Mayor Enrique Cresto signed the collective bargaining agreement with the Lifeguard Union (SUGARA) this Friday. Alfredo Francolini, who will formally take office as Secretary of Tourism in the coming days, along with the designated vice president of Emcontur, Miguel Guitar, accompanied the mayor during the meeting. There, Cresto announced that "on December 1st, the presentation and start of the 2017-2018 summer season will take place, with the opening of the city's beaches".
"Enrique Cresto is a mayor who broke the mold, because he is the first mayor to meet with the lifeguards at the Club, as he also did last year," said Luis Penco, General Secretary of SUGARA. "Today the preventive shifts begin, and starting next Friday, the beaches will be open," commented Penco, highlighting "the effort and commitment of Mayor Cresto to respect formal employment. It is a decision we value."
This year, the lifeguards underwent new and specific training, including CPR, training on how to act during natural phenomena such as "electrical storms," and essential information to improve the quality of the tourist stay.
"Concordia is beautiful," stated Alfredo Francolini. "I do believe we must continue to improve services," the new official maintained in his first statements to the press. "The strongest tourist attraction in Concordia is the thermal baths, an all-year-round offer. We must know how to exploit it properly. There are things that are well underway and worthy of deepening, others that we will improve, and some that, if deemed necessary, we will correct for the benefit of the city."
At the same time, he maintained that it is necessary to continue deepening work in convention tourism, alternative tourism, and events, to add variety and proposals to Concordia's offer. "The objective set by the mayor is to work jointly with the private sector and attend to the needs of tourists," he expressed. The working method proposed by the municipal government is to agree on the changes to be made in terms of tourism policy with the private sector.
In this regard, the mayor himself indicated, "last long weekend, Concordia led hotel occupancy in the region. This shows that we are working well. We must accentuate what has yielded good results and continue defining the tourist profile of our city with the different actors of the private sector." "Our decision is to continue strengthening joint work with the private sector, deepen the promotion of the city, and consolidate Concordia within the framework of the Salto Grande Tourist Micro-Region that we have promoted together with Carlos Cecco (Federación) and Andrés Lima (Salto, ROU)," noted Cresto.
Finally, in statements to the Public Radio, the vice president of the Hotel and Gastronomic Association of Concordia, Sergio D'Ambrós, pointed out that they await the start of the season with "great expectation," highlighting that "we are glad" about the appointment of Francolini to head the Secretariat of Tourism and Emcontur. "We were expecting a firm decision from the mayor and he finally made it," maintained D'Ambrós in reference to Francolini's appointment. "The person chosen seems appropriate for the position," he maintained.