The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT) has argued this Wednesday that it is "essential" to extend the ERTEs linked to covid until demand "stabilizes", considering the one-month extension announced by the central government insufficient.
In a statement, the hotel association says that, for the moment, it seems that everything points to a take-off, but considers that there are still many uncertainties on the horizon with respect to covid and the restrictions that apply to travel and tourism in general, especially those linked to long-haul countries.
However, as a positive note, it highlights that on Tuesday there was the "good news that Europe has finally agreed on decisions regarding entry to the country in terms of external borders", says Jorge Marichal, president of CEHAT.
For the hotel association, the coming months are key to the recovery of the sector, and points out that 2020 and 2021 were "catastrophic for the industry, in which almost 100,000 businesses closed and during which its turnover fell between 50% and 80%".
Likewise, the hoteliers recall that travel restrictions have just been lifted for minors from the United Kingdom who want to visit Spain, and also highlight the recent announcement made by Germany, stating that it has removed Spain from the list of high-risk countries.
Therefore, CEHAT estimates that, if all restrictions have been eliminated and it is possible to work normally in April, the summer season could present positive results, but, nevertheless, it adds, the sector asks for time in order to observe how reservations evolve in the coming months.
