Toni Pérez emphasizes that the revival of Tourism is "guaranteeing health security"

The Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, has assured today that the revival of tourism necessarily involves "guaranteeing health security", since "Spain brand must avoid contagion related to tourism at any cost because this circumstance would be a brutal setback for its prestige and reputation. " Therefore, he added that "until COVID-19 disappears, health security must be the principle that governs any public or private decision" related to tourism "above other criteria, including economic".

Toni Pérez has made these statements today during the ADEA CONECTA virtual meeting, organized by the Association of Managers and Executives of Aragon, focused on ‘Tourism and COVID-19” and moderated by the president of this entity, Salvador Arenere. A meeting in which the mayor of Torremolinos, José Ortiz, member of the Association of Tourist Municipalities of Sol y Playas (AMT), which is currently chaired by Toni Pérez, has also participated and in which the general director of Tourism of the Government of Aragon, Elena Allué has also intervened.

After emphasizing that "if we cannot offer health security we will not be prepared for any type of mobility", the mayor of Benidorm has stressed that "it is essential that Spain regain its leadership in two areas in which it is a world leader: tourism and health ”.

This recovery of tourism linked to health security would mean, more and more, an opportunity to "reinforce the health value" of Spanish destinations compared to competing countries.

In order to advance in these objectives in this pandemic situation, the mayor has referred to the proposal for the creation and implementation of a Special Protection System for the Tourism Sector "based on seven measures" and which since AMT has already moved to the Minister Reyes Maroto. A proposal that seeks "to avoid the destruction of this business, labor and social development fabric that is tourism before talking about reconstruction", and which in addition to sanitary protection measures includes others of an economic and fiscal nature such as "the expansion in up to 12 months of ERTEs due to force majeure with a bonus of Social Security contributions ”,“ reinforced protection for permanent-discontinuous workers who must reach 100% of the business contribution ”and“ tax incentives for companies in the sector can maintain the millions of jobs they generate ”.

At this point, he stressed that tourism "was a locomotive and a tractor in the last great economic crisis," even it "pulled the rest of the industries and sectors."  He also added that "tourism generates 3 million jobs" at the state level and its contribution to GDP exceeds the percentage presented by other sectors such as "automotive and construction". In addition, unlike others, tourism is "an industry that does not move from the territory."

The mayor recalled that "Benidorm tourism, and especially its hotel management Hosbec, anticipated the tourist protection measures by closing its establishments on March 18, more than a week before the calendar proposed by the Government of Spain for the cessation of the activity ”.

Given the current lack of a vaccine to eradicate the pandemic, Toni Pérez called for "protocols" to advance "that health security"; while emphasizing that "Benidorm is already working through its pilot project Patti Recovery to fight and give certainty" against COVID-19, carrying out massive tests -700 to date in a first phase- that allow determining the incidence of the virus in the city.

As the mayor has pointed out, and his counterpart in Torremolinos has corroborated, health security is key to “recovering the mobility capacity” that will mark the flow of visitors both nationally and internationally. Regarding international tourism, Toni Pérez has indicated that there is currently uncertainty about how foreign markets can develop since “there are some large countries that send tourists to our destinations that are behind us in this pandemic situation and we will have to see when they end to this situation ”and what will be“ their financial capacity ”and their “spirit ”once overcome.

Finally, both Toni Pérez and José Ortiz have once again demanded that local administrations be allowed to freely dispose of "the surplus and the remnants obtained in recent years" in order to contribute "to alleviate the social disaster caused by this crisis, assisting with grants to our neighbors.