- The tourism sector is at a standstill due to the pandemic.
- The fear of professionals relates to the resumption of activity.
- Several measures, such as the multiplication of assets, have been created.
Among all the sectors in crisis due to the coronavirus, tourism is one of the most emblematic. Because tourist consumption represents around 7% of France's GDP, but also because France is normally the number one tourist destination in the world in terms of number of travelers (87 million tourists welcomed in 2017).
The establishment of containment and the closing of EU borders have wiped out these good figures. Cultural or leisure places, considered "not essential to the life of the country", had to close their doors for two weeks. The hotels are idling.
Guaranteed loan, lump sum assistance and assets
"The crisis is brutal, the sector as a whole has almost no activity," said Tuesday Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State in charge of the file, during a press point. To deal with this sudden stop, tourism companies can benefit from several devices. First there is the State guaranteed loan: this is a loan to be taken out with a bank and which must represent a maximum of 25% of annual turnover. "Of four billion euros of loans registered by the Public Investment Bank, 10% (or 400 million euros) relate to the tourism sector," said Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
Self-employed people (tour guides, for example) are entitled to flat-rate assistance of 1,500 euros per month of inactivity, subject to fulfilling several conditions (detailed here). Last emergency device: an ordinance taken in the Council of Ministers allows tourism professionals (camping, hotels, travel agencies) but also individuals (rental of accommodation) or associations (organizations of educational stays) to offer a credit to customers having canceled their reservation from March 1st. It will be valid for 18 months. As Edouard Philippe explained on March 23 on TF1, this makes it possible “to ensure that these companies do not disappear, unable to repay at a given moment all of what they had sold to their clients ".
The question of recovery
If tourism professionals generally welcome these measures, they remain very worried for the future. "The recovery scares us for two reasons," explains Jean-Sébastien Barrault, president of the National Federation of Passenger Transport (FNTV), to 20 Minutes . First, the companies will come out of this period with a heavy foot, since the government measures consist either of debt lags, or in additional credits that will have to be paid one day. Second, I am not sure that tourists return to Europe and France so quickly because the epidemic is evolving differently on the planet. We are also talking about a phase 2 of the epidemic, which could further slow down the restart. ”
“This crisis will certainly be long because there will be possible aftershocks. There will be a fear of travel, it will really reassure travelers, ”confirms Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. The Secretary of State recalls the evaluation made by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO): the latter expects revenues from global tourism to fall between 20% and 30% for 2020. In comparison, the decline in 2009, linked to the economic crisis, had been only 4%.
In view of this grim prospect, Jean-Sébastien Barrault therefore requests additional measures from the State. "This could take the form of cancellation of charges [social security contributions, taxes] or a compensation fund along the lines of what has been done for very small businesses and self-employed people." The idea of outright cancellation of corporate claims is not being considered by the government at this time. "If this postponement should turn into cancellation for certain companies, on a case-by-case basis, we can consider it," explained Bruno Le Maire on March 17.
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