The tourism industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, but experts expect it will get a boost once travelling inside of Germany is possible again.
(Credit: distinctlydeutschland.com)
The tourism industry in Europe was soaring, but is now facing many challenges and financial damage due to Covid 19.
“People working in the industry as well as people who have spent big amounts of money on planned trips already have a huge problem now. I’ve been trying to get back my money for weeks, but the hotel owners aren’t able to pay me back”, said Erna Heinkel, a pensioner whose family holiday to Austria has been cancelled.
According to the Economic Impact Report the tourism industry offers around 2.9 million of workplaces in Germany. This means 7 percent of all working people in Germany are affected by the current restrictions.
Gloria Guevara, president of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said: “The industry is incredibly important for the economic recovery of Europe after the crisis. This branch does not only offer millions of workplaces, its networking with other industries contributes to income and growth for way above that industry alone.”
Wolfgang Dieterich, the chief executive officer of tourism in Ulm, thinks tht getting back to ‘business as usual’ will be a long and slow process: “The standstill of the tourism activities may accompany us into the second half of 2020.”
A travel ban to other countries has been introduced by chancellor Angela Merkel, and will be valid until at least mid-June. Experts still do not know when exactly tourism activities will be able to return.
They do expect the industry to be working slightly different than before though.
“We’re expecting a boom in demand for national tourism as soon as the industry is experiencing a restart,” said Dieterich.
