The European Commission to soon present a tourism recovery plan

Summer vacations are a big deal in everyone’s minds as they wonder if they will be able to travel abroad in July and in August. And with the borders closed and the tourism sector badly injured by the measures made by the different governments over the coronavirus epidemic, there is nothing certain.

To give answers, the European Commission is said to pass, this May 13^th, a series of measures as for borders, tourism and transport in order to try and save tourism’s summer season.

According to an internal roadmap that Euractiv has been able to browse, the college of commissioners will discuss several proposals. Yet, the following topics could be altered by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

• Communication on tourism;
• Health and safety protocols for main tourism locations, including hotels and other accommodation;
• Guidance on safe and healthy resumption of passenger transport;
• Guidance on lifting of internal borders;
• Communication on the assessment of the application of the temporary restriction on non- essential travel to the EU; 
• Recommendation on reliable and attractive travel vouchers as alternative reimbursement.

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As tourism represents 10% of the European Union’s GDP, the sector could lose about 400 billion euros over the current pandemic, it is more than urgent to address the matter in order to try and restrain the impacts on the sector.

9 member States (Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, France, Malta, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Romania) have asked the Commission to present a tourism recovery plan in order to implement “standard” rules for all states.

According to Commission vice-president Margrethe Vestager, “summer is not lost”.