On Wednesday November 27, we held the Guild's Dinner, the traditional event that brings together the hotel and catering sector. The dinner was hosted by Sitges Hotel and Catering Association. The Guild's Dinner is a ripe occasion to discuss our tourism policy, perform an evaluation of results and stress strategies. It is a very important event for the main economic activity in our town. This is why I will enclose my speech below.
Councilors, Deputy Director of the Catalan Tourism Agency, Commissioner of Tourism of Barcelona Provincial Council, President of the Guild, winners, guild associates, good night everyone.
This is without doubt one of the most important events of the year, and it is so because today, in addition to recognition of achievements, the celebration makes a balance of the tourism sector, the main economic drive of Sitges.
This year's tourist season, in reference to the figures of last summer, was positive. In early September, we announced the figures provided by the Sitges Hotel and Catering Association that stressed that August ended with 95% occupancy.
It is quite evident that we must not count the chicken before they hatch and that figures can be interpreted in many ways, and our audience is very well versed in reading fine print. The information tells us about the spending rate of our tourists or visitors, even including their spending behavior and the types of establishments in which they spent their money.
We must also recap, look back and make a balance not only of the summer season, and then take a snapshot of the entire year. I am referring to our combined degree of satisfaction concerning the goal of removing seasonality from our tourist season.
And I say so because those are not new conclusions, but goals that are pursued year after year and for which the tourism sector claims support from the administration. During a longer time than desired, such goals have carried a very heavy burden under the form of the present economic crisis.
When we started the legislature, the Tourism Agency was crippled by a very large debt. It is not a new fact; I want to use it to quickly review the work being done.
One of the goals of the Agency for this year was to implement the plan for the future economic viability. Now I can announce that the goal was achieved, 2014 will be a year without the ominous tax burden.
But we were not only involved in paying debts and balancing accounts. From the administration, from the City Council, we fulfilled the promise we made to you.
I do not want to extend and revise all actions taken by the Agency during the year, which obviously are many, but I would like to remark that 2013 was the year in which we managed subsidies to materialize the Can Milà Project in 2014, we launched projects to improve tourist offers that we believe are capable of attracting tourists. In addition to participating in major national and international fairs and workshops, the Agency stepped beyond and created the Russian Info Center this summer, responding to your request to try to capture the emerging Russian market.
But beyond selling Sitges to the world to establish our city as a benchmark for tourism, I want to refer to the outcome of your complaints, those that directly affect your business.
Last year at this same dinner, we talked about the importance of a definitive step towards the legalization of tourist homes. This is a clear example of good work carried out jointly by the Hotel and Catering Association and the City Hall. The ultimate goal was not reached yet, but the campaign achieved the legalization of nearly 400 homes. Now we are at the stage of fining those that we have detected but are not legal yet. We made an important step to eradicate such practices, because unfair competition affects you directly.
But if tourist homes are an example of good practice in a public-private partnership, there are other issues that affect one part of the sector that have not been solved yet. I am referring to the legal dispute presented by some establishments present here related to garbage generated by commercial establishments.
Look, I sincerely believe in what I have confided with many of you before. I am convinced that the only way out is to apply and abide the law. But I want to make clear that this does not mean I am not on your side. Strict application of legality does not imply being insensitive to your needs. Those are not unrealistic claims, and I'm not playing to the gallery. The City Council answered your claims. This resulted in the application of the coefficient of property tax for Hotels, including summary of fees relating to garbage, as you proposed. Everything was handled in a legal manner, and I must remark that this is our way, the way of the current government.
We honored our commitment that is why I ask you publicly to reconsider your participation in the Platform for Proper Taxes and Services. We just approved budgets and fees with the large majority of the Plenary Session. The budget and fees include all your demands!
I am convinced that making such a demand to you might be deemed as pretentious, pompous and lacking any self-criticism. But I will also make a critical analysis. I am sure that you think that the joint work carried out by the agency and the sector and, therefore, the consolidation of projects, would have been much easier if the political representative had not changed so many times.
Mr. Garrigó is the third tourism councilor during the legislature. Too many changes in just over two years of a government. But none of it was free! The first change came in response to the high standards that the important tourism council should have, according to our opinion. Second, it is quite evident that there was a restructuring of government that implied the departure of one of the partners of the coalition.
But while all this was happening, tourism goals in our Governance Plan have not moved an inch. The degree of fulfillment of tourism goals included in the governance plan is satisfactory.
In any case, this is mostly a night for recognition and gratitude. A night that blends homage to professional experience with awards to new projects.
We are concerned about the issue of sand, but I must say this was the first time in 10 years that sand was added to our beaches. The sand was paid by City Council and not by the Spanish state. We are all aware that strong winds from east might sweep the sand away again, but we had to save the season. This was made this year, after more than 10 years without any sand addition to our beaches.
We must also consolidate events on the seafront, and we must also promote a better cleaning of our streets, take care of our urban spaces. True, we believe that efforts have been made, but there is a long way to go.
I want to cover safety that was mentioned before. The work done this summer by our local police and the Catalan police allowed a reduction in the number of thefts. Recently, the Sitges Hotel and Catering Association and the City Council have positively assessed and analyzed the data. It is the line to be followed, the joint work of public and private sector.
Regarding issues related with nightlife, we are very concerned. I would like to say that tonight is not the best occasion to find solutions to problems related to the lack of a competitive offer, provoked by the increasing competition from nearby areas. It is quite obvious that we must hold a roundtable in which nightlife entrepreneurs and residents can find a balance, because in Sitges it is quite difficult to balance rest with nightlife.
We must remember a fact that we must take into account. Let's go back a few years, when we were planning the future of Sitges through the General Plan, back then we chose to have a predominantly residential town that enters in conflict with the purpose of this dinner, which is tourism. So perhaps the time has come for all concerned, and a few others, to rethink everything, because it is difficult to match a residential municipality with a tourist resort like our city.
I want to congratulate publicly Restaurant El Velero, Bar La Barata and Hotel Platjador and Mr. Josep Anselm Amigó for all the years of dedication to hospitality. But tonight, the Rubio family deserves a special recognition after five generations at the helm of one of our finest establishments, El Xiringuito.
This anniversary is more valuable than my words, and that is why during the coming days, our City Council will place a plaque at El Xiringuito.
I also want to congratulate all those companies that are recognized by the Sitges Hotel and Catering Association in different ways, with different contributions, such is the case of Laboratoris Almirall, DAMM and the Institute of the Arts Barcelona, a project that became a reality and in which we have worked since the very beginning..
And tonight, we will also grant an award to a very important event. The award for creativity and research, capable of contributing to new initiatives to promote Sitges. Sitges Tapa a Tapa received the visit of an older brother that came for a visit and that we hope that he stays home. The National Tapas Competition received the essential assistance of DAMM. A contest that gave us the chance to see the students of our Hospitality School, called Escola d'Hosteleria de Sitges. I'll take advantage of this opportunity to congratulate them. But I want to stress the creativity, generosity, energy and ability of the promoters of the idea. The Andreu brothers.
This is exactly the example that we need in Sitges. It is a clear proof that younger generations are qualified to lead this industry; we cannot afford not to renovate.
What happened in November is a living proof that SITGES IS ALWAYS ALIVE. Many come to Sitges and tell us: THIS IS LIFE, others say that Sitges is THE JEWEL OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, and others like to refer to the ART OF LIVING. But it is clear that SITGES IS ALWAYS ALIVE.
Most know that this is our new brand, which I did not want to overlook. The new brand is one of the major achievements of the year we are about to end. The history of our slogans, above advertising trends and the passage of time, always tried to convey experiences related to quality. Lets make SITGES IS ALWAYS ALIVE our new benchmark for quality tourism.
So tonight I want to leave you with a challenge, a challenge that I truly believe that we all can assume. We must advocate for change, we must not be conformists.
And I propose this challenge, picking up my statements in an interview published at l'Eco de Sitges that you wanted to respond publicly. In that interview I said... ask not what Sitges can do for you, but what you can do for Sitges.
I will ask you in another way paraphrasing a famous quote by a famous political leader: We should not ask why things happen, let's look at things that have not happened yet, we must be capable of making them! In Sitges, we just showed that when we want it, we can do it!
Good Night
