The Spainish Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosana Morillo, will be speaking today at the GF Victoria hotel in Adeje on the opening day of the 86th General Assembly of Hotrec, the European Hotel and Restaurant Association. Morillo will be accompanied by the president of Hotrec, Alexandros Vassilikos; the president of Ashotel and CEHAT, Jorge Marichal; and the president of Hostelería de España, José Luis Yzuel. The event brings together until Friday about 100 industry leaders from 35 EU countries, and Adeje stands for three days as a meeting point for 46 industry associations from across Europe to address the present and future of the sector.
Over the course of the three days, leaders and representatives of the European hotel industry will discuss and reflect on a wide range of topics, such as sector regulations and standards, taxation, training, digitisation, dignified employment, Next Generation Funds, talent retention, accessibility, e-commerce, tourist accommodation, trends in gastronomy and tourism sustainability, among other issues.
Throughout this afternoon, the Hotrec Executive Committee meeting will take place, of which Ramón Estalella, Secretary General of CEHAT, has been a member for 12 years. The conference will end this Friday with a technical session on sustainable tourism, which will take place at the Instituto Tecnológico de Energías Renovables (ITER), an international benchmark research centre for renewable energies, engineering, telecommunications, the environment and genomics, which depends on the Cabildo of Tenerife. The full programme can be consulted on the event’s official website at https://hotrec.ashotel.es/.
Adeje, a meeting point for the European sector
For Jorge Marichal “this meeting in the south of Tenerife will not only be an excellent opportunity to discuss issues of common interest, but will also allow representatives of the European hospitality sector to get first-hand knowledge of the island’s tourist infrastructure”. “The fact that the European representatives are meeting in the same location will give them a global vision of the challenges facing the Spanish and Canary Islands tourism sector, as well as the solutions being implemented,” he added.
He also pointed out that, although Spain is a country whose economic base is tourism, it also faces problems and challenges that must be addressed responsibly in the coming years. “This event will serve as a unique opportunity for Spain and the Canary Islands to demonstrate their commitment to the sustainable development of tourism and their ability to face the challenges that lie ahead,” said Marichal.
In line with this, Alexandros Vassilikos considers that “the hospitality industry plays a vital role in the local economy of our regions, cities and towns across Europe. The establishments in our sector are ambassadors of the European way of life.
For his part, José Luis Yzuel points out that if there is one thing that is clear to the Spanish Hotel and Catering Industry, “it is that the unity of all the employers’ associations in Europe, of all the countries that deal with the hotel and catering industry and tourism, is fundamental. That is why this Assembly in Adeje, in Tenerife, where we will work side by side with all the Hotrec delegations, is so important”.
Hotrec holds its assembly every six months in the country that takes over the Presidency of the European Union for the next six months. Spain will take the helm of the EU from 1 July 2023. Thus, at the last meeting of the employers’ association, which took place in Stockholm, it was decided that this assembly would be held in Tenerife, which is a great opportunity to show the strength of the Spanish tourism sector to representatives of the hospitality industry from all over Europe.
