The Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers (Anfac) asked a few days ago to double the public charging points, since it figures at 20,243 points throughout the State, far from the European objective. Anfac explains that Spain has 383 vehicle charging points for every million inhabitants, and one of the barriers is also the number of high-power charging points: only 698 in total.

Despite the fact that it is assumed that the Spanish network can be improved, cities are better equipped with this resource, essential in the transition to electric cars, than rural areas and this represents an obstacle for certain tourist businesses, which remain ‘out of the map’. “It is becoming more and more a basic need, because if you don’t have one nearby, as a business you are not in the market. There are those who filter precisely by whether or not you have a charger and do not choose you for that reason, ”explains Alberto Galloso, head of the hotel and tourism association, Hosbec, in Valencia.

Galloso participated yesterday in a meeting with members of the inland tourism association of the Valencian Community, Temps de Interior, which is exploring renting as a mechanism to install chargers in its facilities and thus attract a conscious tourist who has already opted for decarbonization in their usual trips. “The clients themselves ask us for them, it is attractive for, above all, those who are very aware of the environment,” explains Pau Sánchez, manager of the Temps de Interior association.

In the online meeting this Monday, the problem of compatibilities, the lack of an official map of the location of the chargers or the necessary dialogue with the municipalities so that they become more involved in the energy transition were addressed.

Various businesses have already signed up for the installation of the so-called electrolineras, such as Granja San Miguel, a rural house and restaurant in Salem, in the interior of Valencia; as well as the Masqi hotel, located in Banyeres de Mariola, Alicante. This same week Casa Nuri del Rei, a rural house in La Pobla Tornesa, in Castellón, will install one in the garage that will be able to provide charging service during the night. Its owner, Vicente, has invested in providing “personalized customer service, according to his needs”, and because he already knows the many juggling his guests face if they drive an electric car until they arrive at his vacation establishment. .

It has happened before. One of his clients travels from Bilbao and, “since he knows that there are few chargers, the route is designed to the millimeter,” he explains. On one occasion, the traveler was going to Morella, where Vicente manages another rural house, so he “came directly, ate in Cantavieja, in Teruel, and then arrived here, but the public charger did not work. We had to call the City Council, the company… It was a mess, ”he details. There are now two municipal charging points in the municipality.

The businessman, who considers himself a “pioneer”, assures that he is committed to this investment because it allows him to offer an added service. And although he assumes that the cost is high – about 5,000 euros between the cost of the charging point and the installation, estimates from the Temps de Interior association – “it is expensive now as it happened with LED lighting at the time, but that is where we are going and customers are going to ask us more and more”, he acknowledges.

Also at Bodegas Nodus, in Caudete de las Fuentes, they installed three chargers a few years ago, but they acknowledge that they do not have many customers who use them. In May, registrations of electrified vehicles (100% electric plug-in hybrids) of all types rose 55%, reaching 13,142 units, according to data from the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Electric Mobility and the National Association of Sellers. of Vehicles (GANVAM).

In this scenario, some hotel chains in the Valencian Community are already committed to investing in charging stations and incorporating it into their services in room search engines, as one more value of the commitment to the sustainability of the hotel establishment.