The European tourism industry lost 75 billion euros in the first half of the year, with airlines and hotels suffering the most

It is estimated that the European tourism industry will lose 40% this year, and more than 6 million tourism practitioners in EU countries may lose their jobs due to the epidemic.

"Europe has the worst summer tourist season in history!" German "Economic Weekly" reported on the 7th that the European Commission released a report on Monday that in the first half of this year, the tourism industry of EU countries lost as much as the previous year. 85% to 90%.

The peak season for traditional European tourism is from early May to the end of September. At this time in previous years, tourist attractions in European countries usually gather tourists from all over the world. Tourist cities such as Venice are even worried about “overtourism”. But this year, everything from Greek beaches, Roman bistros to Paris museums was deserted.

According to the report, including hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, trains and airlines, the European tourism industry lost about 75 billion euros in the first half of the year due to the new crown epidemic. The loss in the first quarter of this year was 30 billion euros. The loss was approximately 45 billion euros. Especially in the aviation industry and the hotel industry, Lufthansa lost approximately 3 billion euros in the first half of the year, and the Air France-KLM Group's turnover reached only 1.18 billion euros, a decrease of 83% over the same period last year. In the first half of the year, the hotel industry in many countries also reduced their turnover by about half. Since tourist attractions were closed during the peak of the epidemic, there was almost no income.

Beginning in July, European countries thought that the tourism industry would usher in a "blowout state," but due to the rebound of the epidemic, many countries still strictly enforce entry and exit restrictions. The European Union stated that the number of bookings for the European tourism industry in September was still abnormally low, and the situation in the second half of the year is not optimistic. It is expected that the European tourism industry will lose 40% this year. More than 6 million tourism practitioners in EU countries may lose their jobs due to the epidemic.

The tourism industry accounts for about 1/10 of the GDP of EU countries, especially countries such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal, which have been hit even more. The European Commission has previously required European airlines and travel companies to provide vouchers valid for at least 12 months to tourists who cancel their orders to help promote the recovery of the European tourism industry after the new crown epidemic. However, European consumers do not buy the vouchers, and many require full refunds.

At present, EU countries including Germany and France have launched programs to subsidize the tourism industry. At the same time, countries have also increased their promotion of tourism, hoping that once the border policy is relaxed, more international tourists can be attracted.