Paris (AFP)
Ten percent of the European Union's GDP, 27 million jobs: tourism is one of the key sectors of the continent's economy. Already hard hit by the coronavirus crisis, professionals fear a historically bad summer, even if they are trying to adapt.
Will there be summer vacations?
In France, the world's leading tourist destination, President Emmanuel Macron warned Tuesday that it was "too early to say if we can have a vacation" this summer. European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton warned that "certain areas will be open to tourists and others will not", depending on the health situation.
In the United Kingdom, a major supplier of tourists to Europe, "reservations for this summer have dropped very significantly," said a spokesperson for ABTA, the British association of travel professionals. Who still wants to believe that "when the confinement is lifted, the desire to travel to see loved ones and to take a well deserved vacation will be renewed".
How will the tourism professions cope?
"We are observing a certain number of fashionable destinations starting to announce plans to relaunch the activity", further explains the ABTA, "but it will be necessary that the appropriate sanitary conditions are in place", notably to allow social distancing. This applies to the aviation sector, which is also very affected by the closure of the borders.
In very touristy regions, the same questions arise: how to reassure tourists and, incidentally, save a summer season that promises to be historically bad? In Nice, Ali Abdelhafidh, from Castel Plage, on the Promenade des Anglais, laughs and threatens to "leave the profession" if gloves and masks are imposed under the parasols.
In Spain, the city of Gandia (south-east) plans to recruit supervisors, or even ban children from the beach at certain times to enforce social distancing. The restaurant terraces will be enlarged and the menus can be viewed on a smartphone, instead of going from hand to hand. The RoomMate Hotels chain provides mats impregnated with bleach to disinfect the soles and wheels of suitcases when customers arrive, subjected to a temperature test and equipped with masks, gel and gloves.
In Italy, the Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini lamented in the press: "what tourism is it if, for example, we can only be a few to eat at a restaurant or in a pizzeria?"
All stakeholders are unanimous in calling for clear and consistent guidelines. The European institutions are working on "finalized and harmonized rules at European level" for the reception of tourists, assured Tuesday Thierry Breton. Responses expected "in the coming days".
What economic impact?
Post-doctoral fellow at ESTHUA in Angers (Higher Studies in Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Angers), Johan Vincent worked on how economic crises are modifying the tourism sector. "Tourism has always started off again, because economic players have adapted to the crises they have faced," he told AFP. However, "a big effort of adaptation will be necessary".
An effort that will require investments, while the sector has been stopped for several months. In Spain, the second largest tourist destination in the world, the number of foreign visitors fell by 64.3% in March compared to a year earlier, and the hotel management organization Exceltur estimates that tourism could lose up to 60% of its annual sales.
Europe will have to deploy "a Marshall plan for tourism," said Thierry Breton. The 27 are currently negotiating a "gigantic" stimulus fund, according to the commissioner who mentioned the range of "1,000 to 2,000 billion euros".
But will all the countries feel concerned? In the growth forecasts of the member states published on Wednesday on the Twitter account of the European Commission, the cleavage is evident between the countries whose economy is most dependent on tourism, Greece, Italy, Spain, Croatia and France to a lesser extent. , And the others.
burs-cda / aue / nth
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