It's no secret that the coronavirus health crisis has hit the tourism industry very hard. In this period of departure on vacation, if professionals are "a little reassured" to see the crowded highways, they remain "worried", reminded this Friday to the "Big Evening Newspaper" of Europe 1, the director general of the Regional Committee du Tourisme (CRT) of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Michel Durrieu.
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A sector in great difficulty without a minister
Because beyond the attendance figures, Michel Durrieu remains perplexed about the state support for this sector which weighs for 8% of the GDP. "During the crisis, everyone was talking about it. Billions of euros were released [18 billion, editor's note] to support us, and we needed it." But with the reshuffle, "the sector has not been endowed with a minister," he regrets. "We could have imagined a minister responsible for foreign affairs to relaunch the machine, but no," he insists.
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An incomprehensible choice for Michel Durrieu, especially since the effects of the coronavirus crisis "will spread over time": "It will be very complicated, especially in September and October. We must support tourism SMEs, and there are many of them, until 2021, until next season so that they can recover cash. "
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Without forgetting that it is currently almost impossible for professionals to project themselves in the coming months, since "almost 25% of French people wait the week before their departure to book". Concretely, "the professionals of the sector sail by sight". If the director general nevertheless wants to be reassuring when seeing the arrival of tourists, he nevertheless calls on the French to book and go on vacation to "take advantage of this moment of respite"