Tourism. Tourist cities and Government, a fund to cover lost tourist tax revenue
Comparison to deal with the emergency and relaunch the sector
Milan, 22 April 2020 - The meeting between the Tourism Councilors of the main Italian art cities and Undersecretary Lorenza Bonaccorsi has just ended for a discussion on the measures to be urgently adopted to address the crisis that the sector is experiencing and relaunch the promotion of territories at national and international level.
At the center of the debate are the points contained in the appeal made by local tourism managers in a letter to Minister Franceschini: protection for businesses and all workers in the tourism supply chain, tax deductions and economic development interventions to encourage recovery, establishment of a special fund for Municipalities as compensation for the lack of income from the tourist tax and other municipal taxes, sharing a communication plan developed with ENIT.
During the video conference, the topic of the health protocols that entrepreneurs in the sector must comply with to contain the virus was also addressed. The Councilors reiterated the need to request extraordinary resources for the adaptation of accommodation facilities to the new rules to be allocated to operators and to intensify controls to combat unfair competition and illegal activity, in order to guarantee the safety of tourists as much as possible when the market restarts .
"A fruitful meeting - say the councilors - which lays the foundations for a constant dialogue with the Government with a view to active participation of local administrators in choices regarding the tourism chain and the promotion of the territories. We thank Undersecretary Bonaccorsi for his availability demonstrated in acting as a spokesperson for the needs of one of the sectors that has been most affected by the CoViD-19 epidemiological crisis and which is currently affected by profound uncertainty regarding the possible restart. We are confident that together we will be able to find the best strategies to resist and to allow tourism to return to being a powerful lever for the economy of our country, developing new hospitality models and a more sustainable offer".
The meeting was attended by the councilors of Ancona, Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Florence, Genoa, Matera, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Parma, Rome, Turin and Venice.
The discussion will continue in the next few days with Minister Franceschini and with the ENIT managers.
Updated: 22/04/2020