Most of the projects presented by Valencian hoteliers to obtain aid and be able to finance energy efficiency projects have done so in vain. Javier Vallés, vice president of Hosbec, explained it yesterday during the ‘ITH Hotel Energy Meetings 2023’ forum to adapt technology to the energy needs of the hotel sector.
Vallés assured that the reason that has prevented tourist accommodation from accessing these funds has been the difficulty of meeting requirements that required a 30% reduction in energy consumption in the reform to be financed, without being able to include, for example, photovoltaic solar installations.
In the resolution of January 2, 2023 that established the bases to qualify for aid, it was specified that 13,860,970 euros corresponded to the Valencian Community, “designed to energetically rehabilitate around 214 tourist accommodation establishments”, of which 170 million allocated for subsidies throughout the State.
According to these bases, in all applications for financing actions for which a subsidy is claimed, “the achievement of a reduction in non-renewable primary energy consumption of 30% with respect to the starting situation must be justified, through the certificate of energy efficiency of the existing building in its current state and the energy efficiency certificate of the building achieved after the renovation”.
For Hosbec, if these criteria are maintained, the establishment that has already carried out reforms to reduce consumption will find it even more difficult to qualify for aid in future years, since the lower consumption the more unlikely it is to obtain a reduction of more than 30% compared to the situation in departure.
The rules clearly establish that, “given the incentive nature of the subsidies, only actions initiated after the date of registration of your grant application will be admitted, and no cost related to the execution of the action that has been invoiced with anteriority”.
At the opening of the day, the Councilor for Tourism of Valencia, Paula Llobet, recalled that the City Council has requested the Ministry to declare the European green capital of 2024 an Event of Exceptional Public Interest, “with the tax deductions that would entail for companies that want to collaborate and join the capital.”
In her speech, the councilor highlighted that “València would not be a sustainable city without tourism since 70% of employment in the city depends on the service sector, directly linked to the tourism sector, and therefore, it is essential to work in that direction. ”
The Tourism Intelligence and Data Forum also took place yesterday, in this case in Benidorm, organized within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In a panel moderated by the president of Segittur, Enrique Martínez, the type of data that could be most useful to destinations was addressed to improve their management.
The manager of Visit Benidorm, Leire Bilbao, recalled that it was in 2015 when Benidorm opted for tourist intelligence, a path that led it to set itself as a “challenge” to be “the first certified Smart Tourist Destination in the world”, a goal that was achieved. at the end of 2018 and that “represented a paradigm shift.”
Since then, the analysis of this data has made it possible to “detect needs and provide solutions”, as well as knowing “what is happening in the city”, “what tourists say” or “how many arrive from the airport”, guiding promotion, managing tourist flows and promoting events or actions at times when tourist activity is lower.
As an example, the manager of Visit Benidorm referred to the management of water, mobility or the flows of people on the beaches, as well as the Biontrend tool of the Hosbec employer association, which provides information on the type of client, accommodation regime or possible participation of a tour operator. All this data, Bilbao assured, “allows us to value what we are” and be in a process of “continuous improvement.”
