COVID-19 "scourges" Italian tourism industry: report

Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-10 00:55:40|Editor: huaxia

ROME, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Hotel stays in Italy plunged by 80.6 percent in June 2020 compared with the same month last year, the Italian Federation of Hotel and Tourism Associations (Federalberghi) said in a statement Thursday.

"The COVID-19 storm is still ongoing and it continues to scourge the Italian hospitality industry," commented Federalberghi President Bernabo Bocca.

Flows from abroad are still paralyzed, down 93.2 percent, while the domestic market is "well beyond the alarm threshold", plummeting 67.2 percent, Federalberghi said.

The reopening of Schengen borders in mid-June had minimal effects, while strategic markets such as Australia, Brazil, China, Russia, and the U.S. remain cut off, the hotel association said.

The COVID-19 emergency has had "painful" repercussions on the job market, with 110,000 seasonal jobs lost in the hospitality sector in June this year and another 140,000 temporary jobs at risk this summer, according to Federalberghi.

A total of 83.4 percent of hotels surveyed said they expect their turnover to be more than halved next month compared with July 2019.

The tourism sector contributed 13.2 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018, according to Italy's National Tourism Board (ENIT).

Health Minister Roberto Speranza said earlier this month that keeping Italy off-limits to non-Schengen countries is "an added precaution" in order to stave off a possible second wave of the pandemic. Enditem

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