Spain’s Way Out of the Economic Crisis
And speaking of Spain! On our trip in September, I was surprised that every hotel we stayed in was full. I had read that unemployment was 20%, especially along the southern coast. We were never there but close and while I don’t doubt the statistic, I wonder if certain limited segments of the tourist industry are doing well. And if the hotels are full, then the restaurants and other related businesses will be doing well.
Spain’s economy has been shaky and the object of speculation that it would go the way of Greece and Ireland. Construction caused the financial implosion in Spain that it did in the U.S. Yet an interesting article from Wharton School of Business’ “Knowledge” newsletter, titled “Innovation Combined with ’Internationalization’: Spain’s Way Out of the Crisis”, maintains that Spain doesn’t have to go the way of Greece and Ireland and backs that claim up with some data. First, banking is a positive (not their savings banks though). Spanish banking is viewed positively by such publications as the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. Second, major Spanish companies are winning contracts throughout the world to build infrastructure of all kinds from power plants to highway interchanges as well as technology projects.
Mauro Guillén, director of Wharton’s Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies, notes that “combining innovation and internationalization is the only way out of the crisis because this is not a temporary crisis; it involve the readjustment of the very foundations of competitiveness.” The strategy of corporate internationalization is the main recipe for counteracting the impact of the financial crisis on companies, according to Claudio Boada, president of the Circle of Entrepreneurs.
Tags: economy, internationalization, Spain, travel
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