We receive and publish the press release issued by Confindustria Hotels requesting urgent measures from the government for the sector.
Confindustria Hotels Demands Urgent Measures from the Government.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Minister Dario Franceschini, and Undersecretary Lorenza Bonaccorsi, the operators’ requests.
It was the end of January when the hotel tourism sector experienced what is now defined as a state of complete standstill across the entire country, forcing many businesses to close due to the total absence of guests.
While appreciating the Government’s promptness in adopting measures for sector companies from the beginning, today Confindustria Hotels addresses the issue with even greater determination through a letter to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Minister Dario Franceschini, and Undersecretary Lorenza Bonaccorsi.
The tightening of the crisis affecting the sector, which has effectively caused a complete halt to activities, demands new and additional responses from companies and workers. This has been confirmed by recent survey results on COVID-19 impacts on Italian companies conducted by the Confindustria Study Center, which clearly described the critical issues in tourism and the negative effects declared by 98.6% of hoteliers, who in a few days experienced a true booking freeze.
Two lines of intervention are requested and on which the Association is focusing with measures aimed at ensuring business continuity and the protection of human resources and skills, not neglecting the need to identify, once the emergency is over, a recovery strategy for the sector and the national economy.
It was specifically emphasized to President Conte, Minister Franceschini, and Undersecretary Bonaccorsi the urgent need to ensure solutions that provide liquidity for companies and protection for sector workers.
In particular, Confindustria Hotels has highlighted the need to extend the layoff fund across the entire country; broaden the scope; simplify and expedite access to the FIS fund; enhance the Guarantee Fund with eased access procedures; implement measures to support suspension and deferral of rents, utility payment deadlines, as well as tax payments or, alternatively, installment payment plans, without neglecting the recognition in the form of tax credits or other measures, of compensation for losses caused by cancellations due to force majeure.
The severe impact hitting the sector has led Confindustria Hotels to insist on additional measures supporting the industry, loudly demanding reductions in local taxes; lowering the IMU and TARI rates; for IRAP, reducing the rate/remodeling the tax base excluding financial charges/work costs; disapplication of the additional contribution on fixed-term contracts as well as reintroduction of the Tax Credit; postponement of the deadlines for the “receipt lottery“; incentives, vouchers, or tax deductions for stays in Italy; disapplication for all of 2020 of the tourist tax and increased tax credit for participation in international fairs.
We know we are asking a lot from the Government – states Maria Carmela Colaiacovo, Vice President of the Italian Confindustria Hotels Association – but what drives us to do so is the awareness of how all these elements contribute to supporting a sector that has solid foundations and all the cards in place to recover ground once the current, grave, and contingent phase is over. The world of Italian tourism wants to restart and, as already happened in the past, during the 2008 crisis, we want to be ready and prepared to contribute to the relaunch of the entire country.
Pubblicato in Hospitality
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