Europe wants to speed up the return of tourists

When will the tourists come back? This question has taken on a lot of importance in recent days in Europe as we are on the way in all the Member States to return to a more normal life and summer is fast approaching. The stake is social of course but above all economic. Before the coronavirus crisis, this sector represented 10% of the wealth produced by the EU.

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Italy, Spain and Greece are very dependent on it. “The loss of activity could reach 40% at the end of this year. However, we have different situations from one Member State to another. In Italy, the high season has been lost, because the most buoyant part of the activity consists of tourists who go on a cultural trip to visit certain cities, and this is done especially from March to May, then in September and October “ , Confided recently to the Figaro the commissioner in charge of the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni.

Save furniture

The Member States want to save the furniture but they already know that it will be difficult to pull out of the game. Which Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne readily admits. “It will not be a summer of winning customers. It will be a summer of loyalty. Tourists will go to destinations they already know , " said the Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. A situation from which France intends to take advantage. In this context, competition has increased crescendo in recent days between Member States.

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Croatia has kicked off the summer period. The country would already welcome some 20,000 tourists and is betting on a hard-hitting slogan to make them come more in July and August: "The holidays you deserve are closer than you think." The Italian borders will reopen from Wednesday. This announcement - surprise - annoyed. "Italy said nothing during the council of European tourism ministers which took place a few days before," said a participant. "Coordination does not mean uniformity" , tempers a European diplomat. With regard to the calendars and the conditions for visitors, we are quite far from either.

Cyprus, where tourism accounts for 15% of national GDP, will open its borders from June 9 to travelers who can provide a certificate proving that they have tested negative for Covid-19. The country promises to cover the costs of all infected travelers during their stay: accommodation, food, drinks, medicines, transfer to the airport and repatriation, etc. A list of countries has been established. France and the United Kingdom are not included at this stage. Greece announced at the end of the week the resumption of flights to its airports for twenty-nine countries. France plans to reopen its borders on June 15. It is also the date envisaged in Germany and in many Member States.

There can be no real summer season without reopening the internal borders of Schengen and suspension of the fortnight that still exists in some countries, especially east of the bloc. The Commission takes a dim view of the emergence of "mini-Schengen", these traffic bubbles between several countries. This is the case between the Baltic States (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) or between the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. “The intention to return to the usual Schengen area will in no way be replaced by a kind of regional“ mini-Schengen ”which fragments our single market and discriminates against non-participating Member States. This is not possible, ” warned Margaritis Schinas, the Commissioner for Migration. These subjects will be Friday on the agenda of the meeting of European Interior Ministers as well as that of the Schengen external borders closed until June 15. Some member states - including France - would like to see them reopen on July 1, subject to maintaining the ban for countries at risk, Brazil probably and the United States perhaps. But probably not China, a key player in tourism in Europe.