Hotel, travel agency and airline employers took advantage of the XII Exceltur forum ahead of the opening of Fitur this Wednesday to value the tourism sector and combat its bad reputation. These associations also emphasized that one of their biggest challenges is finding qualified workers for the jobs they currently have to do.. Problems such as overcrowding in some tourist destinations were also mentioned at the meeting. “We have been experiencing the negative perception of air transportation for a while, but the truth is that the majority of tourists who come to Spain on holiday do so by plane. We cannot do without this means of transportation.” Javier Gándara, president of the Airline Association (ALA).
On the other hand, Carlos Garrido, President of the Confederation of Spanish Travel Agencies, He stated that they are on the front lines for tourists and therefore have the responsibility to direct demand.. “We have the ability to move or redirect our customers to where the most saturated areas are. We must be frank and clear in understanding that poorly managed tourism can harm destinations,” he openly admitted. “The great news right now is that business people are aware of the problem and are willing to take action on it,” Garrido said. he assured.
Jorge Marichal, President of the Spanish Hotel Confederation, He thinks that the sector is affected by external problems. “The number of beds in the sector has hardly changed in the last 15 years. We did not know how to communicate this data, and therefore issues such as the proliferation of tourist accommodation facilities were put before us.” Marichal emphasized that the apartment problem in cities is not just a political problem, it has become a social problem.
Regarding the airline industry, Javier Gándara explained that the aviation industry is working to reverse this negative view of transportation. He also announced that there is a road map and a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. “We have made numerous efforts to renew our fleet, using newer and less polluting aircraft, and we have a clear commitment to reducing our impact,” he assured.
As for the lack of qualified workforce, Garrido explained that there are other “harms” such as “split schedules or low salaries” that hurt hiring at travel agencies “today.”. “It is clear that there is a lack of information work and communication that would revive this enthusiasm and profession so that young people want to devote themselves to tourism,” said the CEAV president.
In terms of hotels, Marichal has spread the problem to all sectors of Spain. “2.5-3 million people will be needed to work in the coming years”That’s why “it’s not just our industry,” he said.
Fight overcrowding
During this XII Exceltur forum, overcrowding of some tourist destinations was also discussed. With tourism industry figures nearly recovering from the pandemic in most countries, the industry has reopened the debate on how to combat overcrowding. At the first round table of the event, José Luis Zoreda, vice president of the Spanish tourism association, said: warned that excessive consumption was damaging the image of tourism in some segments of society and causing disruptions in the real estate market, among other effects.
“We have broken the social contract with our local residents,” said Miguel Sanz, general manager of Turespaña, making it clear that for the industry to continue to thrive, it must focus on the well-being of its resort residents. “We must listen to residents and implement formulas, laws and business plans that meet the needs of each destination. because otherwise people will vote for political options aimed at maintaining order. tourism away and this is bad for the industry, residents and responsible governments” he stated.
Steve Heapy, chief executive of British operator Jet2Holidays, said some governments were “making money from tourism but not reinvesting in local communities”. The manager drew attention to the Ibiza example and said: “There are no doctors, there are no dentists because people can’t afford to live there.”. Regarding the fact that tourists should be respectful of their destinations, Heapy said that his job is to fill the planes and not to select the passengers going to tourist destinations.