The mayor of Teguise, Oswaldo Betancort, received the new area representatives of the Insular Association of Hotel and Apartment Businessmen of Lanzarote (Asolan) in Costa Teguise, whose new board is made up of the area vice-secretary, Francisco Martínez, and the members Iris Berger, director of H10 Lanzarote Gardens; Adolfo de la Rúa, director of the Hotel Grand Teguise Playa; and Ernesto Guerra (Hotel Meliá Salinas).
During the meeting, the current market situation was analyzed after nine months of forced stoppage and given the uncertainty of the recovery of tourism after the confinement and the consequent cancellation of flights in tourist-emitting destinations to the island of Lanzarote.
In this sense, the representatives of the sector in the town of Costa Teguise presented the mayor with proposals to alleviate the negative effects of the crisis and fine-tune the destination in preparation for the reactivation, in addition to showing their total willingness to define joint strategies and fine-tune the destination for the recovery of tourists, which is expected to occur gradually from the next month of December, taking into account the results of the closure measures decreed by countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Germany.
Oswaldo Betancort defined, for his part, the lines of support and commitment opened by the City Council, recognizing "the reinforcement and economic assistance provided by public administrations in such a complicated context" and considering that "it is vital to coordinate actions between public and private institutions to face an unprecedented crisis and prepare our destination for a winter season that sheds some light on the desired reactivation."
Betancort ratified the commitment agreed in the first meeting held with the president of the employers' association, Susana Pérez, and other members of the Tourist Federation, which consisted of approving measures that alleviate the tax obligations of companies, such as the postponement of 24 months of all tax rates and the exoneration of taxes corresponding to the occupation of public space while there is no activity.
"We will do what is in our hands and what they allow us from the Intervention area to open new lines of aid, without putting at risk the financial balance of the institution, taking into account that Teguise does not have a surplus available and that we are about to liquidate the bank debt contracted for many years, which makes us glimpse another panorama for 2021 in which we can invest in the economic health of the municipality and guarantee small and medium-sized businesses, and the self-employed."
