The deconfinement plan to be announced by the government later this week is awaited with bated breath by the tourism sector, one of the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"What we are going to ask the Government for is that the measures it is going to take are clear, transparent and timely, because tourist activities, whether hotels, restaurants or travel agencies, need time to prepare, we need to have predictability to organize the operation ", says Francisco Calheiros, president of the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal (CTP).
"We are waiting to see what the Government wants to do. It is not up to us, employers' confederations, to comment on the options that are taken for health security, what is up to us is to alert the Government for the economic consequences, particularly in tourism", stresses the president of CTP.
Francisco Calheiros stresses that "anything that is restrictive to people's travels penalises tourism companies", so the plan to be announced by the Government is awaited with expectation by the sector.
The head of the tourism confederation also points out that "Easter is usually the start of the tourist season, and if it turns out, as it is likely, that Easter is lost, this is yet another blow to the eventual financial recovery and corporate profitability".
"After one year, and if the situation of confinement continues for a longer time, we have to warn that new measures and new support for tourism are needed", stresses the president of CTP, who hopes "soon, this week, we see the measures requested from the Ministry of Economy approved, which include income support, the measures to support the recovery extended from June to September, and a new allocation for the Apoiar program, which has been exhausted. " Let's see first what the Government is going to announce with the lack of definition", says Francisco Calheiros.
Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/
