The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Summer holidays overseas: fourteen, resumption of flights ... what we know

2020-06-07T13:24:44.849Z


All arrivals in the overseas departments and territories are subject to a fortnight. The government wants to experiment with a lighter device to save the tourist season.


Can we spend our summer holidays 2020 in the French overseas departments and territories? The question is on everyone's lips who dream of flying to these territories totaling 97% of French maritime space and 80% of its biodiversity. A priori, this should be possible if we believe the words of Edouard Philippe, who said on May 14: "The French will be able to go on vacation to France in July and August [.. .]. When I say in France , it is obviously in mainland France, in France, and in the overseas territories ” . In fact, the recovery will only be based on a strict health protocol, detailed during the assessment of the second phase of deconfinement, June 22.

Read also: Summer holidays: book and go to France or abroad, what we know

For the time being, air travel between mainland France and the overseas territories "is prohibited, unless they are based on a compelling reason of a personal or family order, a health reason relating to emergency or a professional reason which cannot be deferred ” , according to the decree published on June 1 in the Official Journal. Major problem: a fortnight must still be respected for passengers coming from metropolitan France.

"The overseas territories are insular so it is important to control the circulation of the virus so that the sanitary facilities are not overwhelmed, that there are no clusters" , said Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, in charge of Tourism, at the microphone of Europe 1.

Read also: Discovering the summits of Reunion

Faced with the discontent of tourism stakeholders, the Minister of Overseas confirmed the will of the government to establish a new device to reduce the fortnight. “We are going to set up very quickly the conditions for an experiment in the voluntary territories, with a protocol that will involve a Covid test in the 48 hours before boarding. This will allow, if the person is negative, to adapt the measures of the second septaine, with less restrictions , " detailed Annick Girardin.

But at this stage, this system, desired by many elected officials and socio-economic actors, has not yet been validated by the scientific council, an entity which assists the government in the health crisis. To impose a test prior to boarding, we will also need "a legal basis that we do not have today" .

A disaster for the tourism sector

"If we keep this model, we will not have tourists this summer overseas , " says Annick Girardin. The fortnight is a tragedy for the economy of the islands, already severely impacted by the pandemic. “The scale of the crisis in the French overseas departments and territories could be even greater if the complete restarting of tourist activities was not carried out until September. This would result in a doubling of the losses recorded and a drop in GDP of around 10% over the year, " warns the Association of CCIs Overseas (ACCIOM), which assesses the number of jobs threatened in 60,000. these territories. According to his report, overseas companies experienced a loss of turnover of around 12 million euros per day of confinement, from 5 in Guyana to 24 million in Reunion. The islands would be more affected by the crisis than the mainland because of the greater contribution of local services to market GDP.

On video, phase 2 deconfinement: update on the French overseas departments

Friday, June 5, French travel agencies denounced "a very worrying lack of visibility" . "Europe should be liberated in early July, however, Guadeloupe , Martinique , Saint-Martin and Reunion, departments classified green on the map of the Ministry of Health, are excluded from this opening" , deplores Jean-Pierre Mas, President of Travel Companies. The organization which brings together the agencies of France recalls that tourism represents more than 10% of the GDP in these territories, against 7.5% in metropolitan France.

"The summer season is a high season in the low season," confirms Gilbert Cisneros, director of the agency Exotismes. Normally, nearly 15,000 individual travelers leave in July and August with the leading tour operator from the French Antilles (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin), out of a total of 100,000 annual travelers. For the specialist, the islands are ideal destinations because they are already very active in terms of health security to protect themselves from viral diseases linked to the hot and humid climate all year round. But to welcome customers again, “the reopening of Orly is essential. Air Caraïbes and Corsair have their offices there, ” he argued in our columns. A wish granted: the platform in the south of Paris will resume service from June 26.

Also read: Grande Terre, Loyalty Islands, Isle of Pines… New Caledonia Travel Guide

On May 26, the companies Air Caraïbes and French bee had announced the gradual resumption of their commercial flights and the resumption of passenger traffic in long-haul to the Antilles, Guyana and Reunion.

“The rotations will be carried out, firstly, to and from their destinations in the core network: Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), Fort-de-France (Martinique), Cayenne (Guyana), Saint-Denis (Reunion ) and Saint-Martin (connecting via the Air Caraïbes regional network from Pointe-à-Pitre) ” , explain the operators in a press release. According to the Secretary of State for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, these flights will resume when the Orly airport opens, scheduled for June 26.

The Isle of Pines in New Caledonia will be inaccessible to travelers until July 31 at least, according to the decision of the local authorities. Francis / AdobeStock

New Caledonia makes a cross on July ...

"The first brake today is not on the government side, it is more in the territories," said the Minister of Overseas. We need to give people confidence in the local health capacity to manage the virus, while saving the furniture, including affinity tourism (relatives or acquaintances). Since the first phase of deconfinement, part of the population of the French overseas departments and territories has been worried about the potential arrival of tourists in their territories, which are sometimes fragile from a health point of view.

Read also: Coronavirus: New Caledonia pursues strict border control

This is the case of New Caledonia, which has extended the total confinement for three weeks of all new arrivals until July 31. Anyone who sets foot on their soil is thus placed in isolation for two weeks at the hotel, then one week at home. The drastic limitation of air traffic to four weekly flights, two to Tokyo (stopover in Paris) and two to Sydney, has also been extended. "The archipelago will not lift its sanitary entry measures to prevent the introduction of the virus ," said Thierry Santa, president of the Caledonian college government. The stakes are too high. ”

... but not Polynesia

A position completely opposite to that of French Polynesia, which announced this weekend that it will reopen its borders on July 3, and will reduce the quarantine imposed on all new arrivals. Before completely removing it on July 15 to allow the resumption of international tourism.

Read also: French Polynesia, between dream islands and lagoons, the Figaro travel guide

Polynesia, which had interrupted international flights in March, contained the epidemic: only 60 cases were detected and it does not deplore any deaths from Covid-19. But no tourist has landed in Tahiti or the Marquesas Islands for nearly three months.

The Polynesian economy is very affected. All hotels are closed, and two have announced that they will not reopen. The sector has been campaigning for several weeks for a resumption of flights and a relaxation of the fortnight, which causes the cancellation of most of the tourist stays planned this summer.

In the first fortnight of July, only Polynesian residents, students who wish to return to Polynesia and passengers with a “compelling reason” will be able to embark for Polynesia. They must carry out a Covid test 72 hours before boarding, be confined for seven days upon arrival, then undergo a new test.

From July 15, Polynesia will once again accept international tourism from Europe and the United States, its main markets. It will require international travel insurance for all non-resident passengers, as well as a test before departure and another, for certain visitors, during their stay. They will undertake on their honor to respect the barrier gestures and to declare the symptoms that may occur.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-06-07

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.