The National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT) requests that no further intervention be made on holiday vouchers this year and, in the best case, that co-financing conditions and other additional declarations be waived.
"The National Association of Travel Agencies expresses its firm disapproval of the way in which the Government intends to cut the value of holiday vouchers for the second time this year, according to media sources. Specifically, only public sector employees with a gross salary of up to 6,000 lei (approximately 3,500 lei net) would benefit from these vouchers, worth only 640 lei (800 lei taxable) and only during the off-season. There is no definition of the notion of off-season. Thinking about granting holiday vouchers during the off-season is a fantasy. Closed season on the seaside in winter means peak season in the mountains, and we have holidays with changing dates. It is difficult to define what season means, and it would also represent a frustration for teachers who have summer vacation," a statement from the organization said.
According to the cited source, only 17% of state employees would fall within this salary ceiling. On the other hand, the value of the vouchers had already been halved six months ago, and restricting their use exclusively in the off-season dramatically reduces their attractiveness and efficiency.
"Considering that the value of holiday vouchers has been reduced by half, another 83% reduction means that the negative impact on 2025 will be over 90%, making the measure ridiculous. ANAT therefore requests that no further intervention be made on holiday vouchers this year. At best, it would be advisable to waive the co-financing conditions and other additional declarations. This so-called support measure only creates chaos and misleads public opinion. In reality, it does not support tourism, but only compromises it in front of an already confused and dissatisfied public," the document emphasizes.
In turn, ANAT president Alin Burcea claims that these proposals represent "a bad joke" that does not help either employees or Romanian tourism.
"This formula represents, in our opinion, a bad joke, which does not help either employees or Romanian tourism. It is just a political checkmark, meant to create the appearance that tourism has been supported, when in reality the impact will be null or even negative," said Alin Burcea, quoted in the press release.
In the opinion of tourism employers, real support for the sector would be to maintain the reduced VAT rate for HORECA (9%), without exceptions or hidden increases, granting holiday vouchers for all public sector employees worth at least 1,600 RON/year, valid throughout the year, and extending vouchers to private sector employees, with clear tax deductions for employers, following the model successfully implemented in other European countries.
At the same time, ANAT requests investments in promoting holidays in Romania for foreign and Romanian tourists, infrastructure and digitalization.
"Tourism is a strategic sector, which contributes significantly to GDP, maintains hundreds of thousands of jobs and has a direct impact on many related economic branches. Treating it with symbolic measures means condemning the industry to stagnation and discouraging its main actors - travel agencies, hoteliers, restaurants and tour guides. ANAT asks the Romanian Government to treat this industry seriously and to stop adopting populist measures, without an impact study and without real consultation with professionals in the field," the statement added.
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