“In Europe during the summer we see a strong interest in Spain and Greece and obviously Italy is also doing very well” says Gabriele Burgio, president and CEO of Alpitour in an overview of what will be the summer season and the most popular destinations for Italians. “Italy is doing well – remarks Burgio – even with the limitations imposed by the anti Covid rules for hotel occupations, which have lower permissible occupancy margins than traditional ones, to which are added the distances in restaurants, on the beaches. Spain and Greece are alternatives. There is a strong growth in flights between Italy and Spain on all airlines ».
What is missing is the substantial resumption of travel, because the full recovery of tourism is plastered by the various anti Covid regulations adopted by the EU states. «The regulations are still complex and, for example, to go to Spain there is no longer a need for a buffer, but to return to Italy it is necessary – remembers Burgio, who adds -. On Greece, the Farnesina’s “Viaggiareidia” site gives a whole series of indications that are different from the equivalent Greek site. In short, Europe has not yet reached a uniformity of travel procedures even within the EU itself ». Then there are the contingent situations marked by the health emergency. “More than the invitations of the WHO, what has had the greatest impact was the news two weeks ago of that great outbreak in Mallorca which caused the booking traffic to absolutely collapse, especially from England and Germany to Mallorca. – continues the president of Alpitour -. We are very subject to these situations. The newspapers give ample space to these situations. A little while ago I was reading about an outbreak of boys in Puglia with 30 positives throughout Italy. Surely there will be someone who will cancel their holidays in Puglia and choose another destination. Current tourist movements are very much influenced by this type of information ».
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The picture is complicated and by a lot when dealing with the knot of long-range travel, to the Maldives and South Africa, the Middle and Far East. “It seems to us that the situation of non-EU travel is out of control because tourists who want to go to these distant destinations go there anyway, making a stopover in Madrid, London, Paris, which are European destinations, and then leave for non-European destinations. . And when they return, they are formally returning from European destinations – warns Burgio -. This is a way to bypass the European regulations that we have reported. If the blocking of non-EU flights was established with a purpose, it is not achieved for these parallel movements “, which would not be discouraged equally effectively by all tour operators. On the subject of travel “I would really like the law to be really the same for everyone”, concludes Burgio, recalling that tourism can resume safely, we must consider that “we are all the same and all in the same boat”.