Spain is working to alleviate the departure of Russian tourists on the Costa Dorada

Paris, 18 Mar The Spanish Government is working to find “a solution” to the impact that Russian tourists, who represent around 15% of hotel bookings in this beach area, will have on tourism on the Costa Dorada (Catalonia). This was explained to Efe by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés, who participated this Friday in an informal meeting of EU tourism ministers in Dijon, France, the country that presides over the Council of the European bloc this first half of the year. “In some areas of the Costa Dorada there are 15% of hotel bookings of Russian tourists, in cities such as Salou (...) This is an important proportion and we have to find a solution,” Valdés said. The Secretary of State announced that the Executive is working on launching campaigns to attract visitors from alternative countries to Russia, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Germany. In any case, he clarified that Spain will not be particularly affected by this lack of Russian tourists, since it is less dependent on them than other markets such as Turkey, Croatia or the Czech Republic. “What worries us most are the economic consequences of the conflict should it drag on,” he added, citing the increase in the price of energy or raw materials as factors that could inhibit tourist travel. In Spain, which broke its record number of foreign visitors in 2019 (83 million), it was expected that this 2022 would reach 85% of that figure, equivalent to some 70 million admissions, according to estimates from the tourism sector. Valdés avoided entering forecasts for the end of the year and pointed out that short-term data, such as those for Holy Week, correspond to what was predicted by the sector. “In this year's forecasts we had not yet anticipated the return of the Russians over the issue of the (Russian) Sputnik vaccine, which is not recognized” by the European authorities, he added. At the Ministerial Meeting in Dijon this Friday, the Secretary of State of Spain welcomed the union shown by the European bloc “at a time of uncertainty” and said that he was aligned with the French proposal to promote intra-European and sustainable tourism. In this regard, Valdés explained that the Spanish Government has proposed to its EU partners the launch of a Senior Tourism Programme, inspired by that of Imserso in Spain. “The idea is to reward these trips from the Community budgets,” argued the senior official, who predicted that this type of travel would benefit both its participants, due to the healthy leisure component it has, and the tourism industry of the Community countries. Valdés did not elaborate on the project - which would include some 100 million Europeans over the age of 65 - and clarified that it will have “a long journey” until it can see the light, since it must first pass through national and European bodies. CHIEF tc/mgr/pddp