Hoteliers In Spain Plan To Win Back British Tourists In July

Hoteliers In Spain Plan To Win Back British Tourists In July.

The Association of Hoteliers of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos) has said it expects to ‘win back’ British tourists in July, as well as reaching an increase in turnover of 50% compared to 2019.

The president of the Association, José Luque, made the statement to business representatives at a lunch held for members of the Center for Tourism Initiatives (CIT) in Marbella, where he appeared as a guest speaker to give a talk on the challenges of tourism.

Luque, while answering questions from journalists, said that almost all the hotels in the area plan to open for “mid-May “, a period in which it is expected to host “international tourism except English” since the Andalucían community which will still be at an “amber traffic light” until the 17th of next month- the date from which the United Kingdom Government has authorised cross-border travel.
It was mentioned that if Spain could elevate to the ‘green traffic light level’ as soon as possible then there would be no barrier at all for English tourists.
Regarding the level of occupation, he expected that it will also be higher than last year. In regards to this, he remarked that Marbella “is going to be a little higher” and can aspire to an increase of 55% by virtue of the fact that the area has more five-star hotels.
Referring to the aid to the sector approved last week by the Junta de Andalucía, which includes an amount of 200 euros per hotel room with a maximum of 200,000 per establishment, he pointed out that it was “welcome”, but “they are too late”.
Digital Green Health Passports

The president of the Tourism Board, Juan Molas, has urged the Government to put “the necessary pressure in Brussels” to implement the health passports in order not to lose the “opportunity” posed by scheduled flights from June and the “great demand” for holidays in Spain.

Molas participated in a round table at the H&T Hospitality Fair and has criticised the management of the crisis derived from the pandemic, in which Spanish tourism has suffered losses of more than €145,000 million from March 13, 2020, until February, a panorama of “catastrophe” in which “some light at the end of the tunnel” only recently begins to be seen.

He explained that some 750,000 flights, 57 percent of those scheduled in 2019, may be operational in the first ten days of June, a forecast that “must be maintained.” He also said it is necessary to “push the vaccination process forward.”

Source: malagahoy