The FEHT calls for "dialogue and rigorous analysis" in the face of restrictions on tobacco on terraces

The Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Businessmen of Las Palmas (FEHT) has called for "dialogue and rigorous analysis" to address any new regulation on the consumption of tobacco products on terraces.

The employers' association has stressed in a statement its "willingness to collaborate with the health authorities in the fight against smoking", but has also asked the Ministry of Health that for any new regulation on the consumption of tobacco products use "criteria of dialogue, proportionality and analysis of economic impact, especially in what affects the use of terraces in hospitality establishments".

After learning of the central government's intention to expand the list of outdoor spaces where smoking will be prohibited, including the terraces of bars and restaurants, the FEHT considers that "it is necessary to open a structured, transparent and evidence-based consultation process", which allows the affected sectors to "present their vision and provide solutions compatible" with the protection of public health.

From the tourism employers' association it is recalled that 35% of the GDP of the Canary Islands depends on tourism, and that a large part of the visitor's experience takes place in outdoor spaces such as terraces, beach bars, recreational areas and swimming pools.

In this context, the adoption of "absolute and unnuanced prohibitions" consider that it can "negatively alter the competitiveness of the Canary Islands destination, especially in comparison with other European territories where the regulation is more flexible and differentiated".

The FEHT has pointed out that “open spaces already guarantee adequate coexistence between smokers and non-smokers, and in fact numerous companies have applied self-regulation measures, such as separate areas or exclusive tables, without the need for general impositions”.

For the tourism employers' association, the hotel industry "can be an active part of a public strategy if it is allowed to adapt its offer according to the profile of its clientele", and not only as a "passive object of restrictions".

The FEHT agrees on the importance of protecting vulnerable groups, such as minors, pregnant women or people with respiratory pathologies, as well as advancing in healthier environments, but recalls that "there are no unique solutions".

For this reason, it urges the Ministry of Health to "explore intermediate formulas, such as enabled areas, physical separation, ventilation criteria or differentiation between combustion products and those that do not generate direct emissions".

It has highlighted that there is no "economic impact report in the announced measures", something that it considers "essential in a sector especially sensitive to regulatory changes".

In this sense, the employers' association has confessed to being "concerned" about this type of decision "without adequately evaluating its consequences, without prior consensus and without taking into account recent international experiences".