The tourism sector, specifically the hotel and restaurant sector, claimed this Tuesday for not being able to access the benefits stipulated in the Organic Law for Economic Development and Fiscal Sustainability after the COVID19 pandemicpublished on November 29, 2021. The articles contained in 120 pages were published in the Third Supplement No. 587 of the Official Gazette.
The complaints were presented by representatives of the Confederation of Restaurants of Ecuador, the Hotel Federation of Ecuador and the Association of Restaurants of Guayas, who indicated that they have not been able to access, for example, payment facilities for the fulfillment of overdue obligations with the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) and the Internal Revenue Service (SRI), for up to a maximum of 48 months.
The Economic Development Law entered into force when it was promulgated by the Official Registry
According to these sectors, not only can they not access these benefits, but also the IESS has issued “glosses, illegally, on debts that are obliged to refinance.”
“January was a lousy month, February we were able to recover a bit; however, in Guayaquil the issue of crime also affects businesses. The proposal to lower VAT on the holiday has not helped at all,” he said. Andrés Aspiazu, Vice President of the Confederation of Restaurants of Ecuador, who suggested that the proposal should be carried out on other days, not on holidays, in order to have notable results.
For its part, André Obiol, president of the Hotel Federation of Ecuadorindicated that there are several good proposals by the Government but that they are not enough.
Russian-Ukrainian conflict would aggravate escalation in fertilizer and manure costs in Ecuador, which has been felt since 2020
“They offered us the Reactivate Ecuador credit to protect jobs and even this credit is not granted to the sector. The CFN offered us a three-year grace period and they are close to executing coercive measures. The $5 million that the Government proposes to promote the tourism sector is not enough for all the momentum that is needed,” said Obiol, who assured that the tourism sector in general lost approximately $3.5 billion a year due to the pandemic.
He added that of the approximately 140,000 jobs that were lost due to the pandemic in the tourism sector, only half have been recovered to date, that is, 70,000 jobs.
Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
Obiol also indicated that the tourism sector is already feeling the impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine due to the cancellation of European travelers.
“The tourism sector is facing a new international threat due to the war in Ukraine. Many tour operators, travel agencies, including Galapagos, have begun to receive cancellations from travelers who came from France, Germany, England, Ukraine and Spain to Ecuador, for fear of the repercussions that the war may have. ”, revealed the leader. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
