World Youth Day nets $230 million for Madrid

[_Abyssinia]

Arturo Fernandez, the president of Madrid’s House of Commerce said Aug. 22 that hotels, transportation services and businesses in the Spanish capital took in nearly $230 million during World Youth Day.

The director of the Hotel Industry Business Association in Madrid, Juan Jose Blardony, said three million meal tickets were distributed to young people throughout the week, valued at nearly $32 million.

Blardony told Europa Press that the discount meal tickets were the result of an agreement between the Federation of Fast Food Restaurants of Madrid and the bishops’ conference.

Some 2,479 establishments in Madrid accepted the meal tickets, including fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King and many local restaurants.

catholicnewsagency.com/news/world-youth-day-nets-230-million-for-madrid/

 

[jmcrae]

Arturo Fernandez, the president of Madrid’s House of Commerce said Aug. 22 that hotels, transportation services and businesses in the Spanish capital took in nearly $230 million during World Youth Day.

The director of the Hotel Industry Business Association in Madrid, Juan Jose Blardony, said three million meal tickets were distributed to young people throughout the week, valued at nearly $32 million.

Blardony told Europa Press that the discount meal tickets were the result of an agreement between the Federation of Fast Food Restaurants of Madrid and the bishops’ conference.

Some 2,479 establishments in Madrid accepted the meal tickets, including fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King and many local restaurants.

catholicnewsagency.com/news/world-youth-day-nets-230-million-for-madrid/

This is good news.

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

I was at the World Youth Day myself, and I heard (I never saw myself) that some were protesting because the money spent on the World Youth Day would have been “better spent” on improving Spain’s economy. What I can tell you from first-hand experience is that such criticisms are pure nonsense. Practically everywhere I went to, restaurants and every other local business were operating beyond capacity. Queues were so long it resembled long millipedes stretching through the shop doors. Empty bins were non-existent; they were overflowing because of the rubbish that came from the food.

You can trust me on this, the World Youth Day was anything but a drain on Spain’s economy. And not only that, but it has positive implications on the global economy as well. For instance, the World Youth Day is helping to fund green initiatives in developing countries to improve efficiency in energy production.

 

[GEddie]

Bravo. Hopefully, Spain will publicize this and the secularist protesters of Brazil will stay home in 2013.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Bataar]

My sister and her husband were at WYD with a group of kids and they’re going to think of some sort of way to file an official complaint about how bad things were handled. Their group showed up to the event on Saturday and they said that they were letting anyone through the gates whether they had the propper badges or not. Eventually, the area was full and the closed up and wouldn’t let anyone else in even though they had the badges and had already paid for it. One person in the group stepped out for some reason before they closed it up and they wouldn’t let him go back even though all his stuff, wallet, passport, etc was with people inside.

My sister was suffering from the heat and they had no stations/booths or anything to get water, the medical facility she was taken to had no A/C, no fans and no water and they were trying to treat people with heat exhaustion. The group of kids in their group had been working for over 2 years to get money for this trip and even though they did everything right, they weren’t even allowed in.

 

[PiousTemplar]

It was paid for by WYD sponsors, and the Catholic Church. The state did not pay a thing.

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

It was paid for by WYD sponsors, and the Catholic Church. The state did not pay a thing.

Actually, that’s not necessarily true. The gymnasiums, schools and other areas to lodge pilgrims was funded by the State. Also, the cost of discounted travel (free travel for 7 days), police to guard the event and a number of other costs were borne by the State. So it’s not true to say that the State did not pay a thing.

 

[jmcrae]

Actually, that’s not necessarily true. The gymnasiums, schools and other areas to lodge pilgrims was funded by the State. Also, the cost of discounted travel (free travel for 7 days), police to guard the event and a number of other costs were borne by the State. So it’s not true to say that the State did not pay a thing.

They more than got their money back when the kids bought souvenirs, took taxis out, and moved in to hotels after a painful couple of nights on a gym floor. (We moved our group into a hotel after the first night in Madrid, because so many of them were getting sick from the crowded and unsanitary conditions.)

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

They more than got their money back when the kids bought souvenirs, took taxis out, and moved in to hotels after a painful couple of nights on a gym floor. (We moved our group into a hotel after the first night in Madrid, because so many of them were getting sick from the crowded and unsanitary conditions.)

I sincerely hope you aren’t thinking that I’m saying the World Youth Day wasn’t a success. It was. I was there. Possibly even longer than you. I forked out virtually everything I had to ensure that I could go there. It was absolutely amazing, so much so I even concluded that every Catholic serious in his/her faith should go there at least once in their youthful years (think about Muslims and the Hajj that they make).

I was merely responding to PiousTemplar’s incorrect claim that the State did not pay a thing. They did. But yes, at the end of the day, the World Youth Day was a success both spiritually and fiscally. I wish everyday was a World Youth Day

 

[PiousTemplar]

Actually, that’s not necessarily true. The gymnasiums, schools and other areas to lodge pilgrims was funded by the State. Also, the cost of discounted travel (free travel for 7 days), police to guard the event and a number of other costs were borne by the State. So it’s not true to say that the State did not pay a thing.

You may say it was ‘funded’ but it would be more accurate to say ‘invested’.