Bars and restaurants in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor are staging a symbolic switch-off of lights today in protest against the “extremely” serious situation that the sector is going through due to the rise in electricity and gas prices.
“This protest seeks to increase awareness to the precarious situation that these sectors are going through and to table a series of initiatives to tackle the problem and try to save companies and jobs”, said the Spanish Hotel and Catering Industry.
The catering industry has complained that monthly bills amount to an average of 4,000 euros in many establishments throughout the country - including the Balearics, which so far has not made a statement on whether it will join the protest.
Compared with the costs of 2019, the price has tripled in many cases, making it extremely hard for the hostelry sector to survive.
So representatives from the hospitality and commerce sectors are gathering in Madrid that many other provinces such as Granada, Cordoba, Ciudad Real, Leon, Murcia, La Rioja, Alicante, Almeria, Avila, Seville, Lleida, Zaragoza, Teruel, Asturias and Salamanca.
What action the Balearics takes remains to be seen.