CEOE Director of Tourism, speaker at event organized by Skål International Madrid

According to studies by the Economics Department of the CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations), Spain's Tourism recovery will vary between 30% and 40% (depending on an optimistic or pessimistic scenario) in the fourth quarter of 2021.

These data were presented in a videoconference by Inmaculada de Benito, Director of Tourism of the confederation of Spanish employers, in a videoconference organised by Skål International Madrid. Skålleagues from other parts of Spain and also from Latin America participated in this meeting. 



The session was opened by Pepa Díaz, as Past-President of Skål International Spain, thanking the guest personality for her presence, and who was introduced by the Secretary-General of Skål International Madrid, Ramón Adillón. Zoom was hosted by Skålleague Eliseo González, and the event was coordinated by the President of Skål International Madrid, Francisco Rivero.

 Inmaculada de Benito, CEOE Director of Tourism.

Inmaculada de Benito described Spanish Tourism in the face of the severe crisis it is suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic. She said that it is necessary to anticipate changes in the medium and long term, seeking more significant public-private activity, as the current circumstances mean that there is always a permanent crisis. She also advocated professional education, which is the unfinished business of Spanish Tourism.

During her conference, Inmaculada de Benito spoke about the situation of resilient companies, which have to give continuity to their business plan and put people above all else. In terms of resilient destinations, new tourists are looking for trips to nearby destinations that are not overcrowded and in natural spaces. The trips offered will be aligned, in the near future, with the general guidelines of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy in Spain.

The CEOE believes that for greater mobility, Spanish citizens and European visitors must be offered more excellent and earlier vaccination to reach the bridge to normality soon, giving priority to health, mobility, and sustainability. To this end, the business organization to which she belongs has created a digital platform (ceoexeuropa.es) to support the Technical Support Office for European Projects to which companies can turn.

At the close of her conference, she said that the contribution of Tourism to Spain's Gross Domestic Product would grow by between 1 and 2 points in 2021. This scenario of recovery concerns the stormy year of 2020. Likewise, while in the best year for Spanish Tourism, two years ago, the sector contributed 154,487 million euros; in the current year, a range of between 66,500 and 77,200 million euros is forecast, representing 50% of Tourism revenue in 2019.

The event was closed by Rafael Millán, Membre d’Honneur of Skål International, of the Skål International Ciudad de México twinned club, and Deputy to the President of the Mexican hotel chain Las Brisas.