FORO MICE

In view of the serious situation generated by the COVID 19 pandemic, the Mice Forum held a virtual session to address the measures that the sector considers essential to be taken to tackle the delicate situation in which the congress, incentive and meeting sector finds itself. Based on this virtual meeting, Foro Mice, which represents the MICE (Meetings and Events Tourism) industry and includes the main business associations working on its development, has drawn up a document to be sent to the Government and the relevant Administrations in order to complete and implement new measures to those already defined, with the aim of guaranteeing the survival of the companies that make up the MICE

The document, which is being updated according to the decrees that are coming out and the evolution of the situation, includes measures of a fiscal, labor and financial nature among which are reduction, postponement and fractioning of payments, of payment of taxes (IRPF, IBI, IVA, IAE); extension of the ERTES due to force majeure with a term beyond the end of the state of alarm and that for the MICE the additional provision 6º is not applied, which prevents dismissals in the 6 months following the end of the state of alarm (for the MICE the recovery of the activity is going to be extended); aid for teleworking, Social Security or that the payment of rents is extended to this type of companies. It is also requested to study reductions of the quota complemented by the administration according to the lost income and other measures such as making holidays more flexible to reduce periods of notice due to inactivity; reimbursement of trips and tourist packages in events cancelled or suspended due to force majeure or the payment of 75% of the salaries of the companies that prove to be most affected and as long as they do not dismiss anyone during the time that is justified. (Denmark)

Among the financial measures, the Mice Forum demands non-refundable aid, ICO loans, financing and the extension of CNAES relating to mice that can benefit from subsidies with broad and non-restrictive criteria for obtaining Public Guarantees already approved by decree, in addition to the immediate payment of projects and invoices contracted with the public administration.

Finally, the Forum invites the government to reflect on the need to re-launch economic activity, especially in the most affected sectors such as MICE, by means of economic stimuli that favour business activity and compensate for this standstill with policies to increase public spending in the most affected sectors, employment incentives and increased subsidies, stimulating investments and businesses, transferring this request to the different autonomous communities, which have the competence in tourism, encouraging the implementation of promotion and awareness plans after the pandemic, knowledge transfer events and sustainability of the sector as well as promoting economically sustainable competitions.

Download the full MICE FORUM document