Ayuso wants a change in the hospitality industry to “honor those who visit us.” The president of the Community of Madrid raised extend restaurant service hours to adapt them to the customs of international tourists who come to the capital looking for a gastronomic experience.
In this sense, Isabel Díaz Ayuso announced that They are in talks with the sector in order to implement this measure. This was recognized by the leader of the Madrid executive during the presentation of the activities organized to mark the recognition of Madrid, European Capital of Gastronomic Culture 2024/2025, awarded by the European Community of New Gastronomy (CENG).
“We are launching a opening of our establishments bringing them forward to noon and dinner time“, advanced the president of the region, who emphasized that it is a problem that Spaniards also suffer from when they go abroad, since “as soon as you are careless, you do not eat or you do not eat “. dinner” if you don’t take the time count into account.
In this case, “we want to go the other way, also because we understand that we must adapt to those who honor us with their visit and they trust us,” the president said at the event at the Royal Post Office.
Ayuso justifies this measure by the fact that The success of Madrid’s gastronomic tourism has had an “unstoppable” impact on the development of the region’s hospitality industry.. In this sense, he recalled that the expenses made in this matter by international tourists who visited the Community of Madrid in 2023 exceeded 1.5 billion euros, and among nationals they reached 700 million euros .
It is for this reason that the president stressed that “in Madrid we launched a war cry: “Welcome tourists”because we believe in them, we need each other and it is a gateway to our culture but also to new generations.”
Yolanda Díaz’s proposal
This measure proposed by Isabel Díaz Ayuso directly clashes with the proposal launched by Yolanda Díaz a few months ago during a Sumar meeting in Congress and which once again placed the hotel industry at the center of the controversy.
The leader, second vice-president of the government and minister of Labor, then recommended reception hours equivalent to those in the rest of Europewhich would involve bringing forward the closing time, all as part of the proposal to reduce working hours.
“It is not reasonable that there are restaurants open at one o’clock in the morning,” declared the minister last March, while emphasizing that “It’s crazy to try to keep extending hours until I don’t know what time anymore”. “Not only does this lack logic compared to other European countries, but it also negatively affects the quality of life of workers and the social structure,” said the second vice-president.
For its part, the government of Díaz Ayuso showed itself “totally opposed” to the reduction of the working day despite the fact that the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, opened the door to the study of the week of work with social agents from four o’clock. days “in certain sectors” through the “9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m.” day.
According to him, reducing the working day “would go against what is done in other countries” with which they must compete. They also understand that This is a measure that “is not favorable” to competitivenessworker productivity and attracting investment.
