Less than 40 per cent of Costa Almeria bars and cafes open at beginning of lockdown de-escalation Phase two due to limit on customer numbers

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STEP FORWARD: Being able to open up establishment interiors is more of a support to the establishments with terraces which are already open than an opportunity for the rest”, the ASHAL president said

LESS than 40 per cent of the Costa Almeria’s bars, cafes and restaurants have reopened their doors despite the province moving into Phase two of the lockdown de-escalation on Monday, according to a sector association.
THE ASHAL Provincial Hospitality Company Association president Isabel de Juan told Spanish press that the lifting of the restriction on opening up the indoor areas of establishments to the public under the second phase of the lockdown easing is a step forward, but not sufficiently so for all businesses given the limit on customer numbers.
“The use of the interior of establishments has meant more of a support to the establishments with terraces which are already open than an opportunity for the rest,” she commented.
“For the others, although not in all cases, with the limit on 40 per cent of capacity, and without other support, it’s difficult.”
De Juan predicted that unless the maximum indoor capacity is increased to 50 per cent, she doubts that the number of Almeria bars, cafes and restaurants open under this phase will reach more than half the total.
She also pointed out that the situation in hotels is even worse, and that other than bars and cafes in roadside establishments the majority remain shut.
The ASHAL president underlined the current “uncertainty” for the hospitality sector, “not only in terms of the day-to-day and the application of the changing regulations” in the BOE Official State Bulletin, but also in relation to ERTE temporary suspensions of job contracts.
“There is a lot of uncertainty which will have to be clarified,” she maintained.
She reported that the association receives between 80 and 100 queries a day from its members on a whole series of issues, with more coming in in the days running up to the change of de-escalation phase.
De Juan said she believed the sector is “very lost,” and insisted it “cannot be on the alert for the BOE every day.”

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Written by

Cathy Elelman

Cathy Elelman is the local writer for the Costa de Almeria edition of the Euro Weekly News.

Based in Mojacar for the last 21 years, Cathy is very much part of the local community and is always well and truly up on all the latest news and events going on in this region of Spain.

Her top goals are to do the best job she can informing the local English-speaking community, visitors to the area and the wider world about about the news in Almeria, to learn something new every day, and to embrace very new challenge this fast-changing world brings her way.

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