Hellenic Chamber of Hotels presents relief proposals for after the pandemic

The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels on Monday presented a comprehensive package of proposals for the implementation of guarantee measures to support the sustainability of Greek hotels following the coronavirus pandemic, ANA reports.

The proposals focus on five categories of measures: reinforcing hygiene in hotels, labor, tax, bank loan settlements, and other miscellaneous issues.

The Chamber calls for new hygiene rules in hotel operation after the end of the emergency measures, a suspension all social insurance debt settlements, state subsidies for social insurance contributions paid by employers, the offer of a 12-month unemployment benefit to seasonal workers in the tourism sector, as well as an immediate reduction of VAT on hotels to 6% and 13% for restaurant services for the next three years.

Furthermore, the abolition of a supplementary special property tax, suspension of payment for all updated tax debt settlements and state guarantees of bank loans.

The hoteliers also proposed a new framework for the long-term repayment of existing loans along with the extension of sale and leaseback contracts for a period of three years.

“Tourism is right now at point zero. Hotels are sending out an SOS. It will take a total restart to win the future and to continue their great contribution to economic growth, employment, and social cohesion. It will take a lot of time for the tourism industry to return to 2019 levels once again,” Alexandros Vasilikos, president of the Hellenic Chamber of Greece pointed out on Monday.

Speaking during a video conference with journalists, Vasilikos presented the results of the third round of a survey on the repercussions of the coronavirus on the hotel industry. Based on the survey, conducted by the Research Institute for Tourism (ITEP), 65 pct of year-round hotels said they saw a strong possibility of bankruptcy (46.6 pct possible, 18.3 pct very possible), while for seasonal hotels this percentage fell to 51.8 pct (40.5 pct possible and 11.3 pct very possible). At the same time, 95 pct of year-round hotels expect an average 56.3 pct fall in turnover, while 94.2 pct of seasonal hotels expect a 56.1 pct drop in turnover.

The survey estimates that losses of hotel turnover in 2020 will amount to 1.2 billion euros for year-round hotels and 3.26 billion for seasonal hotels, for a total of 4.46 billion. Moreover, 57.3 pct of hotels expect a 40 pct drop in employment (seasonal hotels expect a 41.5 pct drop), while a 71.1 pct of hotels expect they will need financing (on an average of 31.1 pct of their turnover, 31.4 pct for seasonal hotels).

The Hellenic Chamber of Hotels operates since 1935 as a Legal Entity of Public Law. It is the institutional consultant of the Government as far as tourism and hospitality issues are concerned. Its members are, by law, all the hotels and camping sites of the country.

It is run by an Administrative Council of elected representatives of hotels and camping sites as well as of representatives of the State. It is a member of the Confederation of National Associations of Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafeterias of EU member-states (HOTREC).

The Chamber’s membership is about 10.000. Classical hotels are the most numerous. The highest number of hotels-members are in Crete, followed by Macedonia and Central Greece regions.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

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