Hardly any other European country has hit the corona pandemic as hard as Italy. Not only were the number of cases and deaths particularly high there, the country's economy, which was already badly damaged, is also suffering from the consequences of the pandemic. First and foremost tourism, which was previously one of the few sectors that still worked.
Since the resumption of travel, Italian regions have been vying for German tourists to keep collateral damage as low as possible. One of the worst affected regions is Lake Garda, which is particularly popular with German holidaymakers.
The northern Italian lake, which is located in the regions of Veneto and Lombardy as well as in the province of Trentino, attracts holidaymakers primarily because of its hybrid position between mountains for hiking and beaches for relaxing by the sea-like lake.
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Mayor of Lake Garda: "Visitors can feel absolutely safe here"
But Lombardy, which borders Lake Garda to the west, is the region in Italy that has the most Covid 19 sufferers. Nowhere else have so many people been infected with the new coronavirus, nowhere else have so many died of the consequences of their disease as here.
Nevertheless, she is optimistic. At the beginning of June, when it was clear that German holidaymakers would soon be arriving again, the mayor of Limone sul Garda, Antonio Martinelli, declared: “The visitors can feel absolutely safe here. We only had one Corona case here. "And further:" We want to send a message to our beloved German friends that we are longingly awaiting them. "
His municipality on Lake Garda is in Lombardy, but Bergamo, the city hardest hit by the virus epidemic, is two hours away.
About 70 percent of the annual 1.3 million overnight stays in Limone sul Garda alone were accounted for by German vacationers, according to the mayor. The season there usually starts in March and ends in October. Due to the corona pandemic, hotels, restaurants and shops had to remain closed for a long time.
Hoteliers are hoping for a drop of "only" 50 percent
Hotel operator Petra Mayr, for example, opened her doors on May 30th, two weeks before German vacationers were allowed to enter again. "We hope that we can close 2020 with a minus of only 50 percent compared to the previous year," she says in an interview with FOCUS Online. The German-Italian runs the “Active & Family Hotel Gioiosa” in Riva del Garda at the northern tip of Lake Garda together with her husband.
After she was unable to reinstate all her staff at the beginning of the season due to the absence of guests, August looks better: “The guests are coming back. We are relatively well booked, of course not as usual, but we are currently satisfied. "
The promise of state aid and the return of the tourists during the summer holidays gave her, but also other hoteliers, restaurant operators and business owners hope. Everything now depends on the development in the next few months: "We hope that we can end the season with a black eye," explains Mayr.
Businesses are left with full stocks
But the current developments are causing concern for Italian hoteliers. They are watching the increasing number of cases in Germany, the connection with travelers returning, the re-declaration of regions that have already been approved as risk areas, such as parts of Spain currently.
“We are currently receiving a lot of cancellations from Germany. The reason for this is mostly the current reports from the media, because the current figures for the Province of Trentino are currently not worrying. People do not want to be quarantined after their return. ”The mandatory corona tests for returnees from risk areas are also mentioned as reasons – although these are currently not up for discussion in Italy.
Many industries on Lake Garda are dependent on tourism. In addition to hotels, restaurants, bike and boat rentals are also waiting for guests, as are the many shops that mainly live from tourists: "Many clothing stores are sitting on full stocks this year because they had to place their orders for the current season long before Corona", knows Mayr, who is also on the board of the hoteliers' association in her region. "Corona hangs over us like a sword of Damocles."
Losses can no longer be made up
Nonetheless, Mayr remains optimistic: “August makes us happy. Most of the canceled rooms are currently being filled again. We are all hoping for a good end to the season. ”However, no one could make up for the losses of the past few months. Also, how things will continue for her colleagues in winter is currently not foreseeable.
The restrictions that currently exist due to the corona pandemic are well accepted by tourists – after all, mask requirements and distance rules also exist in Germany.
Petra Mayr hopes that there will be no further travel warnings for foreign countries in Germany – and points out overcrowded regions such as the Allgäu or the North and Baltic Sea beaches.
The call from politicians to spend the holiday in Germany this year hit the Italians hard. After all, every effort is made there to keep new infections as low as possible. They are also trying to keep collateral damage low – but this also includes maintaining jobs, for example in the tourism sector, says Mayr.