Friday, December 15, 2017

Dinner of Gremi d’Hostaleria de Sitges

Director General of Tourism, Councilor and First Deputy Mayor, President of the Hotel Association, President of Club del Tast, award winners, associates, good evening to everyone.

This evening's dinner marks an important milestone in the calendar, that of the 40 years of uninterrupted trajectory of the Hotel Association of Sitges, the oldest hotel association of our territory. 

During four decades the Hotel Association managed to lead the dreams of associates and responded to the woes of a sector of strategic importance in Sitges. In all this time, you have followed a path shared with the rest of the local society. For this reason, I would like consider the celebration as something shared by all. As to the institution that I represent, we will continue to watch over the tourism sector during the present and future.

Forty years have shown the importance of being associated. Working from the Association, you have contributed to promote a sector subjected to the changes of a fairly competitive market and to carry out the necessary modernization. You have done it together and always in a state of alert. It is partly yours, therefore, the merit that the Sitges brand is in a leading position. Tonight I would like to thank you for such a feat.

Two dates show the success achieved by Sitges as a destination in recent years. The first was the excellent hotel occupation figures, almost full in high season. This is the first of the great news. The second is that, unlike other places, we have done it by betting on a quality model. This has allowed us to overcome the threat of tourismphobia, which has not been seen in Sitges. But during current times, society at large is angry due to the severe economic and social crisis, and limitations imposed in the access to the labor market or in the maintenance of stable and dignified employment. Unstable jobs, housing deficits and the inconvenience and pressure that can generate hotel activities (any activity generates disturbances, also tourists) or the extensive calendar of events that we have in Sitges, makes that the risk a rebuke against tourism a possibility in Sitges.

And to continue making Sitges an international tourist destination of quality, four things are fundamental:

1) FIRST. The commitment of public governments with a tourism sector capable of generating wealth and jobs, even in times of crisis. And this commitment is yours: the municipal government firmly believes that tourism is the economic engine of Sitges and, as such, it is necessary to plan well and to transfer all kinds of resources. Along this line , let me say that the City’s Tourism Budget has increased in the last two years by 44%, from almost € 350,000 in 2016 to half a million euros that will be budgeted by the Department of Tourism next year. Not counting the renovation project of the Can Milà farmhouse, amounting € 440,000 more, also planned for next year as a reception center for visitors and tourist promotion, which will place us at a budget level in almost € 1M.

2) SECOND. Joint work and cooperation between the City Council and the private sector: public-private collaboration with consensus objectives and work plans and in the same direction. The format adopted by the public-private collaboration in the current mandate is the Tourism Advisory Council. Together with the Councilor for Economic Promotion, Tourism and Beaches, Aurora Carbonell, I would like to emphasize the continuity plan that this new tool implies. If at other times we gathered under the umbrellas of the Municipal Tourist Board or the Tourism Agency of Sitges, the Tourism Advisory Council now represents the new space where dialogue and collaboration are fully guaranteed. Now we just need to earn in agility and increase in technical resources.


3) THIRD. Coexistence. Meaning control, inspections and, if applicable, sanctions against annoying or irregular activities. As well as the maintenance of attractive urban surroundings and landscapes promoting coexistence and comfort. Most important in this area, improve the municipal management of the maintenance of urban space, beaches and promenades, parks and gardens, the cleaning and collection of waste and the security, as well as in the fight against illegal flea markets and all illicit activity. In this area of ​​control, yesterday, the Local Council approved the update of the Old City Usage Plan that, among many things, has been very sensitive to the requests that we have received from the Hotel Association to win In quality rather than in quantity and, therefore, the limitation of take away restaurants in the old town center as well as the determination of new shopping and leisure areas. On the other hand, next Monday, the municipal full house will approve the new plan for arranging tourist apartments, limiting the assimilation capacity by neighborhoods all over the entire city.

4) FOURTH. The economic and social return of wealth generated by tourism to every layer of society. We must be able to return to society the success of the tourist industry during the last seasons in terms of levels of employment, occupancy of each establishment and collection of the tourist tax in the form of improvements for the people, such as the fight against job insecurity or higher and more fair public policies through contributions that imply taxes. This return is, without a doubt, a direct opportunity to improve things, but also the best argument against any possible expression of rejection of tourism in Sitges.

In this Dinner of the Association 2018, we commit ourselves as City Hall to continue working together. We have spent many years doing tourism promotion together. Now we must also do more tourist management to achieve the sustainability, competitiveness, excellence that makes up the Tourism Quality Plan that we have approved and agreed upon this year.

Planning, control, a good governance plan and an adequate calendar of events, designed for all the tourist segments in Sitges (holiday, cultural, business, cooking, sports, LGTBI ...) are essential. But so is that each one of you, from every profession, continues to be a precious reference that transforms Sitges in a quality destination.

I would like to express my most sincere congratulations to all the businesses and professionals who have been awarded tonight. Such awards, fromthe Tastet de l’any to the Prizes to the Family Tradition, are a good snapshot of what this sector represents for Sitges. 

A vital, social, innovative, and strong sector, even in times of political uncertainty.
A sector that, as I stressed at the beginning, has been able to look at the bright side associating themselves and contributing an indispensable contribution to the positioning of Sitges as a high quality international tourist destination.

I wish Happy Christmas and a prosperous new year to the Hotel Association Thank you so much.