Catastrophic expectations for Italy tourism sector

Italy's lockdown measures and escalating death toll amid the coronavirus outbreak have led to a sudden halt of the country's tourism industry.

Most hotels in the capital of Rome are closed due to a lack of visitor numbers, unusual for the start of the high season in one of the biggest tourist locations in the world.

The damage to this industry, in a country famed for its world-class museums, archaeological sites, art cities and natural beauty, is not yet quantifiable.

But experts warn that the financial impact on the whole industry, that is not only hotels but also the supply chain as a whole, will certainly be catastrophic.

March bookings were down 97% in the Italian capital, according to Rome's Hotel Association, with the remaining 3% explained as hotel rooms occupied by the few categories still forced or allowed to work, and people unable to return to their country of origin.

"When we say 15 million people (tourists) less (per year), when we say approximately 33 million visits (every year) that went down to zero, let's reflect briefly on the size of suppliers behind this business, what the total expense of each tourist is," said Roberto Necci, the association's Vice President.

According to Italy's tourism federation, Assoturismo, the sector - which generates 13% of Italian GDP - is now facing total collapse due the virus outbreak's impact on travel.

While the closure of hotels is the first and most evident sign of the crisis, thousands of small companies will be severely affected by it, including tourist bus companies, which used to transfer waves of people back and forth from airports to hotels to touristic sites all over the country.

Bracci SRB in Rome is a small tourist bus company, which works mostly with US visitors and they say they're already paying a huge price for the pandemic.

More than 5.6 million Americans visit Italy every year, representing 9% of foreign tourists and the second-largest national group behind Germans, according to the most recent statistics.

Bracci is a small company with two shareholders and five full-time employees, and nine seasonal ones.

The full time drivers were given forced leave for the month of March.

What lies ahead, nobody knows.

The best they can expect for the time being from the new government measures is redundancy funds, but for many this won't cover all their family expenses.

"We are waiting for confirmation by the government on how they will handle this situation," said 45-year- old Seicaru Traian Catalin, a full time Bracci employee who left his home on Tuesday only to sign some urgent documents.

"Then one will need to choose between paying one's mortgage, or rent or similar, or feeding one's children,"

One of the company's managers, Laura Bracci, said it was already facing a loss of 210,000 euros (227,000 US dollars) for the first two weeks of March.

The uncertainty for Bracci is also in not knowing how quickly the tourism industry will recover once the pandemic subsides.

In Italy, a jump in the number of new deaths and cases over the last 24 hours dashed hopes fed by two days of declines.

The 743 deaths reported Tuesday pushed Italy's toll past 6,800, by far the highest of any country.

With Italy on an uphill battle to contain the virus, Premier Giuseppe Conte announced on Tuesday far stiffer fines for violators of the national lockdown restrictions.

Earlier in March, Conte approved 25 billion euros (27.9 billion US dollars) in emergency aid to help families, workers and employers confront the coronavirus emergency and activate lines of credit for another 350 billion euros (390.6 billion US dollars).

Conte said the measures include more 3 1/2 billion euros (3.9 billion US dollars) to support the public health services and the civil protection agency, 10 billion euros (11 billion US dollars) to ensure that no one loses work due to the virus, including short-term unemployment schemes and measures to help self-employed and season workers.

Under the measures, mortgages and tax payments can be frozen, and families in need can receive vouchers for babysitters.

But these measures will take time to be implemented in practice and many people are still confused and uncertain of how to claim.

Conte said that the decree alone would not be sufficient to fight the emergency and that there would be other measures taken.

Most patients who contract the new coronavirus develop only mild symptoms and recover after about two weeks, but the virus is highly contagious and can be spread by those with no visible symptoms.

For older adults and people with underlying health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.