Experts warn that a full-blown economic catastrophe now looms as winter sets in and Italy struggles to heal from a 2020 tourism season ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic and facing an uncertain future.
The Italian government, like many across the world, has been doling out cash to help support many ailing businesses and individuals, but with many global travel restrictions still in place, lost revenues from the country's faltering travel industry leaves a gaping financial hole that must now be filled, CNN reported.
The Italian tourism sector has been badly hit by the virus, with visitors expected to drop 44% in 2020 on the year before and big cities suffering most, according to the tourist board, Reuters reported.
"Tourists are what we need to keep going," says Cassandra Santoro CEO and founder of travel planning service, Travel Italian Style.
Fears of a second wave appear to have dashed earlier projections of a September and October tourism revival, with Italians and overseas visitors canceling plans and sitting tight.
"The projected 2020 loss from overseas visitors to Italy is 24.6 billion euros ($29.14 billion) and even domestic traveler spending is down 43.6 billion euros," says Giorgio Palmucci, president of the Italian national tourist board, ENIT.
Even with hopes of growth and recovery two years down the line, the pain, he adds, is likely to be widespread.
"All Italian cities are expected to be significantly impacted, particularly those more dependent on international visitors like Venice, Florence and Rome."
Italy had emerged as an unlikely role model for its handling of the pandemic, although Italy is experiencing a resurgence in cases just like the rest of Europe, many linked to young travelers returning from summer holidays.
The country managed to reduce infections dramatically in June and July after two months of strict lockdown, while its fatality rate, once one of the world’s highest, fell to a handful per day. The White House’s coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx and top infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci both praised the country’s response, Bloomberg reported.
The intensity and duration of Italy’s lockdown is widely seen as one of the reasons why cases continued to fall after curbs started to be gradually lifted in early May. Restrictions were maintained for a full six weeks after new infections peaked, and schools never reopened unlike in France or Germany.
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