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Published Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Government is
forming an actionplan to help tour operators By the A.M. Costa Rica staff In order to find out the needs, concerns and suggestions of businessmen in the tourism sector, the government through the Ministry of Tourism is holding virtual meetings with associations and chambers related to the tourism sector. According to María Amalia Revelo, minister of Tourism, the private tourism sector is deeply injured by the economic crisis due to covid-19. "Our technical teams have been working on the Action Plan for the Reactivation of the National Tourism Sector and the ideas that arise from these meetings are being valued to design the plan," Revelo said. Unemployment, lack of cash flow and poor financial capacity due to the crisis during the tourism season have been the main concerns that representatives of the chambers have reported to government authorities. The Tourism Institute reports that, like its affiliated private companies, it has stopped receiving new resources due to the crisis unleashed by covid-19. "The reactivation will be gradual and slow, there are no magic solutions, the priority market for the tourist reactivation will be the national market as it will happen in other countries of the world," Revelo said. According to the ministry, it is in the process of setting up containment, financial aid and recovery plans for the tourism sector. For this plan, the authorities are consulting with other areas of the Government such as the Directorate of Civil Aviation, the ministries of Planning, Security, Economy, Health among others. Authorities are also taking advice from international organizations such as the World Tourism Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank. Also, the government authorities call on the owners of tourism companies to explain to their employees the process that must be done to request the Proteger aid. This help applies to fired employees or those who had to reduce their salary. According to the government, several presidents or leaders of various tourist organizations had already expressed their concerns over the effects of the pandemic on tourism. The National Chamber of Tourism, Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, Costa Rican Association of Tour Operators, Costa Rican Association of Travel Agencies, Costa Rican Chamber of Restaurants, Costa Rican Association of Car Rentals and Association of Tourism Carriers, among many others were the first to communicate with the government.  Last week the Costa Rican Hotels Chamber, CCH, announced that it is unfeasible to proceed with full refunds to its guests due to booking cancellations. This came after an announcement by the Ministry of Economy stating that all paid customers had the right to full refunds for cancellations of reservations in hotels, tours/packages, car rentals or any other services. According to the Chamber, paying back the money will become an aggravating situation for the tourist economic sector already affected by the coronavirus covid-19 crisis. According to the Chamber, the tourism sector is one of the most affected by the crisis caused by the pandemic. And given the current context, as there are no tourists, tourism entrepreneurs present financial problems in their businesses. Also, the cancellation of hotel reservations have increased, worsening the situation in the tourism sector especially now with refunds, said the Chamber "I respectfully inform that we (referring to hotels) are not in the possibility of reimbursing the money, our companies are going through serious cash flow issues because income is nil. So a measure of this type (returning the reimbursing money) is unfeasible and it does hurt more to the sector (referring tourism economic sector),” said Javier Pacheco, president of the Chamber. Pacheco calls on hotel owners to make their reservation and cancellation policies as flexible as possible and to offer their clients other alternatives, such as rescheduling reservation dates without extra penalty charges. "That is the slightest harmful option, however, it is only a recommendation that we make from the Chamber, of course, each business has its cancellation policies and may apply as they consider necessary," Pacheco said. Most of the hotels in the country have suspended or reduced its operations, maintained a part of their employees and applied the reduction of working hours, as the last option, said the Chamber in its statement. “Our main interest is to minimize the consequences of our employees and their families, that is why it is essential to maintain cash flow in our businesses to be able to support it, but a measure of this type (referring to the reimbursed), causes serious damage,” Pacheco said. --------------------- Should the government speed the process to present the plan to support tourism-related companies? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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