End in sight

THE Valencian Community’s tourism sector sees light at the end of the tunnel after 15 months of the Covid pandemic.
“The worst is over,” agreed hoteliers and representatives from the region’s business and tourism associations attending the Eighth Tourism Seminar in Benidorm.
The controlled pandemic, the rapidly-advancing vaccination campaign and the launch of the European Union’s Covid passport on July 1 were the keys to recovery, they maintained.
All present put their faith in the Digital Green Certificate that will facilitate safe and free movement of citizens from member states by confirming that they have either been vaccinated against Covid, received a negative test result or recovered from the coronavirus.
Tourist demand from EU states would soar, predicted Hosbec’s president Toni Mayor.
“This will help to mitigate the impact of the British ‘blockade’ and open up a potential market of 400 million travellers who have been saving for months and want a holiday,” Mayor added.
The Hosbec president’s reasoning was supported by Jose Luis Zoreda, executive vice-president of Exceltur, a non-profit body composed of the chairmen of  33 leading Spanish tourist sector groups and companies.
“There is no reason to think that Europe is not going to have a significant upturn, judging by the precedent set by the US and some Asian countries where tourism had increased rapidly,” Zoreda said.