The tourist hole worsens: 106,000 million will be lost and Spain falls back to activity levels of the 90s

The tourist hole

and will mean that tourism activity this year will have fallen to levels of 25 years ago.

It is as if Spain were back in 1995.

Forecasts for the sector worsen with each passing quarter and, in view of the current circumstances,

, accommodation, car rental, leisure ... It is 7,500 million euros more than was expected in August, according to the calculations of Exceltur, an organization that brings together the main companies in the sector:

"By the end of the year it will have fallen back to levels of 25 ago. We would be in 1995.

If we discount inflation we would go further back, and taking into account that the supply was lower then, the impact of this fall is even worse", José Luis Zoreda, Vice President of Exceltur, has pointed out.

"We are in the worst period since World War II", with 2020 "on fire and a very complex horizon in 2021", he added.

These losses represent 67% of the total fall in Spanish GDP that the Bank of Spain estimates for Spain this year.

, according to Exceltur.

"An urgent rescue plan for the tourism sector is necessary," said Zoreda.

Until the end of September there were 595,000 jobs affected.

"These are jobs that are on standby" and account for 50% of the jobs that are now affected in Spain by the pandemic, Zoreda pointed out.

There are 281,000 fewer affiliates than in 2019 and 315,000 people in ERTE.

The drop in employment in the sector is about 28.5% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Worst summer

This summer, only between the months of July and September, almost 40,000 million euros were lost, representing a drop in turnover of almost 70%.

"It is a historical collapse, unprecedented in history," said José Luis Zoreda.

Foreign demand has been almost non-existent, while Spanish demand, although there has been, has been 30% below 2019 levels

.

Only in July and August the nights in hotels fell by 60%, 15,000 million euros of foreign currency have been lost and the passengers that passed through Spanish airports fell by 70%.

With this outlook behind us,

,

Zoreda pointed out.

The outbreaks, the restrictions and the possibility of a curfew being approved "promote progressive declines in tourism businesses."

Entrepreneurs in the sector expect a 77% drop in this period.

"This is not the most powerful quarter but it represents a drop of 16 points compared to what they expected in August. Confidence is decreasing," said Zoreda.

Urban hotels, for example, anticipate a collapse of 82%, which means having almost zero activity.

The main cities such as Madrid or Barcelona concentrate 33% of hotel overnight stays in this autumn period and the Canary Islands, another 25%.

Exceltur

, given that other countries with less tourist weight "have received much greater aid."

They ask, for example, to guarantee international mobility with PCR tests at airports, a fund for the rescue of companies, apart from that of Sepi, for SMEs in the sector and a VAT reduction for the tourism sector.

"It is about stimulating demand and increasing liquidity, but not via credit," added Zoreda.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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