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From EXCELTUR they have launched their plan RENACER TURISMO ESPAÑOL 2020-2023, with the vocation of saving the sector and being able to come out stronger from this sanitary crisis

The aim is to highlight the problems that most affect the national tourism sector and to promote measures that will strengthen its competitiveness and serve as a reconstruction plan. The employers’ report starts from the current circumstances with a loss of economic activity of 43,460 million euros between March and June, 1.4 million tourism workers affected and an uncertain scenario of very slow and gradual recovery that would add 40,000 million euros of additional fall in the second half of the year and, therefore, the need to ensure the survival of many tourism companies and associated jobs that are at real risk of disappearing.

In this sense, Exceltur considers that the measures adopted by the Government for the reactivation of tourism are not sufficient to guarantee business survival. Therefore, the Plan includes a series of more relevant lines of the Plan, as well as the business assessment on the measures applied to date by the Spanish Government that result from a recent “ad hoc” confidence survey and an additional comparison with those of the other countries

In this regard, the Plan includes the following measures of a fiscal nature:
– Streamlining the administrative management of the ERTEs, extending those of force majeure until the end of 2020 and establishing the justification of employment in 1 year, making it possible to adapt the personnel to the activity of the company
– Allocation to the tourism sector of a minimum quota of 20% (20 billion euros) of the credit line of 100 billion euros announced by the Government
– Extension of the guarantee line to at least 80%/90% of the loans for all companies, regardless of their size and extending the grace period to 2 years.
– Facilitate business liquidity, by incorporating in the legislation the mandatory and temporary acceptance, during the alarm period, by the consumer of exchangeable bonds
Reduce the strain on cash flow from refunds due to cancellations
– Cancellation of Corporate Tax instalments, social security contributions, income tax withholdings and payment of VAT until 20 July or until the tourist activity can really be resumed. Reduction of 3 points of VAT and 25 points of air taxes to reactivate the demand.
– Cancellation/postponement of regional taxes and elimination of tourist fees
Minimize the burden of paying taxes
– Renegotiation/condonation and/or deferment of payment of tourist establishment rent
Facilitating rental negotiations

Specific measures for airlines
Derogation from the requirements of Regulation 261 until the end of the crisis, exception from the 80/20 slot rule and compensation for emissions without payment in 2020

Measures for the reopening process
– Establish the timetable to facilitate international mobility and restart travel (urgent)
– Definition of minimum conditions for de-escalation of tourist services
– Coordinated opening with the EU or bilateral agreements with major European countries to open borders in the Schengen area by 15 June, 1 July with the UK
United Kingdom and for long-distance third countries.
– Incorporating recognized experts and businessmen of the tourism sector (EXCELTUR) in the Committee/Task Force of the Group, to agree on the gradual escalation of activity
– To promote a communication plan, initially internal and later external, that seeks to regain the confidence of tourists

Plan to save and boost the Spanish tourism sector in the face of the impact of the Covid-19

The report includes an extraordinary package of transitional measures until April 2021 for coastal destinations, especially island ones, due to lack of flights and/or demand in summer,
including: training plan for tourism workers made unemployed by ERTE’s extended by force majeure, investment plan in regeneration of spaces
5,000 million from the State, liberalizing municipal surpluses, a preferential credit line for the renovation of tourist facilities,
with a minimum 90% public guarantee and preferential cost and term conditions, together with town planning incentives (such as the Balearic Islands Law 2012) and an emergency plan/business reinforcement, of application and analysis company by company incorporating measures of tax exemption, direct transfer of income subject to employment maintenance in 2021 and special line of 100% guaranteed financing and incentives to gain economies of scale (mergers, alliances between SMEs, etc.)

Special plan for low activity destinations in 2020
Embodied as a strategy to consolidate and strengthen tourism competitiveness, Exceltur’s plan includes strengthening the State’s tourism leadership and management capacity and its governance system, rethinking the organization chart of the Ministry/Secretary of State’s management team, with an adequate budget and creating a General Directorate for Tourism Competitiveness, transforming Turespaña’s approach, organization and co-management and reorienting SegiTTur.

Commitment to greater leadership and inter-institutional tourism coordination
– In the EU, creating a specialized unit in the Spanish delegation in Brussels to provide permanent support to the Ministry of Tourism in order to move and defend the positions and
public and private actions related to the sector.
– In Spain: ensuring the capacity to lead and provide more content, management and coordination to key bodies, such as the Sectorial Conference with the Autonomous Communities and the Spanish Council Tourism CONESTUR until they become more effective working and decision-making instruments, on common programmes.

Finally, the Exceltur plan includes the need to draw up a new strategic plan for Spanish tourism, like the last “Horizon 2020” plan 10 years ago, which sets measurable short/medium-term objectives, allowing for the reorientation/redefinition of the most desirable tourist positions for the various destinations, based on their differential elements of supply and demand, and which commits an ambitious and sufficient budget for both the Ministry/Secretary of State for Tourism together with financing models with the public authorities and the private sector.

Designing a new strategic roadmap 2021-2025

Design and implementation of a Renewal Plan for the pioneering Spanish sun and beach destinations in coordination with the Autonomous Communities, local entities and the private sector, with a long-term vision and a legal framework of urban planning, fiscal and financial incentives of its own, taking advantage of the lines of the new EU framework and funds of the desirable Marshal Plan that is being developed.

Promote the further acceleration of the digitization strategy of companies and tourism destinations with a value chain vision, under a more concrete and applied content, taking advantage of network economies in the contracting and use of the resources distributed by RED.es.

Drafting of a tourism intermodality plan, which will necessarily include investment in the high-speed rail connection with Barajas airport and other means of maritime transport, which will favour the connection with the main airport hub and the port facilities for maritime passenger transport to the islands.

Amend the Information Society Services Act to make digital platforms responsible for enforcing current legislation on the rental of housing
and thus help the Autonomous Communities and local councils to comply with their regulatory framework.