Tourism aid will benefit other sectors, which are also in bad shape because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, announced it on Monday during a trip to Lourdes with Alain Griset, Minister Delegate in charge of SMEs, and Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State for Tourism.
A decree, published in the coming days, will authorize souvenir and piety stores, shopping arcades and airport shops, translators-interpreters, certain crafts (glassmaker, costume designer, etc.), but also " auxiliary water transport services, sports betting and phonographic labels ”, to take advantage of the support plan initially reserved for tourism players. Until the end of the year, they will therefore be able to use the partial activity and the solidarity fund. Those whose turnover has fallen by at least 50% since 2019, will be able to receive assistance of 1,500 euros per month, or even obtain 10,000 euros to help pay their rent. They will also be exempt from social security contributions for four months.
Read also: "We are not plague victims": in Mayenne, local tourism weighed down by the fear of Covid-19
These measures aim to avoid a social massacre. The sudden end of world travel threatens many professionals. The very gradual recovery of transport weakens them for a long time. Airports are still operating slowly, depriving duty-free customers; the absence of foreign tourists despairs the guides; the difficult resumption of sports competitions penalizes the organizers of sports betting. A few days away from the traditional pilgrimage of August 15, Lourdes does not expect a miracle. Its economy is devastated. “The traders we met have lost 80 to 85% of turnover. For Lourdes, it is 70% to 80% less activity, because the foreign tourists, the pilgrims are not there ”, indicated the Minister. "Here in Lourdes, it's a triple penalty, because we have very international clienteles, which correspond to 62% of overnight stays, often very seasonal, from April to October, and the pilgrims are seniors," says Jean- Baptiste Lemoyne.