Spain’s Andalucia & Costa del Sol Tourism to Suffer Losses of €10bn & 100,000 jobs in ‘Best Case’ Scenario

Andalucia and Costa del Sol’s tourism is set to suffer losses of over €10bn and 100,000 jobs in the ‘best case scenario,’ according to the regional government.

THE Junta of Andalucia’s Vice President and Minister of Tourism Juan Marín has stated that the region’s tourism sector will inevitably suffer huge losses this year. “In the best case scenario, the sector will suffer losses of over €10 billion with over 100,000 employees losing their jobs, which means the industry will need to be propped up with “support measures” and “shock plans” to help it recover, he pointed out in a tourism meeting today.

The Junta’s “€150 million investment in employment plans starting in September,” as well as the “many incentives for public-private collaboration will go some way towards helping,” but he indicated that “more measures and support are needed.” Nevertheless, he is optimistic about this year’s summer season. “This year is not going to be the summer of 2019, but there will be very high occupation,” he stated, predicting “86 per cent occupation on both on the coast and in the interior.”

He added that reservations for July and August already exceed 46 per cent, but believes that this year, the “vast majority of tourists will make their reservations around 20-25 days before travelling,” so this figure should be much higher. In the case of rural tourism, bookings already hover around 70 per cent – 75 per cent for the months of July and August, he added.