The tourism sector in Spain, the second largest destination in the world, is expected to suffer a loss of more than 100 billion euros in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a return to the level of activity of 1995, announced on Wednesday the employers' organization Exceltur.
If this forecast is confirmed at the end of December, "
we will have gone back 25 years in terms of activity generated by tourism (...) a dramatic scenario
", summarized José Luis Zoreda, executive vice-president of the organization, during of a press conference.
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Exceltur has again revised down its forecasts for the year, due to new restrictions imposed in recent weeks in Spain to fight the second wave of the pandemic, which includes a partial closure of Madrid and several major cities, as well as the closure for two weeks of bars and restaurants in Catalonia.
The organization estimates the effect of these new measures at nearly 7.5 billion euros, for a total loss of 106 billion euros at the end of the year.
The overall tourism turnover at the end of 2020 would thus be 70% lower than that recorded in 2019, after a disastrous summer when foreign tourists massively shunned Spain.
Tourism, a strategic sector for Spain, weighs 12% of GDP and 13% of employment.
But the government is not making a “
correct reading
” of the extent of the damage to come, José Luis Zoreda said.
He calls for an “
urgent plan to rescue the sector
”, made up of
non-refundable “
direct aid
”, like what was done for the banks during the financial crisis.
At the end of June, the government of Socialist Pedro Sanchez announced a plan of 4.2 billion euros, but the sum mainly corresponds to loans guaranteed by the state.
And even if Spain will be one of the main beneficiaries of the mega European recovery plan, with around 140 billion euros divided for half between grants and loans, "
the tourism sector does not seem clearly a priority for the moment
" in the distribution of this money, regretted José Luis Zoreda.
The Sanchez government intends to devote around 70% of European funds to medium or long-term investments in the environment and digital.
But for tourism, “
the fundamental challenge today is to hold out until the end of the month.
To be able to invest tomorrow, we must first survive today,
”said José Luis Zoreda.
Exceltur also asks for the extension until the end of 2021 of the financing of short-time working, for the moment acquired until January 31, and especially the elimination of the obligation for beneficiary companies not to lay off for six months.
With some 35,000 dead and nearly a million cases, Spain is one of the European countries most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It will also suffer the worst recession among Western countries in 2020, with a decline of 12.8% of GDP according to the latest forecast from the International Monetary Fund.
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