Tourism, Franceschini: on reopenings I cannot give expectations. Marrocco (FI): must give them, you are slow

Harsh confrontation during question time in the House between the minister of cultural heritage, Dario Franceschini, and Forza Italia deputy Patrizia Marrocco. Marrocco spoke on behalf of her party, which, yesterday, addressed a question to the owner of the Collegio Romano on what initiatives the MiBACT intends to take “to put tourism at the center of the strategies for the revival of the Italian economy at the end of the emergency and, with regard to issues related to the phases of the reopening of activities, what is the timeline for the definition of the precautionary and safety measures necessary for operators in the sector.”

Franceschini said he was aware of the tragic nature of the situation in almost all sectors of economic life, the fact that there is a peculiarity regarding tourism, and the fact that the recovery of international tourism will be very slow. As for the measures, Franceschini said that “there are measures that affect all businesses, which therefore in the first decrees impacted tourism businesses (the measures regarding social shock absorbers, extensions of the types that did not have it before, postponements and deferrals of payments, measures for liquidity) and that will have to be gradually extended also temporally according to the duration of the emergency of individual sectors that will not be the same for all.” In addition, Franceschini continued, “we introduced vouchers in the first measures, which prevented travel agencies and hotels from being squeezed between customers asking for reimbursement for missed bookings and service providers asking to be paid instead.”

On the measures that will be taken in the upcoming decrees and especially on the timing of the reopenings, Franceschini, however, did not elaborate, but merely anticipated some requests addressed to the cabinet table. “I haven’t done interviews and I don’t want to announce measures that are being prepared because you create an expectation that then you may not be able to meet completely, and so I want to say the things that I’m working on with respect to the Ministry of the Economy: it’s a table (since we’ve all had government responsibilities) where the ministries at this stage are discussing with the other ministries. I am asking for an extension of the rental tax credit for hotels and other accommodations that since they have not been closed by ordinance have not had it at this stage, a tax credit that relates to the loss of turnover this year compared to last year (these are measures requested by the sector), measures that extend protections to seasonal workers (also, however with the need to clearly identify them), and above all an incentive, a tax credit for tourism (someone called it a vacation bonus), in Italy evidently, that would allow on the one hand to give liquidity and support to businesses and on the other hand to help lower and middle income families to go on vacation by having economic support. I won’t say the quantifications of these measures because they are being discussed within the government these days and if Parliament would like to help me I will be very happy, but I think the goal of this is to help Italian tourism, if it is obvious that the absence of international tourism will last for a long time, it is also clear that for the same reason Italians will not go on vacation abroad for the same long span of time, and therefore we need to make a big investment in Italian vacations, do promotion (again I am asking for resources for this), help the operators in the sector, because somehow for Italian vacations, from when they will be possible (I want to say this clearly to those who ask me for a date: I am not in a position to say from when it will be possible to reopen a bathing establishment, the technical-scientific committee will say that), we are studying all the measures that will allow the reopening of all the sectors in safe conditions, when the epidemiological conditions will allow them to reopen, and to know in advance because they are businesses that need to know in advance.”

However, Franceschini’s response did not satisfy Patrizia Marrocco, who responded in these terms, “I take note of your words but I cannot be satisfied, and above all the entire tourism sector, which is looking at its future with great concern, cannot be satisfied. You do not want to give expectations: you must give answers, minister. Hotels, bed and breakfasts, resorts, camping sites, beach establishments, and agritourisms are literally collapsing, and many are considering giving up their early season preparations. Over 40 percent of the industry, if they do not have a grant or vouchers, they are dead. Compared to last year we are losing 260 million people: extraordinary intervention is needed to support the tourism sector. We need an ad hoc decree, the operators, the administrators of the municipalities have raised the cry of alarm, which has gone unheeded by you: they immediately asked you for help, starting with the recognition of the state of crisis of the sector. This has not happened from you, just as strong initiatives to safeguard jobs have not happened: you promised extraordinary measures in the April decree, but extraordinarily we have seen the decree disappear. We hope it will come at least in the May one. You see minister, I marvel at you who have been sitting in the government together with your party for years: how can you not understand that the time factor is essential? Instead you persevere in your slow decision-making: we need to hurry, we need courage, you need to define now with or without a task force, questioning not the professors, but calling those who are in the trenches of work, the operators, the entrepreneurs, those who know how to reopen and reorganize a hotel and a business. We need to give certainty by being on the side of Italy, on the side of Italians, on the side of families, on the side of workers: let this become an opportunity for Italians to discover the beauty of Italy. Tourism must be placed at the center of the strategies for the revitalization of our economy.”

During the debate, there was also a chance to answer the question by Alessandro Fusacchia (Mixed Group), who had asked what initiatives the government intends to take to support the third sector and cultural and creative enterprises, to ensure that they contribute to the social resilience and economic recovery of the country. This is Franceschini’s response, “for the cultural and creative industries sector and the third sector, a bill is already ready that was supposed to go to the council of ministers, but we did not take it to the council of ministers because it coincided temporally with the explosion of the epidemiological data, and so it will be an opportunity for a bill to address the specific issue of the cultural and creative industries and the third sector in the parliamentary path. In the cultural sector we are knowing the impact it will have and the difficulty of reopening for some sectors in a short time, those where there is an assemblage of people, we have taken some measures, in particular some choices already made that we are making concrete and that the full amount of the FUS, lyric-symphonic foundations and cinema tax credit resources, which are normally disbursed based on parameters to be met will be disbursed in full in 2020 regardless of whether those parameters are met so that we can ensure the survival at this stage of the facilities that are closed. To this it should be added that we are proposing in the next decree measures for the book sector and the museum sector, and that in the first measures we have already provided that measure of 130 million euros for cinema and entertainment, for extraordinary measures. I have already signed this morning the first part of resources (20 million euros) for all those worlds of the performing arts (theater, dance, music, circuses, festivals) that are excluded from the FUS and do not take resources from the FUS, so basically for the [realities] that are smaller and defenseless. I will be signing a decree this week that uses those resources that Parliament wanted to allocate (13 million euros from copyright) for authors, musicians, artists who are under a certain income limit, that is, those who are most defenseless and who need to be protected from the support of public measures. I also say this because here many artists have made videos and asked me for a commitment for the defenseless structures, most recently this morning a video by Anna Foglietta on behalf of that most defenseless world and not on behalf of the stars, who have the backs to defend themselves. I would like to say that no one will be forgotten. No actor, no performer, no musician, no electrician, no person in charge of the stage. The first measures will be to protect these most defenseless professionals.”

Pictured: Dario Franceschini and Patrizia Marrocco

Tourism, Franceschini: on reopenings I cannot give expectations. Marrocco (FI): must give them, you are slow

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