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Argomento:crisis in Europe

30ottobre 2015

Dott. Gianluca SORRENTINO

Clouds over the Mediterranean

The recession clobbers one of Europe’s biggest industries

HOW badly is the recession hurting Europe's tourism industry during the all-important summer holidays? The outlook is grim, judging by the trend set earlier in the year. After slipping in the second half of 2008, passenger numbers in Italian airports fell by 13.4% in the first quarter of this year. Spain recorded a similar fall between January and June, with airports on Lanzarote (down 19.1%) and Tenerife (down 17.8%), two popular holiday islands, losing more than most. The French Riviera is suffering, too: Nice airport reported a drop of 8% in passengers during the first half of the year. Firms have slashed travel budgets, families are spending less on leisure and Europe's airports are feeling the pain.

For hotels as well, the downturn and the recession are biting in France, Spain and Italy, Europe's biggest holiday destinations. During the first five months of the year, the number of overnight stays by foreign visitors in French hotels fell by 15.5%. The number of foreigners who visited Spain in the first six months was 11.4% lower than in 2008. The situation is equally grim in Italy, where overnight stays by foreign guests were 11.5% lower in the first half of the year. BernaboBocca, chairman of the Italian hoteliers' association, described the results as a debacle.

Many jobs are at risk. In 2007, before the recession struck, France boasted nearly 200,000 hotels, pensions, campsites, restaurants, cafés and travel agencies, which employed almost 900,000 people on average during the year and took in some €70 billion ($96 billion). Spain had about 293,000 firms, with 1.4m employees and a turnover of €80 billion. Around 270,000 firms work in tourism in Italy and MrBocca says the 15% drop in turnover expected this year will quickly lead to job losses. Rome's hoteliers' association fears its members will shed 10,000 jobs this year.

Italy has beaches, mountains and lakes, and claims more artistic treasures than any other country. But last year 7.4% fewer people visited the Doge's palace in Venice than in 2007, and attendance was down by 3.8% at Florence's Uffizi gallery and 12.4% at Pompeii. Yet some attractions hold their own. Disneyland Paris, Europe's biggest crowd-puller with 15.3m visitors in the year to last September, reported a slight pick-up in the next six months. But that was something of a pyrrhic victory. Occupancy at the park's hotels was 2.7 percentage points lower, average spending by visitors fell by 3.7% and revenues by 7.3%. At museums, resorts and theme parks, expectations for this year and next are generally poor.

The euro's strength against the pound and the dollar adds to the problems of European tourism's big three. Britain sends more tourists to Spain than any other country, but the 6.1m that arrived between January and June were 16% fewer than during the same period of 2008. British and American tourists are the most numerous guests at expensive hotels in particular, so the luxury hoteliers of Paris and Rome are feeling their absence.

Mauro Cutrufo, Rome's head of tourism, believes the recession is an opportunity to push grandiose new schemes: marinas to match Monte Carlo, golf courses like those in Spain and theme parks to rival Disneyland. That is probably a mistake. However the world's economy fares, tourists are unlikely to abandon Mickey Mouse in favour of a Roman theme park. But foreigners will always want to visit the Colosseum and the Vatican museums, or make a pilgrimage to Paris to see the Mona Lisa.

Glossariofondamentale
To clobber
Slipping (to slip)
Have slashed
Grim (adj)
Drop in turnover
Will shed
Crowd-puller
Pyrrhic victory
Pick-up
To match Monte Carlo