The borders for tourists are still tight, but travel to other European countries could soon be possible again. Tui is already planning flights to Mallorca.
Berlin (dpa) - The travel group Tui wants to carry out trips to various destinations again in just a few weeks - including to Mallorca.
"From the end of June we want to fly again on time for the summer holidays," said CEO Fritz Joussen of the "Rheinische Post" in Düsseldorf (Saturday). Mallorca should therefore soon be controlled. "We want to restart air traffic to Mallorca in mid / late June."
Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Croatia and Bulgaria are also very well prepared, said the Tui boss. The hotel season should start on July 1st at the latest. Talks are under way with Turkey. "There will be a dynamic of openings because there is no reason for a permanent lockdown of tourism."
Most recently, there had been initial progress in discussions within the European Union to reduce travel restrictions before the summer holidays. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) was confident on Wednesday after video conferences with the neighboring and holiday countries of the Germans that the global travel warning after June 14th can at least be lifted for the EU.
According to Joussen, high prices are not to be expected for trips abroad this summer. "Basically, all countries have a lot of free capacity in 2020. This makes for cheap offers. But some regions like Germany are now particularly popular in the first few weeks, so it looks the other way around."
Joussen called for a rescue package for travel agencies. "Many medium-sized companies can no longer hold out for long. The margins for organizers and travel agencies are too small for that. I support a non-repayable transition aid for travel agencies."
Tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic. Tui, for example, loses a three-digit million sum every month. Thousands of jobs are to be cut due to the increasing pressure to save. To secure its solvency, the group receives a loan of 1.8 billion euros from the state development bank KfW.
Small travel companies are also hit hard by the crisis. The state is helping small business owners with emergency aid such as grants and loans. From the point of view of the travel industry, however, these are only of limited suitability for the tourism industry. Many companies feel largely let down by politics. "The tourism industry wanted to help itself with vouchers for trips that had to be canceled due to the corona pandemic. But this solution failed," said Ralph Schiller, managing director of the tour operator FTI Group of the German Press Agency. "As an alternative, we now need a rescue fund that should cost taxpayers money."
"Many companies are running out of time," warned the manager, who is also on the board of the German Travel Association (DRV). "The liquidity pressure affects all companies, large and small. When a gear train with around 3 million jobs comes to a standstill, it affects everyone."
Germany, like other EU countries, originally wanted to oblige consumers to accept vouchers instead of reimbursement for trips canceled due to corona, but refrained from doing so after resistance from Brussels. European travel law provides for reimbursement in such cases. The cabinet decided on a voluntary solution. If you cannot take a package tour because of the Corona crisis, you can ask for your money back or accept vouchers. "I would have liked more courage from the federal government for the vouchers," said Schiller.
