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

3 Decree was adopted pursuant to Article 116.1 and 2 of the Constitutional Text, which establishes: “1. An organic law shall regulate the states of alarm, emergency and siege (martial law) and the corresponding powers and limitations. 2. The state of alarm shall be declared by the Government, by means of a decree decided upon by the Council of Ministers, for a maximum period of fifteen days. The Congress of Deputies shall be informed and must meet immediately for this purpose. Without their authorisation, said period cannot be extended. The Decree shall specify the territorial area to which the effects of the proclamation shall apply”. The organic law to which the Spanish Constitution refers is the current Organic Law No. 4/1981, of 1 June, on the states of alarm, exception and siege 12 . The main objective of this work is to analyse the measures adopted concerning COVID-19 and its repercussion in the tourist field in Spain, especially in the case of tourist accommodation. The methodology used will focus on the study of the main applicable regulations, as well as the position of the doctrine in relation to the measures adopted, in order to obtain conclusions that allow us to assess the situation and the social and economic consequences in the tourism sector regarding tourist accommodation in the state of alarm by COVID-19. I. Measures Adopted in Spain in Response to COVID-19 Concerning to Tourism The limitation of circulation determined by Royal Decree No. 463/2020 affects tourism very directly. The mobility of people fosters the spread of infections, and this is the reason why the confinement of the population has been established. This confinement has the exception of those considered essential services, regulated by Order SND/310/2020, of 31 March, by which specific centres, services and sanitary Derecho , No. 86-87, 2020, 22-31, available in : http://www.elcronista.es/El-Cronista-n%C3%BAmero-86-87- Coronavirus.pdf [ consulted on 30 March 2020]; V ELASCO C ABALLERO , F., “Estado de alarma y distribución territorial del poder” [online], El Cronista del Estado Social y Democrático de Derecho , No. 86-87, 2020, 78- 87, available in: http://www.elcronista.es/El-Cronista-n%C3%BAmero-86-87-Coronavirus.pdf [ consulted on 05 April 2020]. 12 BOE No. 134, 05 June 1981.