China News Service, May 12 According to the "European Times" report, as the recent epidemic slowed, European countries began to cautiously try to "unblock", and many industries embarked on the road to resumption of production. And the European tourism industry that has not yet started to "restart" has already "sit down", they continue to voice, desperately hope to recover the heavy blow of the epidemic in the next summer.
Tourism fears ushering in " worst summer in history "
France ’s Southwestern News reported that in Europe, tourism, which accounts for 10% of the EU ’s GDP and provides 27 million jobs, is undoubtedly one of the most important economic sectors on the continent. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, various countries have closed their borders and implemented a "foot ban". The European tourism industry has been severely hit.
As the second largest tourist destination in the world, the number of foreign tourists in Spain fell by 64.3% in March compared with the same period in 2019. According to the Spanish tourism association Exceltur, the Spanish tourism industry will lose 60% of tourists throughout the year. French MP Viviane Artigalas said that tourism is an "ecosystem" and everyone is affected, from restaurants to suppliers, from hotels to travel agencies. She estimates that in the first half of 2020, the French tourism industry will lose 40 billion euros in turnover. The European Commission said that since the outbreak, the turnover of restaurants and hotels has fallen by 50%, and the revenues of airlines and cruise companies have fallen by 90%. Experts expect that in the best case, Europe will only return to 2019 levels in 2022 or even 2023.
Summer is the traditional peak tourist season. Every year from June to August, the tourism industry generates 150 billion euros in revenue. But for now, the tourism industry's expectations for the peak season are likely to fall short. French President Emmanuel Macron, the world's largest tourist destination, issued an early warning, saying "it's too early to say whether he can take a vacation this summer." Thierry Breton, the EU internal market commissioner, also said that "according to the health conditions in various places, some areas are accessible to tourists, while others are not." Generally speaking, governments of all countries agree that the 2020 holiday is best "limited to the country."
And the wishes of the people are the same. According to French polls, most French people plan to stay in the country during the summer vacation. The United Kingdom, as one of the largest source countries for trips to Europe, its Travel Agency Association (ABTA) spokesperson confirmed that bookings for the summer of 2020 have been greatly reduced.
Faced with the upcoming "worst summer in history", people in the tourism industry tried to reassure tourists. For example, hotels in Gandia, southwestern Spain, decided to sterilize shoe soles and suitcases when passengers arrive, expand table distances, and enable mobile ordering. However, relevant people do not have enough confidence in this, as Italian Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini lamented: "If we eat in a restaurant or pizzeria with only a few people, what's the vacation like?"
How can this summer be saved?
Facing an unknown prospect. All tourism practitioners have called for clear and consistent guidelines at the EU level. Breton once stated that “we need a Marshall Plan to help the tourism industry”, and 27 countries are negotiating a stimulus fund in the range of 1 trillion euros to 2 trillion euros. However, according to the Southwestern News, Greece, Italy, Spain, Croatia and other countries whose economies rely heavily on tourism have obvious differences with other countries.
Reuters quoted sources as saying on May 10 that the European Commission plans to release a document recommending member states to remove certain border restrictions and use vouchers instead of direct refunds to retain tourists.
In order to revitalize the local tourism industry, the French senator suggested issuing "vacation coupons" funded by the state or the regions to encourage front-line workers to take summer vacations. In addition, Atigalas suggested that the government strengthen the promotion of "seasonal workers" to help unemployed workers.
Although both the government and the public are not optimistic about "transnational travel", mathematician Miquel Oliu Barton and economist Bary Pradelski are still advocating coordinated action within Europe in the "World News" . They hope that the European Union will come forward to carry out certification, distribution and supervision in the low-risk "green zone" designated by each country, so that tourists can freely flow between the "green zone" of each country. They believe that this move can inspire Europeans' sense of solidarity and identity and will be the key to saving the summer tourism season in southern European countries. (Qiu Tan)