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Tour operators suspect that the 2020 summer holidays will be mainly holidays in Germany, followed by European trips in the fall. Only one thing is certain: long-distance destinations remain in the distance.
The sea is where Mauro Vanni runs his lido, a children’s pool: warm and shallow. Italians generally stand in groups in the water and exchange news. If you want to do this this year, you have to speak louder, from a distance. Vanni and his colleagues from the Bagnini Rimini Sud Cooperative are happy, however, if, probably since May 29, someone can lie down on the beach again. Locals were forbidden to walk there for weeks. Vanni will now loosen their umbrellas and guests will be able to bring food to their loungers. At first only compatriots will come. Because nobody knows when Italy will open to guests from abroad.
At the moment it is difficult to estimate when German tourists will be able to travel abroad normally again. The Federal Foreign Office extended the world travel warning until June 14. Although it does not mean a travel ban, it discourages them by pointing out that they should be expected abroad, such as curfews or quarantine. Furthermore, almost all countries have so far rejected tourists at the border. However, the discussion now sparked by Union MPs about opening a border before May 15 may also speed up travel plans. The pressure of industry giants like Tui is as great as the suffering of the regions that live on tourists. However, tour operators suspect that the summer holidays will mainly be holidays in Germany, followed by European trips in the fall.
When they can start depends on whether EU countries agree on a common date to open the border. Bilateral “corridor” agreements, such as those envisaged by Croatia with Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, could enter into force more quickly. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz confirmed on Friday that he wanted to open the border with Germany “before summer”; so far, however, Germany has refused to do so. In the end, the 2020 holidays could feel like traveling through medieval principalities. Only one thing is certain: long-distance destinations remain in the distance.
The concepts that countries, regions, hotels and airlines present to minimize the risk of infection will play a role in the opening. Turkey, for example, is planning a certification system for hotels; Restaurants are supposed to cut tables, hotels install thermal cameras at entrances, and rethink their all-inclusive buffets. Mallorca is pushing for an opening in July. Greece also expects to welcome guests from July and is considering a pre-departure crown test. In Croatia, the minimum distances between bathers are discussed; Beach vacations “will no longer be the same as they used to be,” says the director of the local health institute, Krunoslav Capak.
This is also assumed in Rimini. In the “Spiaggia del Sorriso”, in the newly named “Smile Beach”, the lido operators will also wear a mask, as Mauro Vanni says, “if necessary”. But since you can’t see your smile then, you just paint it on the fabric.
What lessons can we learn from the crisis?:Readers’ discussion
