Bar and restaurant owners claim 18,000 jobs could be lost in Benidorm on Spain’s Costa Blanca if furlough scheme is not extended

BENIDORM faces losing 18,000 jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors if the ERTE furlough scheme is discontinued, according to a business association in the Costa Blanca resort.

Members of ABRECA(The Benidorm bars, cafes, and restaurants association) took to the streets of Valencia City today(September 21) along with other groups from across the Valencian Community.

ABRECA members called on regional and national governments to scrap the restrictions on their businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including full closures for nightlife activities.

They pleaded as well for ERTE furloughs to be extended by the national administration in Madrid,

The group said in a statement that ‘a massive 80 per cent of hospitality businesses that are currently open could go bust’.

There was little mincing of words as they predicted that ‘the devastation of the tourist fibre of Benidorm will lead to major poverty and social and economic disruption never witnessed before in Spain’s democratic era’.