The IMSERSO elderly travel program runs the risk of reaching the second autumn still without trips.
The first was lost by the pandemic, and now it is the conflict between the hoteliers and the government by the conditions of the program what threatens to delay it.
The employer of hoteliers in the Valencian Community, Hosbec, had resorted by the government approved by the Government and requested the nullity before the Central Administrative Court of Contractual Resources, which has decided to accurately suspend the processing of travel.
This implies that “there will probably be no resolution until the beginning of September”, when at mid-month these trips would have to be marketed so that the first users could travel in mid-October.
The hoteliers denounced that the conditions that are imposed on these sheets “do not reflect reality, are outdated,” says Nuria Montes, from Hosbec.
The national employer, the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations (CEHAT), has also requested that they be reformulated.
IMSERSO travel, which depend on the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, have a complex processing.
Normally the Government prepares the sheets with the conditions that companies that want to participate have to meet.
They are usually published in February or March, are awarded to the companies participating in May and the trips begin to be sold in September, so that there are a few months to resolve possible resources from the parties.
However, this year the folds were approved in the month of July, which gives scarce margin.
One of the reasons for this delay was precisely the review of what hoteliers perceive by housing the beneficiaries of the program.
Now the court has to settle if hoteleries are right, in which case the government would have to reformulate the documents and re-publish them.
“The anticipation of the deadlines was important to solve these problems that may arise, but the government approved them two months late and above were a short and paste from the latter, so this delay is not justified,” says Montes.
The program was tendered for this year, extendable for two more, with an investment of 66 million for 816,000 places.
The State finances 20% and the user puts the rest.
The hoteliers denounce that the program is deficit for them, and they claim to charge 27 euros for each place they occupy, compared to the 23rd of the program.
“IMSERSO required until the moment that the tourist accommodations offer for € 20 the night more VAT, accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, water, wine in meals, entertainment … In 4-star hotels. It is completely inaussible”,
According to Jorge Marichal, president of CEHAT.
The sector commissioned a study to the University of Alicante to see the operating cost of a hotel square and it raised the cost between 27 and 33 euros for these three and four-star hotels.
The cost of employment, the expenses of the establishment and the benefit was also included.
“A detriment has been generated in hoteliers who work with IMSERSO. This program can not continue to be supported based on our losses,” they point out from CEHAT.
“We can not continue to be the NGO of the program,” builds Montes.
In addition, they denounce, if before the Covid the stays were from October to May, now they can go from September to August 31, “in full season”, which is when hoteliers can compensate prices.
Hosbec criticizes that has been discriminated against to the three-star hotels versus those of four, “to privilege as well to groups that have more four hotels”.
Remember that IMSERSO was born 30 years ago to sustain employment in tourist areas that in low season had to close due to lack of visitors.
This program holds 16,000 direct jobs and around 100,000 indirect, according to Hosbec.
