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However, tourists are already leaving, and as the sun gets cooler, hopes for the Italian tourism market to make a full recovery by 2020 are gradually diminishing. Winter is no longer beyond the mountains and with it comes a sense of economic catastrophe. Summer does not appear to have saved the Italian economy, writes CNN.
The Italian government, like many in the world, has injected cash to help support many of the affected businesses or individuals, but with many travel restrictions still in place around the world, the loss of income from the travel industry the country that limps has left a great void to fill.
“Tourists are what we need to survive,” says Cassandra Santoro, founder and CEO of Travel Italian Style.
Anyone visiting Italy in August might have thought that almost everything in the country was back to normal and that Italians themselves enjoyed the summer. However, the economic outlook for the country is very bad.
“Italy is projected to lose a total of $ 24.6 billion this year. The revenue of foreign visitors, but even the cost of travelers in the country will be up to 43.6 billion. Giorgio Palmucci, president of the National Council of Tourism of Italy, ENIT.
“This is expected to have a great impact on all Italian cities, especially those that depend the most on international visitors like Venice, Florence and Rome,” added Giorgio Palmucci.
Winter is eagerly awaiting
All these economic problems are exacerbated by the resurgence of Covid-19 cases, both by the cross-border movement of young Italians to countries such as Croatia, Greece or Malta and by the frequent visits of young people to discos. The increase in the number of daily cases in Italy is still even lower than in France or Spain, but Italians are already looking forward to winter.
Fears of a second coronavirus wave appear to have ruined previous forecasts of a resurgence in tourism in the country in September and October, with both domestic and foreign tourists rejecting the travel plans.
Business owners now believe that the government’s speech that Italy will get the much-coveted boost from domestic tourism in the summer was just rhetoric. The statistics now paint a much sadder picture.
The Italian Business Confederation reported that 70% of hotels in cities like Rome and Florence and 20% in coastal areas never opened after closing. Italy’s National Institute of Statistics predicts that 60% of industrial companies fear an imminent collapse.
The permanent travel ban, which prevents Americans, one of Italy’s biggest sources of tourism, from entering the country, is also particularly brutal.
Strength and courage
Cassandra Santoro of Travel Italian Style says that at least 85% of her clients are American. In September, her company recorded 100% of holiday cancellations for 2020. He says it is the first year that she has not made any profit from planning holidays in Italy.
„2019 In December, we had more than 100 clients who had booked trips to Italy from 2020. March to September. About 50 percent. customers canceled their vacations completely, so they had to return all the money, the rest postponed the trip to 2021, some even until 2023 or 2024 ”.
However, according to her, Italians remain optimistic and deep down they understand that this situation will not last forever. “Power and value strength and courage) is what Italians know best. “
The gastronomic tourism company Casa Mia usually organizes gourmet tours in Italy without interruption from March to October. But not this year. The cancellations of American clients began in February, an early sign of a catastrophic summer season.
“Within days, we lost 100% of our 2020 orders,” says Eleonora Baldwin, co-owner of the company. “There has been an average influx of European travelers in the summer, but the recent resurgence of new cases of coronavirus may force our country to close again, so the next few months are a big question.”
Hotel owners in Italy experience the same sense of uncertainty.
Maurizio Saccani, COO of the luxury chain Rocco Forte Hotels, says that Rome was completely abandoned by tourists in July and August, and occupancy at the famous Hotel de Russie was around 15%, down from 87%. during the same period last year.
A little late
Giorgia Tozzi, general manager of the five-star Vilon hotel in Rome, says that 2020 should have been the third and most promising year for the hotel in terms of profits. With a record bookings since April, the hotel has prepared for the best summer of its life.
However, as early as mid-February, reservation cancellations began to float and the hotel was finally closed. Little by little, things began to improve after the hotel ambitiously opened its doors on June 3: Italian business travelers began to flow in and, from mid-June to September, travelers from France, Spain and Northern Europe. .
“It has helped us achieve about 37% employment, up from more than 80% at the same time last year. It is disappointing, but given the current situation, it is a miracle.” The next few months are uncertain, but we hope to see some improvement from spring 2021, ”says Giorgia Tozzi.
And while there is much talk of billions in national EU incentives and initiatives, many entrepreneurs say it is too late to get help.
Natalino Gisonna, owner of Corso 281 Luxury Suites in Rome, urges the Italian government to continue supporting the hotel business.
“Covid-19 was an economic disaster for our hotel,” he says. – From June to September we received only six guests, most from France and the United Kingdom. In the same period last year, our employment reached 95%. I don’t think the situation will improve by the spring of 2021, it would only be if the international borders were reopened ”.
Gisonna says that until now the government’s measures to support the tourism sector, including the so-called “vacation voucher,” have been ineffective because they have not provided the necessary funds for businesses.
“Of the 2,400 million euros of economic stimulus allocated, so far only 200 million euros have been spent and only 8% have reached hotels and beach clubs. Unallocated resources must be allocated directly to the companies that need them, in the form of tax breaks and grants, otherwise many companies will not survive, ”says N. Gisonna.
And it’s not just the hotels in big cities that suffer. On islands like Ischia and Capri, mass tourism is seasonal and entrepreneurs here work hard to keep summer earnings for themselves throughout the year.
Holly Star and her husband Gianluca D’esposito run Ristorante Michel’angelo and a popular cooking school on Capri, an island that is typically visited by more than two million travelers each year.
“This summer has been much more than just a challenge, especially for small family businesses like ours,” he says.
Michael Sambaldi, CEO of Pellicano Hotels, says that while the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples has lost up to 50% of its summer revenue, his Mezzatorre Hotel and Spa has managed to survive by accepting Italians who increasingly value beauty. from his homeland.
Giancarlo Carriero, director of the Luxury Regina Isabella Hotel on the island of Ischia, says that although the island’s season in 2020 was primarily for Italians, he expects international tourism to pick up again in 2022. According to Carriero, the pandemic has changed people and meaningful health travel will become a priority for many.
“With its healing hot springs and spectacular natural landscapes, Ischia can provide that and more,” he says.
So while the current outlook does not promise anything good for Italy, the country’s companies are determined to continue the fight. Perhaps an example of this is the lighthouse that Italy needs on a road that will be long and painful.
Italy is one of the European countries most affected by the pandemic. 280 thousand have already been officially registered in Italy. cases of infection, including more than 35.5 thousand. deceased.
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