According to Confcommercio-Swg, the 2021 for Italian tourism is disastrous: this is what is needed

Are we emerging from the crisis caused by the pandemic? Is it returning to normal? The answer is not really, at least for what concerns Italian tourism: there is still uncertainty, fear and insecurity, also due to the new Omicron variant which is spreading rapidly in our country as well. This is confirmed by a Confcommercio survey, carried out in collaboration with Swg and based on Istat and Bankitalia data, according to which 2021 will close with at least 60 million arrivals and 120 million fewer presences compared to 2019. The Italians have “cut” also trips abroad: in the current year, departures are reduced by 13 million.

Speaking of these holidays, or the period from Christmas to Epiphany, the survey shows that, out of a total of 25 million departures scheduled by Italians, 5 million have been canceled and 5.3 million modified, reducing the number of days or by choosing a closer destination. There are also 7 million trips that remain pending.

Going into detail, at Christmas 6 out of 10 respondents were away from home for a maximum of two days and without leaving their region, while only 5% went abroad. Figures in line with the length of the New Year’s holiday, but when those who will spend 4 days or more – 4 out of 10 – will also go outside the region. However, the figure on the forecast of travel abroad remains low: 8% between New Year’s Eve and Epiphany, against values that normally, in this period, were over 20 percent. In this situation, the possible recovery of tourism moves to the summer of 2022, more than 6 months and almost 2.5 years after the start of the crisis.

To all this must be added the exponential growth in cancellations in catering, which has occurred in recent days, and the dramatic situation in the entertainment sector with the closure of activities. “In this situation it is clear that the government must support these components of the tourism supply chain, in particular by adopting measures on social safety nets, without increasing costs for businesses, and on access to credit, but also fiscal interventions and non-repayable contributions parameterized to the losses suffered.”, underlines Confcommercio.

What Confcommercio asks

Confcommercio’s most important and urgent request is to extend, at least until June 2022, the payroll subsidies granted to activities that are stopped due to the health emergency, which will expire on December 31^st. Among the priorities is also the reduction of contributions for job reintegration in the organized tourism sector, which has at least 40,000 employees and is made up of a high percentage of micro-enterprises with fewer than 5 employees. These have no other tools to protect employment levels. Finally, certain and immediate compensation for discos which, with the closure by decree, are among those that pay the most for the consequences of the new pandemic emergency.

“The Corona crisis is impacting more and more on the entire tourism supply chain with thousands of businesses that really risk closure, especially hotels, tour operators and travel agencies”, comments Carlo Sangalli, president of Confcommercio. “The resources deployed so far by the government are not sufficient, more support is urgently needed, the extension of the payroll subsidies and adequate tax moratoriums. An Italian economy is unthinkable without the fundamental driving force of tourism”.