During the meeting, the acting minister clarified that the credit line (up to a maximum of 200 million euros) included under the "Action Plan" designed by the government to alleviate the effects of the British global tour operator could benefit any company or independent contractor affected that carries on its activity in the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, the Region of Valencia, Catalonia or Andalusia. She also specified that the reduction in fares on Enaire routes will apply to all airports managed by Aena.
"We have developed this Action Plan as a caretaker government, by using a Royal Decree-Law provided for emergency situations, but we must work together - the government, regional governments and the private sector - the solution must be global in all areas", said Reyes Maroto, who added the need to reduce dependency on tour operators, "something we were all aware of, which is why we must change our tourism management models; although I am convinced we will come out of this better off".
Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y TurismoThe acting minister recalled the actions carried out by the caretaker government since the news was announced of the bankruptcy of the global tour operator. Firstly, by collaborating with the British Government in the plan to take British tourists back home, which was developed with normality and which, once finalised, amounted to 177 flights chartered by the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom, according to figures published on Monday by Aena/Ministry of Public Works. Subsequently, a meeting was convened with those regional governments directly affected on 24 September, with the aim of evaluating the real impact of the bankruptcy, and a meeting was convened of the Inter-ministerial Tourism Committee on 3 October, which shored up actions in the areas of connectivity, maintaining jobs, the liquidity of companies and the promotion of Spain as a tourist destination.
As regards Brexit, Reyes Maroto reported on the government's contingency plan, structured around citizens and companies in three areas (regulatory, logistics and information) subject to the principle of reciprocity, within the framework of the European Union, and pointed out that "maintaining trade and tourism flows from the United Kingdom is fundamental: preserving the British market is a priority because we want it to continue to be the leading emitting tourist market".
In her speech, she reviewed the state of such questions as visas, the Single European Sky, healthcare assistance, customs, pets, university studies and professional qualifications. Lastly, she referred to the promotional campaign entitled 'We have Spain in common', launched by Turespaña to enhance the loyalty of British tourists.
The plenary session of CONESTUR was attended by representatives from:
- State Secretariat for Tourism of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism
- Ministries of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, of Public Works, of Home Affairs, and of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Well-being
- All regional governments and autonomous cities (except Balearic Islands and Castile-La Mancha)
- FEMP [Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces]
- CEOE and CEIM business organisations
- UGT and CCOO trade unions
- FETAVE [Business Federation of Territorial Associations of Spanish Travel Agencies]
- FEHR [Spanish Hotel and Catering and Restaurant Federation]
- CEHAT [Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation]
- Institute for Responsible Tourism
- University of Alicante
- Exceltur
- Hosteltur
- Sector companies
Non official translation
Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo