Hotel entrepreneur and president of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations (CEHAT) since 2019, Jorge Marichal This was one of the main interventions in the presentation of the XIX Congress of Spanish Hoteliers.
What is your assessment of this season?
Was very good. At the national level, numbers for major emitters have performed well, despite some economies’ challenges yet to begin. So we can say that the season went very well and the summer was excellent throughout the country.
What will be the main demands at the Hoteliers Congress?
Hoteliers must ensure that public institutions understand the need for joint investment not only in infrastructure, but also in people and, above all, in the new trends that customers demand. We will also talk about the problems that tourism activity creates and that we need to face because, like other economic activities, tourism creates differences with other sectors.
One of the growing concerns in the industry is what the waves are like. heat to tourism. How do you see this?
There have always been heat waves in summer, hail during storms, fires… Of course, all of these must be saddened and confronted. However, tourism activities have become one of the main supporters of these causes. For example, after the fires in Tenerife, we sought help from the authorities and thanks to this, many people were able to stay. Sometimes there were problems with volcanoes, toxic clouds… and hotels served as shelter and supplies for people working in disasters.
What should the government do about the Imserso trips?
These tourists have the right to have this program at competitive prices, but it is also true that the customers are not the same as they were twenty years ago. The culture, trends and abilities of the elderly have changed… HE Immerso It needs to adapt to the new age. Not only the prices, but also the way the program is developed. We are in contact with the Government, although this is a complex moment as it is in place to support Imserso and adapt it to new needs.
There are now direct flights to the USA from both Mallorca and the Canary Islands. Is this market moving?
Yes, Malaga will also participate. It works so well, the US market represents more than 80 million upper-middle income people. In terms of climate, Spain is very good for them and also acts as a bridge to visit Europe.
Flight prices do not stop increasing. Does it affect national tourism in Mallorca, for example?
Yes, of course it does. Connectivity is one of the most important parts of the tourist experience. We have long talked about the right of islanders to be attached to peninsula lands at a reasonable price, but we will also have to start talking about the fact that peninsula people also have the right to the same thing: to leave. to island areas at a reasonable price.
Another front that is open in flights is the EU regulation requiring the use of biofuel in aircraft. Are you interested in the industry?
This worries us very much. We will need to collaborate with institutions to reduce emissions and weather events. We cannot ignore this, but we need time and a clear road map to achieve the goal without disrupting the economic fabric. Our GDP is entirely focused on tourism activities.
A European summit will be held in Mallorca in October, bringing together all tourism ministers. What issues need to be influenced at European level?
It is a pity that the early elections left the Spanish presidency of the European Union in the background, it is now time to discuss the issues that concern us. We see criticism that hoteliers are encouraging mass tourism, but they are criticizing the wrong industry; We’ve always been the same, hotel beds have barely grown in the last 20 years. The serious problem has been the touristification of housing, a phenomenon that has increased by more than 200% in the last 10 years. Separation of zoning and use has been damaged. We must put an end to the last twelve years of anarchy in tourist housing. We are not against this, but we want it to be regulated and go through the same regulations as us so that there is fair competition.