• Tourism Puig bonuses with six euros to Valencian hotels that participate in the Imserso before the inaction of Belarra
  • 22 euros per day in full board Hoteliers rebel against the freezing of Imserso prices that leads them to ruin

The Ministry of Social Rights will award from next May 3 the Social Tourism Program of Imserso in which it will invest 71.7 million to guarantee holidays to 886,269 seniors, promoting that they are cultural or nature above the offer of sun and beach. This is reflected in the specifications approved by the Council of Ministers against those who rebel, among other organizations, the Valencian hotel employer Hosbec for the effect it will have on the sector. And, in his opinion, the fixed prices and the conditions that must be met by those who participate in the program do not guarantee sustainability and, therefore, the second part of its objective is not met: to deseasonalize employment in tourist areas.

A year ago, the Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, announced that the prices of 22 euros per day and person in full board would be maintained, "a condemnation to ruin for the sector", as denounced Hosbec, who hoped that the new tender would at least reflect the impact of inflation and allow them to cover cost, which amount to 30 euros. That has not happened. For the supply of coast and islands, the investment of the Ministry is still set at 23.50 euros, only one euro more per day. And so it can continue the next three years because it is the power of the Administration to extend it.

However, 10 urban cultural circuits, 19 new nature routes and itineraries with literary, musical, theatrical or gastronomic cultural themes have been introduced as a novelty in areas of special cultural interest in Spain. "It is the only lot that grows in budget and places, the one pampered by the Imserso, and the only one that allows to have some benefit to the company that is awarded and to the hotels that participate, because it contemplates remunerations above 40 euros per person and day from Sunday to Thursday, which leaves free the weekend that can be exploited", explains to EL MUNDO the general secretary of Hosbec, Nuria Montes.

"It is a step to the modernization that we have been demanding, but it continues to leave us the peninsular coast and the islands as the ugly duckling. The program for us is still economically unsustainable, because we have a minimum cost of production that we do not cover," explains Montes. This season that will end on May 31 in the Valencian Community have managed to save it until the end of 2022 with the aid of five million euros from the Generalitat Valenciana and the Diputación de Alicante. In fact, it has asked that they be extended to the first quarter of 2023.

Deseasonalizing employment

With 43 hotels registered, Valencian entrepreneurs are the ones who take refuge in this program to maintain employment. It is the reason not to close in the winter months. "Not only is sending our employees to unemployment for four months, it is not only a social drama for them, but with the difficulties we have to find labor, we would lose them. With this attitude, it is being lost sight of the fact that the objective of the program is no longer so much to take the elderly to see the sea, but to contribute to deseasonalize employment in the sector, "he recalled. Nor does he think the tender, which allows the program to be extended beyond May 31 in some places, will help. "If the user can choose between January and June, they will always choose June. That means that there are hotels in the program that last December were not in demand, "he warns.

They see the possibility of growing in the 2.5 million registrations that there are each season, but regret that from the ministry of Podemos they do not listen to them or increase the endowments. "If this program depended on Labor... because for every euro invested, 1.6 are generated in taxes, contributions and savings in unemployment", recalls the general secretary of Hosbec.

The employers, in addition, predicts a flood of resources by the scale itself established by the specifications, "a copy-paste of the previous one that continues to score more to four-star hotels, the offer ofdouble habitations for individual use or that a certificate of accessibility is in force that only one chain in all of Spain has", Regrets. Under these conditions, the service will be tendered to be able to offer the places in September and that the elderly can be entering the hotels from October 15.

  • Tourism
  • Imserso

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