Covid-19 throws Europe's tourism industry into
chaos
No one knows if summer tourists will arrive, or how
businesses will survive if not
Jon Henley
and Guardian correspondents
@jonhenley
Sat 2 May
2020 05.00 BST
The
coronavirus crisis has flung Europe’s tourism sector into chaos, with borders
closed and airlines grounded. But if that is frustrating for holidaymakers, it
risks ruining holiday businesses and devastating the economies that depend on
them.
From the
Algarve in Portugal to the Greek islands, and from the chic resorts of Italy’s
Amalfi coast to the pubs and clubs of the Spanish costas, no one knows whether
Europe’s holidaymakers will come this year, or how to survive if they do not.
The losses
are already dramatic. The European commission estimates that the EU’s hotels
and restaurants will lose half their income this year. Tourism revenues fell by
95% in Italy and 77% in Spain in March, according to the banking group UBS.
Across
southern Europe, where recovery from the 2008 crisis relied to a significant
extent on tourism, the sector is vital to national economies. It accounts for
20% of GDP in Greece, 18% in Portugal, 15% in Spain and 13% in Italy, according
to the World Bank.
The EU’s
internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, has called for a “Marshall plan”
using funds from Europe’s vast economic stimulus packages to haul hotels,
restaurants and tour operators back from collapse, and the EU’s executive has
promised guidelines for a coordinated restart to travel.
Increasingly
desperate business owners are demanding action, but many governments do not
sound positive. Holidays in other EU countries are not yet possible for
Germans, the chancellor, Angela Merkel said bluntly on Thursday.
France’s
prime minister, Edouard Philippe, said it would “not be reasonable to imagine
travelling very far abroad very soon”, and Spain’s foreign minister, Arancha
González Laya, said the country would gradually reopen to tourism, but not
until “we are in a position to guarantee tourists’ safety”.
The bloc’s
internal borders remain closed for leisure travel, with no prospect of an
imminent reopening or decision likely before at least the end of May.
Germany
this week extended a warning against foreign travel until mid-June. Until
further notice, all non-nationals arriving in France, including from EU states,
must declare an essential professional or family reason for their journey or
they will be turned back.
Even
domestic travel is still severely restricted in some countries. Italy’s prime
minister, Giuseppe Conte, has said Italians should go on holiday in Italy, but
they will not be permitted to journey between regions when restrictions begin
to ease on 4 May. French citizens, too, will be limited to a 100km radius of
their homes from 11 May.
The EU’s
transport and tourism roadmap suggests travel restrictions within the bloc
could first be eased “between areas with a comparably low reported circulation
of the virus”, prompting the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia, which have
reported low numbers of infections, to propose corridors to the Adriatic coast.
These could
perhaps be accompanied, it has been suggested, by a common “Covid-19 passport”
testifying to the bearer’s health before travel, or by in-resort testing once
they arrive.
Germany has
rejected bilateral solutions. The country’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, said
an EU “race to see who will allow tourist travel” first would pose unacceptable
risks, turning down an offer from Austria for Germans to take their holidays
there and pointing to the role of the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl in
accelerating the spread of the pandemic in central Europe.
For the
destination countries most affected, part of the strategy involves ensuring
visitors unable to come this summer return later. In Portugal, which has so far
kept its coronavirus death toll below 1,000, vouchers are being issued to those
forced to cancel, allowing them to reschedule trips until the end of 2021.
Some hotels
and restaurants are still counting on being able to reopen, but the head of the
Algarve tourist business association, Elidérico Viegas, has said many will not.
Foreign visitors are unlikely to return until April next year, he said.
Spain’s
coronavirus outbreak has spiralled into one of the world’s worst, and more than
24,500 people have died, but some of the country’s tourist hotspots have
emerged relatively unscathed, allowing some hope that they might yet host a
summer season.
“The
Balearics rank among the safest areas in Europe with one of the lowest rates of
contagion,” said Iago Negueruela, the regional official in charge of economy
and tourism for the islands. Officials are cautiously hoping that international
tourists could be allowed to visit Mallorca and Ibiza from late July.
Spain was
the world’s second most-visited country in 2019, with nearly 84 million
tourists. A heavy economic reliance on tourism has left administrations
scrambling to develop protocols capable of protecting what travellers do this
summer.
“We want to
have everything prepared so tourists can arrive as soon as possible,” said
Negueruela. The challenge lies in striking a balance between attractions such
as the discotecas of Ibiza and the new reality demanded by Covid-19. “Some sectors
will have more significant adaptations,” he said. “That much is clear.”
Greece,
like Cyprus, is pushing for the EU to agree a common way forward. For both, the
question is existential. More than a fifth of their workforces are employed in
the sector, almost double the EU average, and tourism is the single biggest
contributor to their economies.
“The most
important thing now is a common travel protocol to avoid the confusion of
different countries having different rules,” said Cyprus’ deputy tourism minister,
Savvas Perdios.
Greece says
it foresees a July start to the season, with a low rate of infection and
Covid-19 deaths fuelling optimism it can project itself as a safe destination.
“All bets are on the next two months,” said Grigoris Tasios, the president of
the Panhellenic Federation of Hoteliers.
Resorts in
northern Greece are looking to boost occupancy from neighbouring Balkan states
that have also handled the pandemic well. “Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Skopje
[Macedonia] together have a population of 40 million and from any of them
people can get to us by car,” he said.
Tell us
Italy’s
small business federation CNA expects 25 million fewer foreign visitors between
July and September. Sicily, one of the country’s flagship destinations for
summer tourism, is already reporting 65% of bookings cancelled. The National
Tourism Agency forecasts a €20bn fall in income compared with 2019.
Italy’s
tourism minister, Dario Franceschini, said the country was working hard to
strike a balance between safety concerns and the reopening of tourism
facilities. “It won’t be easy, but we’ll see it through,” he said.
Businesses
are experimenting with four-metre plexiglass barriers on beachfronts and
restaurateurs with glass shields between tables, but all know the impact on
tourism will will be felt for years to come. Business is not expected to return
to pre-coronavirus levels until 2023.
Additional
reporting by Ashifa Kassam in Madrid, Helena Smith in Athens, Lorenzo Tondo in
Palermo and Philip Oltermann in Berlin
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