourism has its own LOSSES (strategic project for economic recovery and transformation). Branch Minister Reyes Maroto rejects this because she believes the planned plan is already a “true LOSS”. Here it is convenient to clarify terms: although it is the same money from European funds, the modernization plan of the tourism sector of 3 400 million, as it is designed, is not a LOSS, even if the Minister equates it. A PERTE is reserved for star projects, with growth potential, and among its distinctive features are the public-private partnerships and with research centers, must include at least five companies and two autonomous communities. The government has announced PERTE for the electric vehicle, for the latest health and for renewable energy and green hydrogen. The strategic value of these three fields is indisputable, as is that of tourism, which rather stays out. It is essential that the tourism industry modernizes, repositions destinations and improves the quality of some products not only depends on the number of tourists we visit. A comprehensive remodeling that without an ARTICLE that articulates will be difficult to achieve. Another question is whether Exceltur’s request for 17 500 million is excessive, while for renewable energy it is 6 900 million and for electric vehicles 4 300 million. Similarly, it would be wrong to allocate this huge investment to return to the state of 2019, without adapting to the new times.
Government support for tourism by first was crucial. This has prevented many companies from going bankrupt and hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs. The Government then knew how to look after the needs of the sector; now you must continue to do so.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com