Spanish Minister Jordi Hereu participated this Friday and Saturday in Belém (in the Brazilian Amazon) in the meeting of tourism ministers together with representatives of the G20 countries, which the South American power is hosting this year. Hereu, current Minister of Industry and Tourism as well as former mayor of Barcelona, has stressed the need to “move towards a sustainable tourism model that puts people at the centre”. Spain is, behind France, the second most visited country in the world with 83 million arrivals in 2023. That year Brazil received some six million foreign visitors.
Hereu, the representative of Spain, has highlighted to his colleagues Spain’s international leadership position in the sector and the large investment it is making, thanks to European funds, to transform the model. With the boost of the Next Generation funds of the European Union, it has been possible to make “a historic investment” of 2.4 billion euros since 2021 to modernize the tourist offer, according to a note released this Saturday by the ministry he heads. The former mayor of Barcelona between 2006 and 2011 has underlined, at the meeting of G20 ministers, the social contribution of the tourism industry in Spanish society and its role in creating quality employment, wealth in general and for the preservation of the environment.
Brazilian Tourism Minister Celso Sabino has used the meeting in the Amazonian city to ask his counterparts from the richest countries to translate the good words about the largest tropical forest on the planet and its important climatic function into concrete support: “The entire developed world needs to provide support and attention so that these people can live in peace.” [los habitantes de la Amazonia] “They can have a horizon, a future of opportunities for themselves and their children. And there is no better way than through tourism. Sustainable ecotourism, which generates opportunities, which distributes equally and democratically anywhere on the planet,” said the minister.
The Spanish tourism sector employs 2.9 million workers, of which, the minister stressed, 21% are foreigners and, within the hospitality subsector, women account for 53%.
“Tourism is key to social cohesion and it is essential to invest in training and quality of employment,” stressed Hereu, who recalled that Spain has allocated 10 million euros to Social Sustainability Plans, which include measures in the area of gender equality, training and professional development of tourism workers. Another 59 million have been allocated to improving the training of professionals in the sector.
The Belém meeting, like other sectoral meetings that Brazil has been hosting for months, is taking place in the context of the G20 summit of heads of state that Rio de Janeiro will host with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the end of November.
In addition to meeting with his colleagues from important markets for the Spanish sector, such as host Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia, India and Portugal, Minister Hereu referred to the challenges facing the sector. He considers it crucial to “govern tourism, which means acting on its undesirable effects, transforming the conditions with effective policies committed to society.” Spain has been the scene of various citizen protests this summer, in places such as the Canary Islands and Malaga, against the damage caused in some destinations by mass tourism. The Minister also referred to other challenges that the sector in Spain shares with other countries, such as the regulation of tourist apartments, those arising from climate change or geopolitical threats.
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