Representatives of the British Embassy and Consulates in Spain attended the meeting called yesterday by the members of AMT in Madrid.
The eight municipalities of AMT register 19.75% of overnight stays in Spain
It has been confirmed that both parties are concerned about the situation generated by Brexit, although it is expected that it will not have a significant impact on the flow of tourists.
The Alliance of Tourist Municipalities of Sun and Beach (AMT), made up of Adeje, Arona, Benidorm, Calvià, Lloret de Mar, Salou, San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Torremolinos, presented yesterday its priority objectives as pioneer tourist destinations in Spain, in a meeting attended by representatives of the Embassy and British Consulates in Spain.
The eight pioneer tourism municipalities that make up the AMT represent only 0.92% of the total Spanish population. However, these eight municipalities received 11,059,430 foreign tourists in 2017, representing 13.52% of the total received in Spain, and reached 67,143,208 total overnight stays, representing 19.75% of the total registered in our country. With an 82.65% average occupation and 86,185 employees in the sector, the valuable contribution of these touristic municipalities to the good results registered by Spain - the second world tourism power - is more than evident.
The strong global competition facing Spain, as well as the evolution in the demands of the new customer profiles, concern these eight pioneer tourism municipalities, committed to the digitalization of the sector, sustainability, security and accessibility of destinations, as differentiating elements that allow them to respond to the new demands of the market and maintain the leading position they hold since our country began to make its way in the global tourism rankings.
In this sense, the AMT calls for the need for a specific financing system that results in greater financial support from the Public Administration, in order to launch these projects aimed at improving the competitiveness of destinations, and therefore , the positive economic results that Spain has been registering in recent years in tourism.
The meeting of the AMT, held this Wednesday in Madrid, was also attended by Bill Murray, Head of Economics and Public Policy of the British Embassy in Madrid; Sarah Jane Morris, Consul of Madrid and Alicante; and Lloyd Milen, Consul of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Andorra, interested in knowing the objectives and priority actions that the AMT- whose technical secretariat manages the Technological Hotel Institute (ITH), - marks in its roadmap, as destinations with special potential of interest for the British market.
During the meeting held with this representation of the British diplomatic corps in Spain, the mayors of the municipalities that make up the AMT addressed the concern that involves ignorance of the negotiations that are taking place in tourism for the Brexit. However, both parties agreed on the positive perception of the British market on the Spanish tourist destinations, and on the good commercial relationship in tourism that exists between both countries, so this situation should not have consequences on the flow of tourists and the normal development of business.
About the Alliance of Tourist Municipalities of Sun y AMT
The Alliance of Tourist Municipalities of Sun and Beach (AMT) is born from the initiative of 8 pioneer tourist destinations in Spain, such as Adeje, Arona, Benidorm, Calvià, Lloret de Mar, Salou, San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Torremolinos, whose tourist singularity and commitment to the digitization of the sector, sustainability, accessibility, and cooperation among destinations, represents a set of common strengths that will allow them to maintain their leadership position in the sector.
The Technical Secretariat of the Alliance is managed by Hotel Technological Institute (ITH).