Italy splits on tourism and Confcommercio is the one to sum up. If the seaside resorts make the boom in attendance, the cities of art score the worst result ever, with a drop in turnover ranging between 30 and 50%. On the other hand, the numbers for the Alpine and pre-Alpine areas are good, against all expectations they record a drop of only 20% compared to 2019, thanks to proximity tourism but above all to the Swiss and Austrian neighbors.
The collapse of the cities of art it spares no one, from North to South, all regions find themselves "poor" in tourists. Even Sicily, where about 70% of businesses preferred to close their doors, and those who remain open instead collect 50-60% less than in 2019. On the contrary, reservations in seaside resorts are on the rise, with restaurants full until August 24th.
But can 2 weeks of recovery compensate for the previous months? As also pointed out by Enrico Stoppani Linen, president of Fipe-Confcommercio, it is a "warm pannicello, a flash in the pan destined to last until August 23, when the Italians will return home. The hope - continued Stoppani - is that offices will begin to reopen from September, easing smartworking, to give oxygen also to the activities of urban centers and the suburbs which are now seeing a drop in turnover of 50% and a third of the employed .”
Based on the first balances of mid-August, even the clothing sector is struggling to restart. According to Federmoda Confcommercio, after 15 days of sales (in some regions even more than 1 month), he estimates a drop in receipts of approximately 1,4 billion, reaching 2,1 billion against 3,5 billion last year.
In particular, according to the survey conducted by the Italian Fashion Federation-Confcommercio, 74% of the companies sampled recorded a drop in sales only in the first 10 days compared to last year. While 53% of companies saw their turnover drop by 30% compared to 2019, the remainder also reached a 70-80% drop, especially in the centers of large cities.
For Federmoda Confcommercio there are no doubts: measures are needed to save the sector. Such as non-repayable contributions, bonuses for the purchase of clothing and footwear or a tax credit for the devaluation of warehouses, given that it will be possible to recover the lost spring season with all the unsold products of this 2020.
