hit tracker
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeLatest NewsThe tourism sector urges a rise in margins on Imserso trips

The tourism sector urges a rise in margins on Imserso trips

Date: March 29, 2024 Time: 15:31:25

Hoteliers and travel agencies urge the Government to improve Imserso trips to receive a higher margin than the current one, which in some cases means working at a loss, in a program about which different territorial administrations have also warned, some of which They have even established add-ons to compensate the accommodations.

Since its creation in the mid-1980s, the tourism program for the elderly managed by Imserso proved to be a success, because it made it possible to combine the need to keep hotels open -and employment- in low season with the desire to travel older people, for whom in many cases it was the first vacation of their lives.

But hoteliers, who charge an average of 26.6 euros per person per day, and agencies, who receive 14 euros for each trip they manage, according to data from both unions, considering that the program should be updated and prices raised, especially in a scenario of high inflation like the current one.

Within the coalition government there are two conflicting sensitivities, according to different sources in the sector consulted by Efe: on the one hand, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, (PSOE), who supports the demands of the tourism sector, and on the other, the Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra (Podemos), on whom the institute that manages the program depends and who resists raising the rates.

The prices for the end user range this season from 116 euros for the domestic tourism program in provincial capitals with transportation, three hotel nights and half board, up to 405 euros in the Canary Islands for stays of 9 nights, also with transportation included. and, in this case, with full board.

The trips are financed 80% with the contribution of the users and the remaining 20%, with public funds. The daily cost per person (full board with water and wine) for a hotel is about 30 euros, but it receives 26.62 euros, in average figures.

In September 2021, the tender for the 2021-2022 season, extendable for two more, was awarded to Mundiplan (a joint venture of Iberia, IAG7 and Alsa), which was awarded lots 1 and 2, corresponding to areas of the peninsular coast and insular, respectively, and Social Tourism (Ávoris), which was number 3, for domestic tourism and European origin.

The agencies ask for 10% and the hotels see the companies in danger

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies, Carlos Garrido, has explained to Efe that the operating margin of these services should reach 10% of the price of the package, while now they charge 14 euros for each one, which means that in In the case of the most expensive trips, they barely take 3.4% gross.

For this reason, the demand to raise prices “comes from afar,” says Garrido, who urges the Government to explain if there will be a new extension of the current contract (which admits one more season) or if there is going to be a new contest.

In any case, if the model were to be reconsidered, it would require the participation of the agencies in its definition because they know the client well and have identified the most attractive novelties and destinations for this segment of the market.

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations (Cehat), Jorge Marichal, told Efe that in some cases companies in the sector are in danger “because of the social liabilities they accumulate and because they feel hostage.” For this reason, he defends a new “more up-to-date, more modern” contest in which hoteliers are not “stone guests”.

New clash in the coalition

The Minister of Industry considers that it is necessary to “modernize” the program and meet the demands of the State Council for the Elderly and the tourism sector to “guarantee its continuity and good results.”

Sources from the Ministry of Social Affairs point out that “it should be remembered” that the raison d’être of the Imserso trips are the “interests of the elderly, of activity and social interaction such as active and healthy ageing”. For this reason, he adds, “they will be configured more as a right of Spanish pensioners”.

For this edition, 844,000 places have been offered, more than half for the peninsular coast, followed by the island coasts and inland tourism. More than 6,000 travel agencies -practically all the generalists in Spain- work on the sale of these vacations, in which the profile of the traveler changes over time because they increasingly demand more culture, provincial tourism capitals and tied to nature.

In this call, 15-day stays were suppressed because they were barely requested by 3% of travelers, who are now looking for shorter stays and, in some cases, with greater autonomy to travel by their own means.

Complete the programs of the territorial administrations

The president of the Valencian Generalitat Ximo Puig at the time that asked the minister Ione Belarra for a price increase. The Valencian regional government contributes five million euros to the program to the affiliated establishments to “strengthen the hotel sector” and facilitate the maintenance of employment.

Last October the Andalusian Councilor for Tourism data. The Balearic Parliament also urged the central government to guarantee “unit prices with market values, adjusted to production costs” in the current situation, preserving the quality parameters in the travel offer.

The Council of Ibiza and the town councils of Santa Eulària and Sant Antoni announced at the time that they will contribute close to 400,000 euros to guarantee the programme, an amount that would go directly to the establishments. Similarly, Murcia hoteliers appealed for an “urgent, real and effective” solution that allows them to avoid “ruin” at the low prices offered by Social Rights.

* This website provides news content gathered from various internet sources. It is crucial to understand that we are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented Read More

Puck Henry
Puck Henry
Puck Henry is an editor for ePrimefeed covering all types of news.
RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular

Recent Comments