The coronavirus crisis pushes Portugal to rethink its tourism model
Audio 01:15
An empty street in downtown LIsbonne during the coronavirus epidemic on October 31, 2020. REUTERS - RAFAEL MARCHANTE
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
The lull is confirmed in Portugal on the Covid-19 front.
After the explosion of cases last month, the number of contaminations is slowly decreasing.
The authorities have imposed a lockdown until March 1, but it could still last.
For a country where tourism is one of the driving sectors of the economy, this is a disaster.
Portugal lost three out of four foreign tourists last year, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).
But some see this bad news as an opportunity to rethink the tourism model.
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With our special
correspondent in Lisbon,
Anastasia Becchio
The strides of a few rare runners on the cobblestones of the old town have replaced the incessant noise of the wheeled suitcases of the tourists.
Myriam, architect, would almost come to regret them.
“
It's a human tide, this street,
” she said.
All the time.
I didn't prefer it before either, but economically, it was better for all these people.
There was a lot of life.
This is no longer Portugal, what.
"
In the almost deserted streets of the city center, 80% of the shops are closed.
In the district of Santa Maria Maior, 110 establishments went out of business last year.
"A question of balance"
The
absence of tourists
is an economic disaster, but also an opportunity to reflect on the future, says the mayor, Miguel Coelho.
“
I'm the first to say it
: we need tourists, our economy needs tourists,”
he admits
.
It is a question of balance.
Before Covid-19, we had the opposite problem with very serious problems: with gentrification, we lost 20% of our population.
We need to rethink the tourism model we want.
Crises also allow this type of change and that is very important.
"
In the meantime, the town hall is taking advantage of the confinement and empty streets to do roadwork.
The confinement decreed in mid-January is in effect until March 1.
But it could still be extended.
►
See also: Portugal: the government admits a "dramatic" number of victims of Covid-19
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Portugal
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