Uruguay’s tourism sector will ask the government for compensation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The summer season in Uruguay was described as “disastrous” by Jorge González, president of the Sindicato Único Gastronómico y Hotelero del Uruguay (Sughu) and as “mediocre” by Francisco Rodríguez, president of the Asociación de Hoteles y Restaurantes del Uruguay (AHRU).

In this context, both groups met “to find points in common and take joint proposals to the government”, Gonzalez told La Diaria. The measures sought could include claims such as the extension of unemployment insurance (total and partial) in the gastronomy, hotel, and transport sectors.

According to Gonzalez, the fall in tourist activity “directly affects work sources due to the unemployment insurance.” Rodriguez agreed that “with the increase of the contagions and the uncertainty” due to the wave of contagions by the omicron variant in Uruguay led to “an important fall and in some destinations almost a standstill” in the sector.

If in destinations such as the east coast of Uruguay, where Punta del Este, the busiest coastal city, is located, there was a weekly occupancy in January of between 60% and 65%, this “not only does not allow to work well in the season, but does not leave you back for the winter and the lean season”, said Rodriguez.

The measure proposed as fundamental by the unions is the “VAT zero rate so that the companies can face costs that today they cannot afford”, about the gastronomy and the hotel industry, the continuity of the unemployment insurance dated March 30, and the exemption of employer’s contributions.

“Then we can talk about tariffs of OSE (water), UTE (electricity), and gas, which are important inputs and a claim of almost a decade ago,” he added.

The union president commented that he does not see “any inconvenience” because “the solutions” that are being put forward “are requested for the people who are working because the great capital that our sector has today is the personnel who provide the service, a service that differentiates us from others in the region”.

He also assured that the union and the Hotel and Restaurant Association “are always open to working together”. He added that last Wednesday, February 16, the union representatives met with the Minister of Tourism, Tabaré Viera. According to what they said, he told them that he was “waiting for a call from the Minister of Economy for proposals that he took charge of and delivered a few days ago”.

The Minister, Azucena Arbeleche, declared that she had no measures yet for this sector. On the other hand, Rodriguez assured that despite this, there is “expectation and hope” in obtaining an answer from the government.

When asked about the government’s balance of the tourism season, Viera said that there are no serious statistics yet, according to the radio program En Perspectiva. However, the sector’s opinions are being gathered, added to some partial data from the beginning of the season. From this, it was concluded that there was an “acceptable beginning of the recovery of the sector,” which was complicated by the arrival of the omicron variant and the wave of contagions.

The minister said he agreed with some of the measures demanded by the tourism sector, such as “the extension of some benefits that the government has already been granting, such as partial unemployment insurance -which helps to maintain the sources of work- and the total ones, the exemptions from employer and tax contributions” and “the zero VAT for the hotel industry, which the Minister of Economy is analyzing”. He added that “these are necessary measures to get through, at least, this first half of the year”.