Gibraltar’s tourist industry comes to a standstill

Understandably fear has gripped travellers, with holidays to foreign destinations the last thing on their mind.

In Gibraltar the tourist industry has come to a standstill and is currently inactive.

Data from the Gibraltar Tourist Board highlights starkly the extent of the damage that the virus has caused, as there has not been one single tourism query throughout April.

In April last year, there were 11,712 queries as the summer approached, since 2002 the highest figure recorded in April was 18,630 in 2011.

Financial Secretary Albert Mena and the Minister for Financial Services Albert Isola are in agreement that the tourism industry accounts for around 20% of the Gibraltar economy.

SUPPORT

The livelihoods of many are dependent on the tourism industry, so the government has lent its support, like it has done to other sectors in the economy.

Many tourism related businesses are not expecting to be open for trade this summer, with some even focusing already on next year.

A government spokesperson explained: “The Government has supported the industry through the Business & Employee Business Terms (BEAT) Covid-19 support packages.”

“In addition, it has remained in constant contact with the industry and has worked on future strategies in consultation with all stakeholders.”

“The Government has done everything possible under the current circumstances to support the industry, and will continue to do so as it goes down the path to recovery and growth.”

The BEAT conditions were first released on 25 March, and allowed employers to claim up to £1,155 per month for full time inactive employees, who have been furloughed.

The payments would start to roll in for staff members from April.

As for business rates, there were written off for the second quarter for this year by the government.

Waivers equal to 50% of commercial rents to private landlords were also made available for the second quarter.

Or alternatively a waiver was offered for the whole of the rent, with the condition of a lease extension for a further three months.

Monthly utility charges can also be spread over any following 12 month period.

So far all of these policies have remained unchanged since their release three months ago.

Tourism was not included in the list of excluded industries from the BEAT package, which often provide key and essential services such as the utilities and supermarkets.

Yet there was also less critically needed services such as online gaming and estate agents, who were discounted from government support.

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09-06-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR