The recently formed Confederation of Tourism Stakeholders (CAT) which brings together 14 professional organizations of the French tourism sector wrote to the Prime Minister to express their opposition to any new increase in charges of short-term contracts (CDD).
According to French tourism professionals, "at a time when French SMEs are finally emerging from the water, after five years, the taxation of short contracts is a negative signal for new jobs" . They explain: "Tourist activities are by their nature seasonal, subject to short cycles and punctual peaks of activity. While promoting long-term employment, companies must adapt and resort to short-term contracts in order to cope with these peaks of activity ".
"The highly competitive international environment of the sector makes French tourism vulnerable to any increase in the cost of labor hired through short contracts and creates a risk of deteriorating the competitiveness of the companies and destination France. Overcompensating short contracts will not turn them into permanent contracts, but will weaken the momentum that public authorities and professionals agree to support. "
Not only the hotel and restaurant industry, but also the tour operators are calling for fixed-term contracts: "Our jobs are seasonal, and political, economic and security-friendly. We need to be able to return quickly to redeploy during the recovery phases. The flexibility of fixed-term contracts and non-surcharged contracts are necessary for the smallest companies in our sector that create non-offshored jobs and pay their taxes in France on a full rate, "explains Fabrice Dariot, head of the online tour operator Flight exchange.
The CAT reminded that tourism contributes to nearly 10% of French GDP, employs more than 2 million professionals and provides for the reception of 89 million foreign tourists in France each year. The government has set a target of exceeding 100 million tourists in 2020 and raising revenues to 50 billion euros. Events such as the Ryder Cup this year, the International Rugby Cup in 2023 or the Olympic Games in 2024 should contribute to the achievement of these ambitions in the coming years. "But these goals can only be achieved in a business-friendly environment," says CAT.
