President of Mallorca Hotel Management Federation (FEHM), Maria Frontera, takes into account Implementation of working day reduction to 37.5 hours per week “too complex” Balearic Islands. This is how Frontera expressed itself when asked about this issue after the meeting it held with the Palma City Council within the framework of the Spanish Hoteliers Congress this Wednesday.
President of the Confederation of Spanish Hotels and Touristic Accommodations (CEHAT), Jorge Marichal, thinks it’s necessary The new Government is “accelerating the renewal processes and agreements” of mature tourist destinations and facilitating investments “without getting dizzy” by legislation. Regarding the reduction of working hours, the president of CEHAT said that they were analyzing how it could fit into the tourism sector, which is “very broad and includes a wide variety of company types”, so this will be a “challenge”.
“Luck” to Minister Hereu
Marichal wished “good luck” to the new Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, while he was serving as mayor of Barcelona. “We already had good relations with the tourism sector”, The following statements were emphasized in the statements made to the media after the meeting with the mayor of Palma: Jamie Martinez, On the occasion of the celebration of the XIX Congress of Spanish Hoteliers in the city, starting from Thursday.
The head of the hoteliers emphasized that: although tourism powers are delegated to the autonomous communities “There are important things, especially regarding the transposition of European regulations, the Government has a lot to say.”
Marichal stated that tourism is a cross-cutting issue that touches on issues such as security, cleanliness, promotion and culture, adding, “She is always a dancing girl, but no one has ever sat in the Ministry of Tourism.”
“We want them to focus their efforts and see that the tourism sector accounts for 12 to 14% of GDP and is a thriving sector of which we should be proud,” the CEHAT chairman said. said.
He argued that tourism “gives a good image, gives good results and good numbers”, demonstrating its resilience against Covid: “We managed to do magic during the pandemic, we stayed at zero and within two months we reached almost the same level again. “The same number of tourists as before the pandemic. ”
According to Marichal, Tourism renewal agreements “need to be on the table” of the new government as there are destinations that need updating.
“There is private investment and businesses need to be profitable, but this needs to be easy to do and not get bogged down by legislation and urban planning regulations that sometimes make investments impossible,” the hoteliers’ chairman warned.
“In order for Spain to become the most competitive country in the world in tourism, we must be practical, comply with all environmental regulations, but accelerate renewal processes and agreements, and this is done together with politicians, industry and technicians.” It was claimed.
Maria Frontera agreed to request legal assurance from the new Government that could facilitate investments and asked Minister Hereu to establish a team that would be “professional, meticulous and close to the sector, working in coordination”.
According to this Border, Public-private collaboration works in Spain, but the same is not always true of public-public collaboration; This too “fails badly” among different managers, so he called for “the rules to be very well established”.
Deemed necessary by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism Strengthening pending deals with Balearic Islands, Mallorca destination and “all stuck funds”
Frontera believes there is still time to “prepare for a better tourist season for next year”, adding: “First of all, we need to eliminate instability, legal certainty and the messages must be coordinated with the tourism sector.”
Work day
Regarding reducing working hours, Marichal says they are analyzing how this could fit into the tourism industry, which is “very broad and has many types of companies,” so it would be “challenging.” ““We will have to talk to the unions, to our colleagues, because we have always reached agreement and there is social peace.” he assured.
Marichal emphasized the importance of collective bargaining and company and sectoral agreements, arguing that when it comes to hotels, this measure “will not affect a small hotel in the interior as much as a holiday hotel.”
For your part, Frontera warns on the example of the Balearic Islands, which are at full employment during the high season: “The implementation of this measure becomes very complicated not only in tourism, but in the entire production fabric, because the same thing can happen in public administration.”
The president of the Mallorcan hoteliers thinks an agreement between companies and unions is necessary because “there can be no one-sided decisions” and this is above all An adaptation to every region.
“We must use common sense,” Frontera said, warning that “you cannot continue the game without foreseeing or guessing how the measure can be applied.”
“Every progress needs to be taken into account, but we need to adapt it to the region,” he claimed, recalling that salary increases by agreement have reached 29.9% in the Balearic Islands since 2014, and this has not happened in other destinations. “We have a different region with characteristics that need to be taken into account,” he insisted.