Nearly half a thousand restaurant and tourism professionals celebrate the HoyTú federation party at Promenade after 3 years
“Three years that have seemed like an eternity”, defined Jesús Jiménez, president of the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs of the Region of Murcia (HoyTú), the time that has passed since the professionals of the sector had their last official meeting . The place chosen for the return of what they have baptized as the ‘Festival of the Hospitality Industry’ was the Promenade celebration hall, where this Monday – day of rest for the majority of the guild – nearly half a thousand people gathered.
Jesús Jiménez, representing the more than 7,300 businesses associated with HoyTú, stressed that it is time to “leave the pandemic in the past” and focus on the nearest future. “Summer can be difficult, although we have high hopes for it,” he said. Jiménez was quite optimistic despite the “bad state of the Mar Menor” and the “lack of qualified personnel.”
“The destination of the Region is last minute and we hope to have an acceptable summer, although it is not the one we would like,” he said, referring to the environmental problems of the salty lagoon. “It is time to continue working and selling happiness. We have a hotel industry that has always shown its ability to reinvent itself and get ahead », he assured and boasted of representing a sector that « is the greatest potential that the Region has ».
five winners
In the event, directed by the television presenter Antonio Hidalgo and attended by the Minister of Tourism, Marcos Ortuño; the mayor of Murcia, José Antonio Serrano; the mayor of Cartagena, Noelia Arroyo; the mayor of Torre Pacheco, Antonio León; and the president of Croem, José María Albarracín, five prizes were awarded.
The first award went to Hospitality in Spain and was collected by its secretary general, Emilio Gallego, who stated that “the wealth of the Region is still a little hidden.” Mariam Porras and Diego López, from the Deskaro restaurant, located in La Azohía, won the entrepreneurial prize. “The most beautiful thing is to receive it from your colleagues,” they agreed in their words.
By sectors
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Jose Maria Rubiales | Bars, cafes and the like
“We need a specific training plan to have professionals who work in the hospitality industry” -
Bartholomew Vera | Hotels and tourist accommodation
“We hope to recover international tourism this summer” -
Isaac Nursery | Concert halls
“It is costing us because there is still a lot of public afraid of closed spaces” -
John Joseph | Nicholas Restaurants
“We are much better and the next few months look very good, especially in the places on the coast” -
Jesus Abellaneda | catering
“It is urgent that the prices of public contracts for hospital canteens, schools and nursing homes be reviewed”
The recognition for his professional career went to the Jota Ele restaurant, “from all those who collaborate with me: my family and my team,” thanked Francisco José González.
The outstanding business trajectory was that of the Ricardo Fuentes Group, a company dedicated to salting since the 1950s. Cristina Fuentes is the third generation of this family business whose “key piece” was her grandmother Antonia, to whom she dedicated some heartfelt words during your speech.
The TVE journalist Carlos del Amor could not collect the HoyTú award for the universal Murcian, but his colleague Juan Tomás, from the territorial center of public state television in Murcia, took the stage instead.
After the awards ceremony, which was held at noon, the attendees enjoyed a cocktail, a family meal and a concert by Los Happys, a music group in charge of entertaining a party that served as a stimulus for professionals in a sector that has especially suffered the consequences of the pandemic, but that is already beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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