Summer holidays: "We must tell" tourists that "they will be able to move"

INTERVIEW

In his last speech on the health situation linked to Covid-19, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron set a horizon for a possible reopening of cultural places and the terraces of bars and restaurants in mid-May.

But for now, the summer vacation seems to be too far away to be discussed by the executive.

Invited on Sunday on Europe 1, Michel Durrieu, general manager of the nature campsites and holiday villages company Huttopia International, nevertheless called for greater clarity for the months to come.

“Professionals and tourists alike need a calendar,” he said.

"They need prospects, they need hope."

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"People want to go out"

Regarding tourists, the manager considers more particularly that "must tell them that this summer they will be able to move".

"There will be a breath of fresh air, people want to go out, we can see it," he underlines.

"There are some who are going to need to find each other."

And Michel Durrieu also thinks of tourism professionals, strongly affected by the crisis.

"This gradual reopening with strict rules (from mid-May) will allow us to take advantage of our holidays, so we have to book," he urges.

"Tourism professionals need it."

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According to him, the efforts that will be made by the French in the next four weeks, with the extension of additional restrictive measures to the entire territory, should make it possible to envision a good summer.

But, he admits, "we will have to help families who have lost purchasing power".

"Last summer 45% of people couldn't go on vacation because they couldn't afford it. This is unacceptable."