2021 has not started as smoothly as we expected. Filomena has devastated much of Spain covering the country with a white cloak. In Madrid, specifically, the storm has overwhelmed the city, flooding roads, shops, airports, trains … today many neighborhoods see how the supermarket shelves are worryingly empty. The storm of the century has transformed Madrid in a few hours. But what about the bars and restaurants?
The hospitality sector, which due to the pandemic it suffered one of the worst crises in its history, has been hit by the storm again. Last Saturday, January 9, 100% of the hotel establishments in the region closed and today Thursday 15 there are some that are still unable to open, due to product shortages, damage to its premises or simply because the accumulated snow continues to make reopening impossible, although it is expected that throughout the day a large percentage of the hotel industry in the community will be open.
–
Hospitality Madrid estimates the losses for the sector that Filomena leaves at about 70 million euros.
Juan José Blardony, Director of Hospitality Madrid, try to be positive and comment that “We hope that, as our proverb says, ´year of snows, year of goods´, and that this storm marks the turning point of the recovery, both at the health level, with the generalized vaccination campaign in our citizenship, and at the social level and economic, to recover social reunions in our usual bars and restaurants. It is our wish for the new year.”
* Cover photo: © REUTERS / Juan Medina
–
