The hospitality industry, a key socio-economic and cultural driver
Fede Segarra, DirCom of Damm, participates in the "Socioeconomic Dialogue" round table
Today, Fede Segarra, Damm communication director, participated in the "Hospitality: economic, social and cultural engine" online meeting, an event organised by Metrópoli in collaboration with CaixaBank, Damm and Finca La Capilla, which aims to analyse and debate how the pandemic has forced all businesses to think differently. Segarra was part of the "Socioeconomic Dialogue" round table, in which he reflected on the situation and future prospects of a key sector for the economic and socio-cultural development of Spain.
Segarra opened his speech with a message of support and empathy towards the hospitality industry: "The hospitality industry has responded in an excellent way to this situation of uncertainty and been able to adapt. (…) More than 90% of hospitality companies are family businesses, and they have demonstrated to live this situation with integrity and exemplary".
This message of support and commitment is the one that Estrella Damm has wanted to make visible with the latest 'Chefs' campaign: "We wanted to value the commitment of gastronomy to continue doing things as they have been done until now, buying from suppliers locals, loving the trade, innovating... We will once again occupy that leadership position in gastronomy, an important engine for the country's development", Segarra stated.
Hospitality accounts for 6.2% of Spanish GDP. Data like this demonstrate the key role of gastronomy in restarting the Spanish economy. In this sense, Segarra has also sent a message to the government and insisted that "the sector was and has been patient while waiting for public aid to arrive". Although they have been announced, in most cases the funds have not arrived. (…) From Damm we demand that work be done on aid; we are experiencing this firsthand".
Segarra closed the debate by highlighting that Spanish gastronomy and hospitality allow us to become a unique tourist destination in the world. It is essential to restart both the hospitality industry and the cultural sector with a medium-term vision that allows us to generate quality tourism to get out of this crisis.
The debate, moderated by Marta Fernández Guadaño, founder of Gastroeconomy, also included sociologist José Luis Paniza and the president of the Spanish Hospitality Business Confederation (CEHE), José Luis Yzuel.
