The ruin of the classic. No public, no bars, no tourists: "The situation is disastrous"

The man comes out of a small warehouse and receives the journalist looking at the ground.

You already know that whoever enters your small Barça merchandising store does not come to buy.

Nobody has done it since the State of Alarm was decreed last March.

Since the tourists disappeared from the city.

Since people stopped walking in front of their shop as a way station to a

closed to the public.

"It's a disaster.

The billing has dropped me 99%.

I'm one step away from going to C

Áritas.

I don't think I can hold out for two more months without closing.

, who runs the Barcelona Outlet store in Travessera de les Corts, just in front of Gol Sur at Camp Nou, is sinking: "The State is crushing us."

That being said, she plucks up the courage not to cry right there.

Within a 150-meter radius, three similar stores have already lowered the blind.

It will be played this afternoon at the Camp Nou with the stands still closed to the public.

And with bars and restaurants, habitual places of concentration in the big parties, closed in all Catalonia after the restrictions imposed by the

.

The perfect storm for a club, but also for a city plagued not only by the pandemic, but by an unprecedented economic meltdown.

The impact of an empty Camp Nou

The direct impact of the classic behind closed doors on Barcelona's income statement is especially hard.

As this newspaper has learned, the Barça club will lose between eight and 10 million euros between

ticketing

, VIP services, restoration, t-shirt sales in the Camp Nou official store and the proportional loss of visitors to the Museum.

In addition, the club also knows that it will have to attend to the subscribers who request compensation for not having been able to attend the game. Barcelona, ​​which has a debt of 820 million euros and is in full negotiation to cut its salary bill in 30%, already accumulated losses last year for not having been able to open the field to the public since March: 47 million euros slipped in tickets, 35 million for the closure of stores, 18 million in the Museum, and another three million more for the cancellation of events in the stadium.

"It's a blow to the city"

And it is also a blow to the city.

Who speaks is

Jordi Mestre

, who knows the two realities first-hand.

The club's, because he was a Barça manager and vice president for nine years (between 2010 and 2019), and the business one, because he is the president of the

Barcelona Hotels Guild

.

He himself had to close the Hotel Sofía, which he owns.

Its huge windows, 400 meters from Camp Nou, still do not offer light.

“There are no flights or visitors.

There is no demand.

To reopen it would cost us more than to keep it closed ", assumes Mestre, who argues the drama:" We have been eight months with income close to zero.

The situation is disastrous.

Of 450 hotels in the city, only 45 remain open.

Occupancy is already 10% [when last October it was around 90%], and the rooms are at a greatly reduced price.

And it quantifies the losses, the only way to decipher the magnitude of the cataclysm: «In one year, Barcelona has a hotel turnover of 1.6 billion euros.

In eight months we will have already lost about 1,000 million. ”The classic behind closed doors results in economic drama.

«Luxury tourism usually comes to Barça-Madrid, especially from Arab countries.

They arrive in private planes, pay whatever it takes for entry, hire a lounge in the country, stay in the best rooms in hotels, travel with a driver ... They do not spare any costs, ”says Mestre, who warns of the "need" for at least some of the spectators to be able to return to the stands soon.

The fall of tourism

“But it is also positive that the classic, an icon of world sport, can be played and will be broadcast.

It serves to keep us present and send a message abroad.

As for the economic impact, it is encompassed within the disaster ", intervenes

Eduard Torres

, President of

Barcelona Tourism

.

And it presents figures: «Tourism accounts for 12% of the 250,000 million of Catalan GDP.

That is, 30,000 million.

We are going to lose 70% in our sector, about 21,000 million.

Half belongs to the city of Barcelona and its surroundings, so we would be talking about losses this year of 10,500 million. ”The journalist, after noticing the disappearance of all the scarf stalls, resumed his way to Riera Blanca street, where more bars crowd.

Those who still can't resist try to sell takeout.

"But there is no one here," he assumes

Roberto Ibarra

, owner of Robert's restaurant.

The classic, once a blessing, has become a mirror of condemnation.

“We are at the limit of our strength.

Last year I made about 10,000 euros with Barça-Madrid.

People were there all day.

Now his box does not receive more than 70 euros a day.

Roberto has a wife and two children.

He pays 2,500 euros per month just for the rent of the premises. "At least we have managed to get the Generalitat to pass a decree-law that balances the losses and distributes them between the tenant and the owner."

Roger pallarols

, director of

Guild of Restaurateurs of Barcelona

, refers to the new law whereby commercial premises closed due to the pandemic - "or that offer only take away meals, which is the same thing" - will obtain a reduction of up to 50% of the rent if both parties do not agree in a month.

"The closure of the hotel business is irresponsible"

“Although the oxygen is late,” assumes Pallarols, who claims: “The closure of the hotel industry has been completely irresponsible and disproportionate.

TO

Pere Aragonès

, acting vice president of president of the Generalitat, I already told him this week: 'You can close the bars, but you cannot avoid socializing'.

And a Barça-Madrid is a key date for socialization in uncontrolled spaces, which increases the risk of outbreaks.

The coincidence of the classic with the closure of the hospitality industry, in addition to not serving to keep Covid at bay, deepens the economic hole.

They are wrong, aggravating even more the crisis in a sector on which the Barcelona, ​​Catalan and Spanish economies depend.

It is an unprecedented desertification. "" The classic was the day of the year for us.

With a lot of difference.

Fans will not meet in bars, but how many will do it at home? "

Ricardo Alvarez

, owner of Casa Pin.

My blind will be closed.

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