If this turns out to be the best-ever year for tourism in the country, with sales of 4% above 2019, the outlook for 2023 is not so encouraging. Inflation, rising interest rates, rising energy and raw material costs will hold back the purchasing power of households and threaten the growth of the sector.
Gray clouds hang over hotel, restaurant and similar businesses, which expect the government to provide a structured response tomorrow with a 2023 state budget (OE2023) that will help them survive the current situation, supported by the reduction of the tax burden and incentives for the competitiveness of the business fabric of small businesses. Government and social partners are on a marathon this weekend to reach an agreement on competitiveness and income, in time to include it in the budget proposal.
The Associação da Hotelaria de Portugal (AHP) proposes an exemption from the autonomous tipping tax, for example to encourage the employment of student workers, and proposes a “significant reduction in taxes and TSU” for the employment of young people up to age 35. To the list, it also adds the IRS and Social Security exemption, up to an annual limit, for overtime. And he warns: “We must be careful with the proposals and promises made in the social dialogue. Tourism has specificities that other sectors do not have, so it cannot count on additional work, for example, which is absolutely essential in our activity, higher tax burden,” he adds.
The association, led by Bernardo Trindade, proposes to also propose measures to the social partners, such as positive discrimination against companies that “bet on creating more stable labor relations and on improving remuneration conditions, be it salaries, bonuses or additional benefits”.
In addition, AHP defends that it is essential to convert some of the debt related to the covid financing lines into equity, “that meets certain criteria”, and asks for an extension of the debt repayment terms. . “After the terrible years of 2020 and 2021, and despite the recovery of activity in 2022, the reality is clear: the degree of financial autonomy of tourism companies is very low. Now lines of credit without any percentage of non-refundable conversion based on previously fixed performance bonuses, does not solve any problem in balancing the wealth structures of companies, on the contrary”, underlines the association, which guarantees that it is not possible to recover the losses of the pandemic years and that, despite the recent months of growth for the industry, “what is? [em 2023] It’s not laughable.”
The Associação da Hotelaria, Restauração e Similares de Portugal (AHRESP) agrees that it is essential to create tools to support the capitalization of companies at a time when “company margins are completely crushed” and when the scenario is “highly pessimistic for the business fabric in 2023”.
“Energy costs increased by 24% and food products by 15.4%, while prices in restaurants and similar items increased by 4.5%. This fact shows that the vast majority of companies chose to to absorb this cost increase so as not to harm their customers, so the margins are at their limit,” emphasizes AHRESP Secretary General Ana Jacinto.
The temporary application of the reduced VAT rate to food and drink services, the creation of mechanisms to facilitate the recruitment of immigrants and the creation of support for investments in energy efficiency and in the digital transition are other axes that need to be addressed to to AHRESP. “Unfortunately, the measures recently announced by the government to support businesses are deeply inadequate for our businesses, so it is urgent that OE2023 can address the needs of our micro and small businesses,” the official said.
The lack of human resources is another major problem in the sector, which requires 50,000 employees. In addition to the associations’ calls to streamline the processes of hiring foreigners, particularly in CPLP countries, tax cuts are another option to consider.
Airport and Algarve
The airport is another file that tourism would like to see closed. The Prime Minister, António Costa, hinted at a final decision on the new location of the infrastructure by the end of next year, but sector leaders reminded that the growth of tourism activity could be jeopardized in the coming years.
“Lisbon airport has an occupancy rate of more than 90%, which does not allow the coveted growth in flows predicted in the forecasts of national tourism developments in the coming years. Current capacity, needs restoration work that raises doubts , even today , the quality of customer reception, this is the first contact that the tourist makes with his destination,” reiterates Fernando Garrido, President of the Association of Hotel Directors of Portugal (ADHP).
In the south of the country, the Association of Hotels and Tourist Enterprises of the Algarve (AHETA) is calling for urgent action to respond to the drought the region is experiencing, and calls for responses to be created to attract workers who will not being able to pay prices of accommodation practiced in different towns in the Algarve. “It is necessary to improve accessibility, for example the EN 125, which is not worthy of a high-quality tourist destination, and to abolish the toll on the A22,” defends the chairman of AHETA. Hélder Martins also appeals to the solidarity of the country with the region. “The Algarve as the main national tourist destination had an extraordinary response in the post-covid period and made a significant contribution to the country’s recovery. It is essential that the country shows solidarity with the Algarve,” he asks.
Source: DN
