The Lanzarote tourism association, Asolan, has criticized the new strikes announced by Iberia pilots, belonging to the Sepla union. For Asolan, this measure can generate "irreparable damage" to tourism at a "key moment for its recovery". It can also weaken the "image of Spain as a tourist destination".
In addition to Asolan, the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation has also expressed its "deep discomfort" at the announcement of this strike, which will take place on "decisive days for tourist activity". "It once again calls into question the image of Spain as a tourist destination", they said in a statement.
The Sepla union has called strike days on key days for national tourism. The strikes will take place during 24 days in the months of March, April and May. Some of them coincide with holidays, such as San José, and with Holy Week.
For this reason, the hotel association has expressed its "concern" about this type of strike, which occurs "repeatedly in the Spanish airport sector". For the Spanish Confederation of Hotels, these strikes violate the right to free movement of people and highlight "the urgent need to regulate the right to strike in certain services".
The Confederation has denounced that, once again, and "only with the announcement of new strikes, the image of Spain as a tourist destination is being irreparably damaged". "This will cause a drop in income in the rest of the subsectors linked to it", they said in a statement.
"It is essential to protect the development of tourist activity at a time when it has been shown to be a strategic sector for the recovery of the Spanish economy and one of the few that is growing and generating employment", they said.