ASSOCIATED PRESS
ECONOMY – The Secretary of State for Tourism, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, estimates between 30 and 40 billion euros as “the immediate impact” of the health crisis on the French tourism sector, in an interview in Sunday newspaper published on August 9, highlighting that part of the international clientele “has disappeared.”
“In normal times, tourism generates 180 billion euros of income, 60 billion of which comes from international tourism. The immediate impact of the epidemic is at least 30 to 40 billion euros, ”says the Secretary of State.
“Many operators tell us that their turnover will be reduced between 20 and 25% by the end of the year,” he adds.
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne observes that “the French are participating en masse in the reactivation of the tourism sector favoring France” and underlines that 7 out of 10 of those who went on vacation chose France. “The blue, white and red summer arrived,” she sums up.
“This saves the essentials,” says the Secretary of State. “But let’s be clear: in normal times, France receives 17 million foreign tourists every summer when 9 million French go abroad” and “part of this international clientele has disappeared,” he continues.
A hope of recovery for September?
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne considers, however, “encouraging (…) that Belgian, German, Italian and Spanish clients’ departure intentions to France for September are higher than those of July and August”, which would allow “prolonging the summer” and “Consolidate the recovery of the sector”.
The Secretary of State also welcomes “an encouraging July” and “looks forward to an excellent August” and the off-season “in the colors of the Indian summer.”
But “this recovery is fragile,” he adds, because “as soon as a cluster appears, the effect is immediate on cancellations of stays and reservations.”
See also in Le HuffPost: The virus is not on vacation “: From Lille, Castex wants to avoid” a generalized reconfine “
