Following the evolution of the health crisis closely, the Association of Hotels and Tourist Enterprises of the Algarve (AHETA) issued today a statement in which it considers that “the Government's measures to support companies are insufficient”.
For AHETA, “the simplified lay-off was, among all the announced measures, the one that best served the business interests of tourism, but it is necessary that the payments that the State has responsibility talked about arrive on the promised date, that is, 28th April . We reiterate, however, that companies will only be able to support 30 percent of the 66 percent of workers' salaries for about two months”.
Therefore, “since the current situation, it seems, will continue beyond this period, it is urgent that the government decides to assume the totality of the 66 percent, otherwise the companies will have to extinguish jobs and work, a situation that must be avoided at all costs”, warns the hotel group.
Based in Albufeira, the Association explains that “credit lines, unfortunately, turn out to be a real nightmare for companies. Interest rates are too high and the bureaucracy involved is terrible, in addition to other constraints that banks place on most companies. In this matter, the government must stipulate a maximum period of 15 days for financial institutions to comment, regardless of the subsequent procedural details.”
AHETA recalls that “credits are not subsidies, but debts that need to be paid in the future. The truth is that, since tourism will take a long time to recover, companies will face less business in the future, but more debt and burdens - an economically explosive situation. The government cannot rule out the possibility of granting non-repayable financing to the tourism sector, without which it cannot be competitive when a recovery that is expected to be slow, progressive and very prolonged is resumed”.
In the statement sent to the newsrooms, a situation is exposed that shows the dimension of this still recent crisis: “in the Algarve we already have companies with overdue wages. This is because, as their tax status is not regularized with the Tax Authority and Social Security, they cannot access the lay-off nor the credit lines, being forced to proceed with collective redundancies and the extinction of jobs. Here, too, Portugal must follow the example of other countries where this declaration is not necessary for companies to access the lay-off, credit lines and other state support”.
On the other hand, “the government cannot fail to approve the temporary exemption from the payment of Social Security, Special Payment on Account and IMI, in addition to the deferral of other taxes such as VAT and IRC, given the lack of cash flow and company revenues”.
Although it is not possible to accurately determine when tourist activity will return to normal, AHETA thinks that "the resumption will only take place from Easter next year and even then, very slowly and gradually". However, “we have to start preparing now, namely with regard to the definition of a correct strategy of tourism promotion, through the reinforcement of more financial means and greater involvement of private partners, all the more so since the current logic and commercial circuits will be seriously affected and will take time to assert itself and consolidate itself in the tourist business”.
For AHETA, “it is imperative to reconstruct the entire promotional strategy of the country and regions such as the Algarve, as well as the functioning, mission and objectives of Turismo de Portugal, given the new realities of the markets and the substantial change in the marketing and distribution channels for holiday, not to mention the profound changes in the world of aviation and air transport worldwide”.
It is for these reasons, "as well as the importance of the internal market in the recovery of tourism, that the government must approve the deduction in the IRS of the Portuguese who take holidays in the country, during a period of 2 years". Finally, the Association chaired by Elidérico Viegas leaves a message for the future: “the fierce competition that we will face from competing destinations requires that, given the small size of our offer, we show the ability to implement smart promotional strategies, more focused on the individual consumer and less in wholesalers and/or tour operators, who are strongly affected by the serious crisis that we are going through and whose livelihoods may be at stake”.
