Luis Gallego, president of Iberia, has demanded structural measures from the government to support tourism and the air sector, in the face of "the worst crisis in history". He stressed that "tourism and aeronautics are strategic sectors" and warned that airlines "will get smaller and more indebted" from this crisis.

The executive made these statements during the summit 'Spanish companies leading the future', organized by the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), in which different executives from hotel chains and the transport sector have stressed the need to take measures to "be able to sustain the sector".

Gallego has stressed that the current crisis is "the worst in the history of aviation" and has criticized the "disorderly and inhomogeneous reopening" that is taking place in Europe, because "it does nothing to help the recovery."

He recalled that air traffic will not recover to pre-crisis levels until 2023. "The central trunk of tourism is at risk," said the president of Iberia, who warned that the company's fleet "will be smaller in the next five years. This is not temporary, it is structural. "

He has also criticized that the aid measures taken by the Spanish Executive "have been helpful, but they are not sufficient to compete with other countries, where they have been far superior."

Iberia has applied for a 750 million euro loan guaranteed by the Official Credit Institute (ICO), while other airlines in Europe have received higher amounts in both direct subsidies and credits with a public guarantee.

critics

Other executives in the tourism sector, which represents around 13% of Spain's GDP, have also demanded urgent measures from the government to prevent the damage caused by the stoppage due to the pandemic from being "even more devastating" and so that it can save the summer season.

The hospitality industry, for example, foresees the closure of some 65,000 companies and the loss of 400,000 jobs. " By ourselves it is impossible for us to get ahead," said Juan José Hidalgo, president of Globalia, the group that owns Air Europa.

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations (Cehat), Jorge Marichal, has criticized the talk that tourism "is one of the sectors most affected by the crisis when the measures have not yet arrived."

Marichal believes that it is essential that ERTEs be made more flexible due to force majeure so that employers can "be brave when it comes to hiring" to give way to the "scarce" demand of the coming months.

Tax relief for tourism

He also believes it is important to stimulate demand, with measures such as the reduction of tourism through the income tax so that everyone can benefit from a vacation despite having suffered the crisis.

José Luis Yzuel, President of Hospitality of Spain, which groups 300,000 establishments in our country, has called for "a Marshall Plan for the sector, like the one being applied by other countries."

In this sense, the president of the Barceló Group, Simón Pedro Barceló, has encouraged the promotion of subsidized vacation programs , such as Imserso for the elderly, but aimed at health workers and groups affected by the health crisis. This measure "would allow to fight against seasonality through social programs that would generate private and public profitability."

He has also asked to boost aid to airlines, in line with other European countries, but giving aid depending on the number of planes, since "it is impossible to reactivate the activity without a clear commitment to connectivity."

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