SOME THOUGHT ABOUT TOURISM AND ECONOMY vs COVID19

The Corona Virus has triggered the most serious health crisis that Italy has had to face from the post-war period to today. The measures taken by the government to limit its spread are fair and fully shared by us at Askos Tours. We also agree with the measure that most penalizes us, to close all museums and places of culture until April 3. Health comes first, there is no more precious thing in this world. The economic recession will be very heavy, but the billions that will be lost will not have the value of a single human life that can be spared.

The tourism incoming sector has never experienced a crisis of this magnitude. Neither the Gulf War, September 11th, nor the 2008 financial crisis had the extent of today’s crisis.

The season is seriously compromised, cancellations are no longer counted, and no new bookings arrive. It is difficult to predict what the losses will be. In our view, if a vaccine were found today, our companies would still have a drop in revenues of more than 30%.

The tourism industry is preparing to live as in a war economy whose duration is not certain. We all hope that the virus will disappear with the increase in temperatures in the summer, but there is also no certainty about this.

We must prepare to struggle for an indefinite period of time, we must reinvent ourselves, explore new solutions, and resist resist resist.

Italy is the most beautiful country in the world, there is no doubt about this, and when everything has passed the travelers will return more numerous than before, we are sure …

Good luck to all friends and fellow tour operators, to all tourist guides, to all hoteliers, to all drivers, restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, and employees of tour operators.

Our beautiful professions will survive…

E. Tufano