(Finance) – Tourism companies put in hard test two years of crisis with the closures that increase: in the solo 2021 4,116 companies in the accommodation and tourist services went out of business, the worst figure in the last five years. An acceleration of closures that was not offset by new openings: in twelve months only 1,916 new tourism businesses were born, for a negative balance of -2,200 businesses.
To sound the alarm is Assoturismo Confesercenti, analyzing the stillbirth data of the receptivity (hotels, hostels, mountain huts, landlords and non-occasional holiday homes, campsites) and tourist services (travel agencies, tour operators, ticketing services, guides and tour leaders). The analysis captures the impact of the crisis on tourism, which can be immediately seen in the net worsening of the balances between business openings and closures in the two-year period of Covid: between 2020 and 2021 there was a loss of over 4 thousand activities (-2,200 in 2021 and – 1,814 in 2020), more than six times in the previous two-year period.
In absolute terms, the most consistent bleeding is that of receptivity: in 2021 the balance between openings and closings for hotels and similar is negative for -1,356 businesses. But the balance of tourist services is also worsening, which in 2021 marks a balance of -844 businesses: in 2019, the year before the crisis, the balance between openings and closures was -366. A collapse also due to the total absence of support for these sectors in the year just ended, after a first – and only – intervention in 2020.
It is mainly women who suffer in 2021 central regions, with a negative balance of -1,290 companies. The crisis in Rome and Lazio weighs heavily, which between the collapse of foreign tourism and the almost total elimination of that linked to work and events, loses over a thousand businesses. But signs of severe suffering also come from the North East (-447 businesses) and the North West (-285). In the latter area, the result of Lombardy weighs (-158 companies), which, like Lazio, suffers from the stop of the tourism economy linked to events and work. The South and the Islands, on the other hand, are more resilient, losing only -114 and -64 activities, thanks also to the stable balance between openings and closures in Sardinia. But among the regions, the only growth is recorded in the Aosta Valley (+5).
“The analyzes confirm a crisis that shows no signs of slowing down. The closures have also accelerated in 2021, beating the already bad result of 2020 ”, comments Vittorio Messina, National President of Assoturismo. “Even 2022 did not open under the best auspices: the fourth wave canceled January and February, and spring has started slowly: 80% of the rooms available for March are still without reservations. To weigh, in a month without Easter, is undoubtedly the blocking of events and business trips: the ‘Zoom’ effect on conferences is particularly evident in large cities; but foreign demand is also below expectations. More incisive supports are needed, or the closures will accelerate further. Save the businesses, we need to work on rebooting. Those who arrive last at the reopening have lost: this is why clear rules are already needed on the modalities of the restart of tourist mobility, starting with any obligations, which must be in line in time and manner with the rest of Europe. In this context, an extraordinary investment in marketing is needed: we must promote Italy better and more abroad, one of the most desired and, at this moment, safe destinations in the world. Our competitors are already doing it “.