Tourism industry needs clarification on Spain government’s sector reboot plans so businesses can be prepared insists Balearic holiday island president

SPAIN’S tourism industry needs clarification on the Spanish government’s reboot plans for the sector so businesses can be prepared for the arrival of visitors, insists Balearic Island President Francina Armengol.

Speaking at a press briefing today Sunday following the weekly videoconference meeting between Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and all the regional administration heads, Armengol announced the Spanish government has accepted her proposal to stage a conference of autonomous community presidents to discuss the national tourism sector rescue strategy.

She explained her idea is to set out clearly how to reactivate the tourism industry during the de-escalation process.

“We need to clarify together how the de-escalation will be carried out and how it will start when people are able to move around at national level in phase four and also people from Schengen countries in order to have tourist accommodation and services ready”, Armengol insisted.

According to the Balearic president, tourism industry companies “need certainty” to be able to prepare for reopening and to take on staff, and sector workers need to know how the situation is shaping up.

The islands’ dependence on international travel and that it is the region “which will suffer the economic crisis most”, make knowing how they can safely reopen, when they can start receiving international tourists and what help the tourism sector can expect, including European funds, an “essential matter” for the Balearics, she said.

“We have lost March, April, May and also June”, Armengol pointed out.

“We must ensure that the possible de-escalation permits safely opening up to tourism.”