Thanks to LANCELOT DIGITAL – #salvemoselTURISMOcanario, the last lifeguard in the sector
Raise awareness in society and the public sector about the serious situation that tourism is going through in the Archipelago, as well as the urgency of clear commitments by public administrations to alleviate the tax burden of many companies that have been without any income for almost a year. type is the objective of the #salvemoselTURISMOcanario initiative, within which the campaign ‘I come to collect!’ has been launched, which was presented this morning electronically by the four tourist patrons of the Archipelago: Ashotel, FEHT, Asofuer and FTL. Despite this serious situation, this engine of the Islands’ economy continues to be charged some taxes for services that they do not even receive, a circumstance that puts the 340 at serious risk.
The press conference, which was attended by the presidents of the four employers’ associations, Jorge Marichal (Ashotel), José María Mañaricúa (FEHT), Antonio Hormiga (Asofuer) and Susana Pérez (FTL, Lanzarote Tourist Federation), presented the critical scenario reached by tourist companies in the Archipelago, which generate 35% of the wealth of the Islands (16,500 million euros per year) and 40% of employment.
In addition, according to the latest Impactur 2018 report, tourism contributed to the public coffers with 2,475 million euros in direct and indirect taxes, 32% of what is collected in the Canary Islands and 78% of what comes in via taxes.
This initiative runs throughout the month of March and early April on radio, television, digital and social networks, and is landed on the website www.salvemoselturismocanario.com. The ‘I come to collect!’ is creatively inspired by a cinematographic image, that of the film The Shining, by Stanley Kubrick, because nothing is more scary than an empty tourist establishment.
This campaign “is the result of the desperation and deaf ears of certain administrations,” said Jorge Marichal, who added that society and companies have made an enormous sacrifice, “with which we consider that the public administration has not been up to speed. height”. “We wonder why at such a dramatic time for tourism, with so many jobs and companies at stake, we are still being charged for services that are not currently provided by municipalities, given the situation that keeps many tourist establishments and businesses closed” , said the president of Ashotel.
“We see from public administrations, especially municipalities, from which we have asked for collaboration for a year, that the response has been null or lukewarm, when we consider that the public sector has the capacity to help,” said Marichal, who recalled that Letters were sent from Ashotel to all the town councils in which it has associates in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro and the vast majority did not even respond. There are only 6 municipalities in Tenerife and 2 in La Gomera that have applied, basically in 2020, some type of tax reduction.
For his part, José María Mañaricúa emphasized the gravity of the moment. “We have been without income in the sector for a year and the support that we find from most municipalities is to continue charging us taxes for services that we are not receiving,” he insisted. In Gran Canaria, Mañaricúa reported that only the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria approved for 2020 and 2021 a 100% exemption on the garbage tax, an important cost for many hotel companies, together with the IBI. “It would have been a detail that from some other city council they had applied some type of tax reduction. We have been closed for a year!”, He insisted.
Panic scenario
“Panic, terror … that is the scenario in which we are immersed and that we relive when we walk through the streets and beaches of Morro Jable, Costa Calma, Caleta de Fuste, Corralejo,” explained Antonio Hormiga, who added that these scenarios “They seem like film sets, without lights, without souls, without joy … Bars, restaurants, hotels are empty, lifeless and without activity.” Hormiga reported that in Fuerteventura there are 13,400 people in ERTE and, of them, 40% belong to the hotel trade and tourism, a sector that on this island represents 65% of its GDP directly and 85% indirectly .
“We have complied with all the requirements for ERTE, with all the demands that have been imposed on entrepreneurs and companies in the tourism industry. We maintain our establishments and, some, have even made an effort to enhance the infrastructure of In order to increase the quality of the destination. But we see how time passes, the months … without income and many expenses to maintain. Taxes such as the occupancy rate of empty terraces, which make no sense and that some municipalities apply and others do not. It is sad, but it is like that, depending on where the business activity takes place, some have more or less opportunities to keep their business open, “he commented.
Finally, Susana Pérez recalled that “many municipalities, and especially tourist ones, maintain their budgets thanks to the income from taxes from the sector, and at this time, when companies need help to overcome this economic and tourist crisis motivated by this pandemic without precedents, the consistories are not at the level that the tourism sector expects of them “.
“They are being dramatic months for the companies in the sector, a year of zero income and the aid received so far is not enough. The municipalities are and have been beneficiaries of the taxes of the sector and now they are not up to the task. direct involvement in the reduction of rates and taxes that in a direct way that provides real solutions for tourism, the rest is propaganda, “he added.
The survival of companies is directly linked to the survival of employment in the sector.
Transparency tool
Among the novelties of the #salvemoselTURISMOcanario initiative, the implementation of the Compliance Meter 2021, to be published, stands out. It is a kind of barometer that will reflect the measures that the Canarian city councils in which the employers have associates have adopted for this year 2021. The purpose of the tool is to carry out an exercise of transparency, which serves as an example for those local corporations that have not yet adopted measures in this regard, and which can be completed with the sum of all the Canarian municipalities, which will be able to communicate directly through from the website of this initiative its news on discounts or exemptions of fees and other taxes for tourism companies.
