Spain Wants EU To Offer Subsidised Holidays To European Pensioners
Spain News
Published: 28 March 2022 17:13 CET
The Spanish tourism authorities are calling for subsidised holiday packages to be made available across the European Union, to all those aged over 65 years.
Currently holiday packages for under 400 euros, known as the ‘Imserso scheme’, are offered to seniors in Spain. However, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, has said that Spain wants to “lead the Senior Tourism Programme in Europe to reinforce the values of citizenship.”
The Imserso Scheme is a programme that was introduced in Spain to improve the quality of life and health of senior citizens, while at the same time alleviating employment issues for the country’s tourism industry during the low seasons.
Anyone over the age of 65 who has a Spanish pension, or fulfils other criteria, can take advantage of reduced holidays in various locations across Spain. All holidays include transport, accommodation, food and cost 115 euros for a four-day break or 405 euros for a 10-day getaway.
The popularity of the scheme in Spain has led the Spanish tourism authorities to approach the European Union, in order to extend it across the continent.
Speaking at the European Senior Tourism Programme in Dijon, France, Spain’s Secretary of State for Tourism Fernando Valdés said “Today, seniors constitute 21 per cent of the total population of the European Union and spend 5.6 per cent of their income on tourism.”
He also promoted the fact that a European Imserso “would reinforce the sense of belonging to the European Union among its seniors, as it would see pensioners travel outside of their country’s borders to another EU nation on a state-subsidised holiday.”
Valdés also highlighted the fact that the scheme could in fact help to “address the matter of seasonality” that affects Europe's tourism-dependent economies.
He stated that “Europe should continue being the main tourism destination of the world,” and called on the European Union to “mobilise community resources and allocate funds if we want to provide our tourism sector with the tools to turn itself into a more sustainable, inclusive, digital and, therefore, resilient sector.”
Valdes added that implementing the scheme across Europe would “be a reward for the elderly, who have suffered the most during the Covid-19 pandemic”.
During the informal meeting, the Minister also recalled how Spain has been “developing the scheme for years with excellent results” and emphasised that this “senior travel initiative between European countries must commit to seasonal adjustment, quality and sustainability.”
He also elaborated that this project, with a “clear Europeanist vocation”, would be aimed at those over 65, who “today constitute 21% of the total population of the EU and dedicate 5.6% of their income to tourism”.
If the EU approves the holiday scheme, pensioners from EU countries could enjoy these state-subsidised holidays to Spain via the ‘European Imserso Scheme’.
Source
https://www.thelocal.es/20220328/how-spain-wants-to-export-its-subsidised-holiday-scheme-for-pensioners-to-europe/
https://www.65ymas.com/sociedad/imserso-europeo-razones-espana-exportar-ue-sus-viajes-mayores_37981_102.html
