The President of the EC advises against booking the summer vacation now because of COVID-19
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, today advised against making holiday reservations for the summer due to the impossibility of making reliable predictions about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I recommend waiting before making plans. No one can now make reliable forecasts for July and August," said Von der Leyen, from the Sunday edition of the popular Bild newspaper, the most widely read in Germany.
The German Government has adopted a resolution that if you have to cancel a reservation you will get a voucher to exchange it for another future trip, but the money will not be refunded. This is to minimize the effects on the sector of mass cancellations.
Von der Leyen shows some skepticism for this measure and recalls that, at European level, the principle of offering the user both options applies. It considers that the exchangeable bond must be given priority or advised, but without impeding the refund formula, if the client so decides.
The German tourism sector fears a catastrophic season as a result of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. In addition to internal movement limitations, border closures in several EU countries are added, as well as the quarantine to which every citizen, German or not, who returns to Germany must submit.
Germany is the fifth country in infections after the United States, Spain, Italy and France. The number of infected stands at 120,479, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), competent in the matter. Almost half of them, 60,200, have already recovered, while the death toll stands at 2,673.
Johns Hopkins University, with a more dynamic update, raises the number of infections in Germany to 125,478 and that of deaths to 2,871.
