INTERVIEW
Among the announcements made by Emmanuel Macron on Monday evening: a plan to help the tourism sector. Completely shutdown since the start of containment, travel agencies have already received government assistance, including the postponement of reimbursements for canceled trips. But the recovery of tourism will be slow and it will be necessary to support the sector, a task which the President of the Republic has instructed his government. "This is quite what we expected", rejoices Jean-Pierre Mas, the president of Travel Companies, interviewed by Europe 1.
>> Watch Matthieu Belliard's morning show in replay and in podcast here
A distant and limited recovery in travel
"The most important for us is medium and long term support. The measures taken by the government for this first month of confinement - partial unemployment, deferral of charges - are very effective", underlines Jean-Pierre Mas. The government has notably put in place first measures authorizing travel agencies to reimburse cancellations only after 18 months, during which period a credit will be offered to customers who wish to reschedule their getaway.
READ >> Coronavirus: what to remember from Emmanuel Macron's speech
But the more the weeks pass, the more the hypothesis of a rapid rebound in tourism fades. "What is clear now is that there will be no summer season or that it will be extremely weak and above all limited. The French will not travel much and for the most part in France. And our country will receive few foreign tourists on its territory. "
A sector that must "reinvent itself"
To cope with this very slow recovery in travel, especially from and to abroad, Jean-Pierre Mas calls for continued support. "If the tourism sector is not supported in the long term, it will destroy jobs, which we obviously do not want," warns the president of Travel Companies. According to him, "this support must go through the cancellation of tax charges, social charges".
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> How long are healthy carriers contagious?
> What are the side effects of chloroquine?
> Adulterated tests, false calls for donations ...: watch out for scams linked to the coronavirus
> Reading, board games ... How to stimulate your brain during confinement?
> How to avoid gaining pounds during confinement?
Beyond financial aid, the tourism sector will also have to adapt to "post confinement", with travel habits that may change. "We will need support for businesses so that they can gradually resume their activity and certainly reinvent themselves, as the President of the Republic has emphasized," said Jean-Pierre Mas. The support plan for the sector must be specified by the government in the coming days.