The gondolas can sail on the canals of Venice, lovers can play "Romeo and Juliet" on the balcony of Verona and the Colosseum in Rome welcome visitors again. As the tourist season is supposed to start, Italy reopens its borders on Wednesday June 3. International flights resume in Milan, Rome and Naples and the government authorizes, from this day, the free movement between the regions.  

"The government wants to do everything to save the summer season as the epidemic curve improves," said Natalia Mendoza, France 24 correspondent in Rome.

Italy reopens borders to boost tourism

As the country faces the deepest recession since World War II, it is in dire need of tourists. However, the government and professionals in the sector fear that tourists will not be there this year. If the number of covid-19 contamination continues to fall, Italy remains one of the European countries most affected by the pandemic where the new coronavirus killed more than 33,500 people.

Italy, last "hot spot" 

Despite the reopening of the borders, the border countries continue to be very cautious towards Italy. Switzerland has warned that its citizens who travel to Italy from Wednesday will be subject to "health measures" upon their return. It will open its borders with Germany, France and Austria on June 15, but not with Italy.

On June 15, Austria will lift its restrictions with Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary but, again, not with Italy, which its Minister of Health described last week as "hotspot".

These Italian-specific measures prompted Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio to warn countries against treating his country "like a leper", while people arriving in Italy from Europe will not be , they are not required to isolate themselves, unless they have recently traveled from another continent.

Luigi Di Maio announced that he would travel to Germany, Slovenia and Greece this weekend to convince them that Italy is a safe country for tourists. He is due to receive his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday.

Tourism devastated by the health crisis 

Containment measures have had a devastating effect on the Italian tourism sector, which accounts for around 13% of gross domestic product (GDP). Restaurants, cafes and bathing establishments have slowly reopened in the past two weeks. But only 40 of the 1,200 hotels in Rome have reopened, the Corriere della Sera said on Monday, and only a dozen in Milan, their owners saying it is too expensive to reopen them if they are empty.

The national tourism agency said that some 40% of Italians usually go abroad for their holidays, but that they could decide to spend their holidays on their land this year, which would help local businesses.

Freedom of movement on the territory from the north to the south of the country nonetheless raises concerns, especially in the south. "The governors of regions like Sicily and Campania fear the arrival of tourists from the north of the country, which is more contaminated," explains Natalia Mendoza. The Italian government for its part ensures that the Italian health system is ready to provide in the event of a second epidemic wave. 

With AFP 

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