Hoteliers Outraged At Power Cuts Disrupting Almeria Fair Week

There has been outrage from ASHAL, the Association of Hoteliers of Almeria, over an eleventh-hour announcement by Endesa of a planned 12-hour power cut right in the middle of the city’s busiest tourist week.

La Feria de Almería takes place every year in mid-August. It is a vibrant mix of traditional and modern Spanish cultural spectacles where visitors flock to see parades, equestrian events, concerts and shows while enjoying the local food and craft stalls. This year, La Feria de Almería runs from August 18th to 26th, and in these volatile economic times, the owners of hotels, restaurants and bars hope that the fair brings much-needed business.

An Estimated 50 Establishments Impacted By Badly Timed Planned Power Outage

ASHAL recently reported that occupancy rates were at 90 per cent during the nine days of the fair so the outlook for the hotel business was buoyant. However, as reported on almeria360.com, mere hours before the festivities were due to start on Monday, August 21st, ASHAL received word from utility giant Endesa that there was to be planned work that would cut the power to areas of the city for up to 12 hours and directly impact an estimated 50 establishments.

An ASHAL representative stated, “Once again we found out within hours of the start of the city festivities of a power cut that is going to occur for a period of almost twelve hours in the middle of the fair with the grievance that this entails for the hoteliers who have during the Great Week of the city one of the most intense moments of its activity.” 

The representative went on to say, “It seems to us nonsense as well as disregard for one of the sectors that generates the most employment, especially in the summer, and which is suffering the consequences of inflation that is having an impact on consumption. We do not understand that such important dates are chosen to carry out improvement works in the electrical network that imply power outages.”

Hotel Association Seeks Collaborative Decision-Making With Utility Companies

It seems madness that in a province so heavily reliant upon the tourist economy, and in times when that economy is struggling, a seeming lack of joined-up thinking from a utility company will result in a loss of trade to hotels that have no option during a power outage but to restrict or suspend services to their customers. The impact on tourists who would not expect such disruption in the middle of Almería’s biggest attraction of the year also appears to have not been taken into consideration when the outage was planned.

ASHAL is now seeking to have meetings with political representatives this September to address the issue.