The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

CORONAVIRUS AND TOURISM IN SPAIN 285 All establishments that meet the requirements of Article 3 of the regulatory bases will be awarded a grant consisting of a single contribution of 2,500 € per beneficiary. Castile and Leon, for its part, has approved various helplines for all companies (such as hiring subsidies and self-employment subsidies) and other specific ones for the cultural, tourist and sports sectors through Decree- -Law 2/2020, of 16 April. The specific measures for the tourism sector are established in Article 19 and are intended to provide liquidity, by financing the expenses they must face, to tourism companies that are registered in the Tourism Registry of Castile and Leon. However, it is necessary to wait for the regulatory development of the standard to take place by the council. Regardless of the measures adopted by the autonomous communities, several local entities (Provincial Councils and Municipalities) have announced the political will to support their companies, workers and self-employed. Among the measures that have been announced we can highlight the postponement of the payment of certain fees or the suppression of some during the period of inactivity; we can give as an example the fees for the use of terraces. 3.5. Support measures for consumers in package tours Through Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of 31 March, new complementary measures were adopted in the social and economic field (BOE no. 91), which are added to those adopted at the community level. We are facing a new package of social measures aimed at supporting workers, consumers, families and vulnerable groups. For example, in contracts for the sale of goods and the provision of services, whether or not they are successive, whose execution is impossible as a result of the declaration of the State of Alarm, consumers and users may exercise the right to terminate the contract during 14 days; and in ongoing contracts, the collection of new fees will be paralysed until the service can return to normal. However, here we find it of special interest regarding package travel, which is addressed in section 4) of Article 36, which is entitled “Right of termination of certain contracts without penalty by consumers and users” and provides the following: “In the event that they are combined travel contracts, which have been cancelled due to COVID-19, the organiser or, where appropriate, the retailer, may give the consumer or user a voucher to be used within one year from the termination of the validity of the state of alarm and its extensions, for an amount equal to the refund that would have been due. After the period of validity of the voucher, if

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