Benidorm hotels refuse to accommodate African migrants

The migrant crisis currently affecting the Canary Islands in recent weeks is beginning to impact other parts of Spain. In the past few days, several hotels in Costa Blanca have received proposals from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to house migrants who have disembarked on the coasts of the Canary archipelago, as they are struggling to accommodate the thousands of Sub-Saharan migrants arriving in small boats.

In response to this situation, the Valencian Hotel Association, HOSBEC, has denounced the "lack of coordination" between the public and private sectors. They claim that these accommodation proposals have not come from the central government, creating confusion among business owners in the sector.

In a statement, they explain, "In the last 72 hours, several hoteliers in the Valencian Community have expressed their bewilderment after being contacted by external organizations offering flexible accommodation contracts for refugees in the coming weeks, adapted to each establishment's economic and service conditions."

HOSBEC criticizes the lack of coordination with the regional and local administrations in each of the proposed host destinations, describing it as "nonexistent." They also claim that they have been "unable" to take any action to ensure the proper coordination of these accommodations and guarantee peaceful coexistence in the affected tourist destinations, despite their attempts to contact the NGOs responsible for managing the accommodation and stays.

In the case of Benidorm, HOSBEC has no knowledge of any hotel accepting the conditions for migrant accommodation. However, they are aware that in other tourist destinations in the Valencian Community, refugees are either already staying in affiliated hotels or will be in the coming days.

While the hotel association emphasizes that the hospitality sector is "committed and responsive to emergency situations, such as those arising from these circumstances," they also demand that migrant accommodation policies be planned in advance and coordinated between the public and private sectors in cities and tourist destinations "to ensure the best possible conditions for reception and future actions."

Isolated and Uninformed:
Representatives of Valencian hoteliers complain that the government has not taken them into account when establishing an information channel. They criticize, "Never before, in any of the crises we have faced, have we felt so isolated and uninformed by the central government."

However, they add that they will remain "fully at the disposal of official authorities" to continue demonstrating the importance of solidarity and the commitment of the region's tourism sector.