Association lists main issues that need to be addressed by future government
The Algarve Hoteliers Association (AHETA) has written an open letter to the future prime minister of Portugal listing some of the region’s main issues which it believes need to be addressed by the country’s next government.
The letter is divided into five main topics: the creation of a Ministry of Tourism; the need for a “fiscal revolution”; bureaucracy; public infrastructures; and the region’s events policy.
Headlining the list is the association’s plea for the creation of a Ministry of Tourism, given that the tourism sector has been the “main economic activity boosting the national GDP”.
“It’s incomprehensible how this sector does not have a minister while other sectors which have a residual impact have their own minister,” the association states, lamenting that the tourism sector is not represented in the Council of Ministers. AHETA also calls for changes to the financing of the regional tourism board (RTA), which it stresses still receives the same amount of funding as it did 20 years ago.
Second on the list is the association’s call for a “fiscal revolution” to ease the tax burden on Portuguese companies and families. “If we want to give a €150 monthly raise, the worker will only receive €60, with the State receiving the remainder,” AHETA lamented.
The association also says it is “unacceptable” that there are over 4,300 “different taxes” in the country, defending that a “simplification of the tax system” is “imperative.” AHETA says that the government simply needs to “look at how other countries have worked to fixate workers and companies. It is not a crime to copy what is successful,” the hoteliers state.
Other matters, such as the implementation of a “housing subsidy for displaced workers”, are also highlighted by AHETA, as well as the need for a new type of contract to reduce employee turnover at hotels and resorts in the Algarve. “This way the worker has a permanent link to the company, and whenever the hotel closes, the costs are shared between the government and companies. This avoids bureaucratic processes related to unemployment subsidies and constant changes of jobs,” the association says.
Bureaucracy is the third issues underlined by AHETA in its open letter, with the hoteliers describing it as “one of the great cancers” for companies and citizens. As an example, the association says that the average waiting time for the approval of a hotel unit is seven years.
Another key issue is the need “stop the revision processes of PDMs (municipal plans)”, which in some cases have been ongoing for over 10 years and carrying out a “global study that takes into account the future needs of the region in terms of fixating companies and families.”
The main issues with these PDM procedures are the restrictions that they impose, the hoteliers say, defending that there aren’t enough areas available for the construction of housing for the sector’s workers.
The open letter focuses next on the state of the region’s public infrastructures, which in AHETA’s opinion are in dire need of intervention.
“A tourism region of excellence where tourism is the main economic activity must present an appealing image to those who visit us. The state of our structuring road, the EN125, between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António, is more akin to a third-world country road,” the association laments.
It adds that the region’s A22 motorway is plagued by “terrible tolls, especially for companies and tourists”, while the region’s railway is described as “insufficient”, with its electrification works still incomplete and its “decades-old carriages” which are “decorated by graffiti”.
Also criticised are the lack of measures in the last 20 years to prepare the Algarve for its worsening droughts and the “weak contribution” of Portugal’s flagship carrier, TAP, to the region.
“Given that more and more financial contributions have been needed to ensure the survival of the company, which the Algarvians have been called to pay, it is only fair that TAP should serve the Algarve, which it does not today,” the association headed by Hélder Martins states.
Finally, AHETA stresses the importance of creating an events policy that allows the region to consistently attract top-class events.
“Given that the Algarve has a fabulous coast, why don’t we have an events policy that attracts a big sailing event of international scope? And why can’t we have a top-level international golf event that promotes such an important economic activity? And why are we, year after year, counting pennies to continue hosting events at the Algarve International Racetrack, such as MotoGP, which this year will once more have a huge impact on hotels and restaurants practically across the entire Algarve?,” the association questions.
“Aside from the Volta ao Algarve cycling competition, what else is there in the Algarve to help strengthen the destination’s notoriety and reduce seasonality? The Monte Gordo Sand Experience was an excellent experience last year which will certainly return to the region, but unfortunately there are few cases,” it added.
