- Tourism industry and Competitors news
France has 137,150 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and passes the 25,000 death mark (25,809 as of May 6). On Wednesday evening, 27 metropolitan departments – in Ilede-
France and the North-East – are classified «red». Only one department changes colour: Sarthe, from «orange» to «green». As of 6 May, 23,983 Covid-19 people are still hospitalized (-792 in the last 24 hours), including 3,147 in intensive care.
• Prime Minister Edouard Philippe presents this Thursday at 4 p.m. the deconfinement plan in force from 11 May. Outings, schools, travel… The French will know what will be allowed and what will be forbidden. On Wednesday 6 May,
Jean Castex, national coordinator for the deconfinement strategy in France, indicated before the Senate that a reconfinement plan has been worked on in case : «Concerning the Red Departments, if the traffic of Covid-19 is intense there, we will be able to take measures adapted to the circumstances.»
In a recent study, Didier Arino, head of Etudes et estimations Protourisme, which counts a panel of 830 professionals interviewed from 4 to 6 May 2020 (Enquête Vacances des Français 2020) on a wave of 1,080 people carried out from 17 to 21 April 2020 (Omnibus base + quota method), fears a compromised summer season.
5 key facts
1) EUR 18 billion is the turnover lost by the entire tourism sector.
Since the beginning of the containment, 18 billion euros have gone up in smoke, including nearly 6 billion for commercial accommodation.
Losses to the industry between now and 15 June could reach 40 billion euros.
2) 6 million is the number of French people who say they have given up going on holiday since the start of the confinement. 4 million say they’ve given it up for sure.
3) 35% is the percentage of late bookings in commercial accommodation from June to September to date.
4) 22% is the percentage of tourism businesses that say they are not opening this season…
… if they can’t welcome their customers by June 15.
5) 150,000 is the number of direct jobs lost in the tourism sector since containment. Quotidien du tourisme
Extension of the health emergency: what will change
The government has decided to extend until July 24 the state of health emergency which gives it exceptional means to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Final adoption of the bill is expected within the week and its application as of 11 May.
1 / New measures for travellers arriving in France
France is going to impose a compulsory «quarantine» and isolation for any entry into French territory as of 11 May, with the exception of «any person, regardless of nationality, coming from the European Union, the Schengen area or the United Kingdom».
2 / The wearing of masks is compulsory in transport
As of 11 May, the wearing of masks and compliance with distance rules will be mandatory on public transport for at least three weeks after the end of containment. Failure to respect the wearing of the mask could be punished by a fine of around 135 euros.
3 / No Stop-Covid application
The digital patient tracking application is being considered for a period of time and will not be operational on May 11th. «During the deconfinement, there will be no Stop-Covid application available in our country,» announced Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health.
4 / The deployment of «health brigades».
From 11 May, each department will have a «health brigade» responsible for identifying people infected with the coronavirus and preventing new outbreaks of infection. These brigades will be in charge of investigating the entourage of the sick to identify potentially contaminated people and invite them to be tested. TourHebdo
Sure, but that was before: barometer of consumer trends.
Two strong consumption trends observed upstream of VIDOC-19 are expected to emerge strengthened from VIDOC-19 related events:
– The acceleration of the use of distance purchasing channels and hybrid purchasing pathways for certain product categories
– The growing role played by criteria of social and environmental responsibility in consumer behaviour.
– A growing desire to consume better and a need for transparency regarding the composition and origin of products.
– Consumers who seem less committed to brands, retailers and influencers on social networks: 27% of consumers say they follow brands/ retailers on social networks (-9 points in one year).
– The use of chatbot has been rising sharply since 2018: 7% in 2018, 28% in 2019 and 34% in 2020.
– 39% of consumers have already used a voice assistant
Tour Hebdo
The call from 12 European countries to issue a credit note rather than a refund of airline tickets
Will their appeal be heard? On 29 April, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, France, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal called on the European Commission, in a joint statement issued on the occasion of a video conference meeting of EU Transport Ministers, to suspend the obligation for airlines to reimburse passengers whose journeys have been cancelled because of the coronavirus and to allow them to impose credit notes instead.
They call on the Commission «to propose, as a matter of urgency, a temporary amendment (…) that allows airlines to choose how to reimburse passengers». 3
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the burden of reimbursement for cancelled flights for airlines in Europe amounts to $10 billion. Quotidien du Tourisme
Airports: testing for VIDOC-19… the challenge of resuming international flights?
Showing that you are not a carrier of the coronavirus will undoubtedly become a formality to be completed in order to be able to fly outside the borders of France. Aéroports de Paris, Les Entreprises du Voyage, or even certain receptive companies are closely monitoring the possibility of carrying out tests of this type and thus ensuring the smooth running of the stay. Explanations.
Finally, Edouard Philippe suggested that it will be necessary to wait until the end of May to know more about the possible opening of cafés and restaurants, beaches, or even inter-regional travel…
In a note given to Augustin de Romanet, President of ADP, Le Point unveils the main lines on which Aéroports de Paris is working to envisage a safe deconfinement.
Among them: temperature control on departure and arrival, wearing of masks, installation of protections in areas with human interactions, neutralization of one seat out of two in waiting areas or specific organization to avoid queues…
Among the solutions evoked also include the presentation of a negative test result for Covid-19 or the implementation of screening tests on departure from airports. Tourmag
All package tours up to and including 12 June are postponed
The recovery in tourism is not yet for the immediate future. During the presentation of France’s deconfinement plan to the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe insisted on the travel restrictions that will continue after 11 May, the date on which deconfinement began.
The Union of Tour Operators (Seto) has therefore called a meeting of its members in the wake. It recommends postponing «all departures until Friday 12 June 2020 inclusive» and this, «in view of the health situation and the inevitable and exceptional circumstances that impose travel restrictions». Quotidien du Tourisme
Coronavirus: these aids requested by agencies and tour operators
Partial unemployment until March 2021, enlargement of the solidarity fund, refinancing of the APST: Seto and the EdV are negotiating several specific points with the government with a view to the interministerial committee meeting on 14 May. 5
In particular, the establishment of a fund earmarked for the payment of the salaries of employees actually at work – i.e. approximately 25% of full-time equivalent, and 15 million euros per month – until the resumption of activity is requested. 15 million per month – until the resumption of activity is requested, as well as the abolition of the tax of
The two organizations also want insurers to cover the cost of pension and retirement contributions for the period from March to September (at a cost to be borne by insurers of approximately 2 million euros per month).
René-Marc Chikli, the president of Seto, even asks to consider the possibility of «nationalizing wages. With the government’s latest declarations, partial activity will be essential to the survival of our companies. We really hope to be able to extend it until March 15, 2021. We will not be able to resume our activity on May 11. We must no longer weaken the sector, and all of its players, who are completely at a standstill».
Bringing together more than 3,500 companies employing 35,000 people, EDVs and Seto anticipate a historic drop in activity for the year 2020, whether for travel agencies and tour operators (-85%), and in particular group operators (-90%), school travel operators (-92%), holiday camp organisers (-95%), TMCs (-70%), receptive (-85%) or the MICE segment (-80%).
L’echo touristique
Non-refunded cancelled flights: Cediv lodges a complaint against the companies with the Competition Authority
The travel agency network is under attack to obtain reimbursement for flights cancelled due to the pandemic.
At the end of March, the online agency MisterFly announced that it was sending a formal notice to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to suspend payment for cancelled flights that airlines were refusing to reimburse passengers, in violation of a European regulation. One month later, Cediv was banging its fist on the table. The cooperative decided to file a complaint on behalf of 55 of its 254 member travel agencies. Objective: to obtain for distributors and their customers, as an urgent and provisional measure, the full reimbursement of airline tickets for flights cancelled following the Covid-19 pandemic.
L’echo touristique
Due to VIDOC-19, TripAdvisor is laying off 25% of its workforce
Faced with the decline in activity caused by VIDOC-19, TripAdvisor is preparing to cut 900 jobs worldwide and close its offices in Boston and San Francisco, according to the Bostonglobe. A 25% reduction in the global travel social network workforce. The local media reports that 600 jobs will be cut in the United States and Canada. TripAdvisor is also preparing to lay off an undisclosed number of employees in the hope that business will resume later this year. In a blog post, CEO Steve Kaufer states that the impact of the pandemic has gone far beyond his initial contingency plans of reducing discretionary spending and taking time off. Tom travel
COVID-19: Airbnb will block the accommodations for 72 hours between each reservation.
Airbnb presented yesterday the measures that will be taken post-confinement. In May, the platform will launch the «Sanitary Protocol» which will require guests to carry out prevention efforts and impeccable housekeeping. For those who cannot respect it, they will be asked to freeze reservations for 72 hours between guests.
According to Airbnb, it is the future of Tourism that is at stake with these new precautionary measures. The «Cleaning Protocol» will require several things from the guests:
Provide prevention information on COVID-19 to guests.
Use protective equipment from guests and cleaning staff as well as hydro-alcoholic gel on a regular basis.
Wait 24 hours before entering the accommodation (or room) after a stay to avoid being exposed to particles in the air.
If guests cannot set up this protocol, they will have to wait 72 hours between each reservation. Airbnb has named this option «Booking Buffer».
With these measures, Airbnb wants to be confident. In a press release, the company states that 92% of guests worldwide plan to welcome travellers as often as before the epidemic, or even more often. Last March, booking forecasts for the next 6 months were higher than last year. Tom Travel
