Brussels looks for ways of saving Europe’s sacred summer break
Commission under pressure to come up with a common system of rules to allow limited travel and prevent countries going it alone
Gradual moves towards easing Europe’s lockdown measures have turned political attention on an industry that is the lifeblood of countless regions across the continent: tourism.
The woes of the tourism industry and the legions of small businesses that rely on it have shot up Brussels’ list of priorities after Thierry Breton, EU single market commissioner, last week promised to convene a special summit later this year dedicated to reviving the industry. EU tourism ministers held a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss how to help shelter a sector that will be battered by economic lockdowns during the lucrative summer months.
Discussing holiday plans for Europe’s quarantined populations is not without its pitfalls. Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, learnt the hard way when she announced earlier this month that no one should be planning a summer break. The commission chief was later forced to recant and insisted that holidaymakers could make the most of “smart solutions to have a summer vacation” as restrictions ease.
The potential scale of the devastation is eye-watering. Mr Breton told MEPs last week that at worst, the sector is facing a €400bn wipeout from lost visitors this year. The OECD thinks the sector — which makes up 10 per cent of EU’s gross domestic product — could suffer a 70 per cent decline.
But with the summer months looming, member states that are ready to relax quarantine measures are also offering hope to their ravaged tourist hotspots. Greece’s tourism minister tells The Guardian that his government is preparing new rules for post-corona holidays in an attempt to salvage something of the summer season for its islands and resorts.
Greece is among a group of countries that is looking to Brussels to provide a common set of rules for potential holidaymakers who want to venture out for part of the long summer break. Ministers from seven countries, including Greece, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta on Monday signed a joint statement calling on the EU to come up with a dedicated recovery plan for the tourism industry and system to manage travel and hospitality.
With some countries relaxing restrictions faster than others, Brussels will want to avoid a chaotic summer where travellers are subject to a myriad of different restrictions in different countries.
A Greek government official told the Brussels Briefing that Athens wanted to see “common rules for all modes of transportation and shared protocols for airports, hotels, and restaurants”.
Julia Farrugia Portelli, Malta’s tourism minister, told her counterparts that the government had managed to salvage 99 per cent of jobs in a sector that accounts for 30 per cent of the island’s GDP. Malta has also called on the EU to consider setting up “safe corridors between territories and regions” to allow travellers who have undergone relevant safety checks to cross borders.
Greece’s health minister has also touted a similar idea, dubbed as “health passports”. As Le Soir reports, there is already some concern that member states will set up bilateral corridors between themselves and create a de facto class of “privileged” European travellers.
“We need to commit ourselves to reopening as soon as possible. There are risks but we need to manage risks”, said Farrugia Portelli. “Too much is at stake to simply lie inactive, until relief arrives, in the form of a vaccine. We cannot go down that road.”