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The closure of the ski slopes would result in a loss of turnover of approximately 2.4 billion euros
Austria opposes the proposal made by the Italian authorities to close ski slopes in Europe during the end-of-year holidays, in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, DPA reports.
“For the Austrian tourism industry and its winter tourism, the Covid-19 pandemic is a huge threat from every point of view, both in terms of health and economy,” Austrian Finance Minister Gernot Blümel said Tuesday. .
According to him, the closure of the ski slopes would mean lost revenues in the order of 2.4 billion euros in the three weeks of vacation around Christmas.
“If the EU really wants this, it will have to pay,” said Gernot Blümel, noting that the EU will have to pay compensation equal to 80% of this revenue, in line with the Austrian government’s aid scheme for companies. hit. of Covid-19. Previously, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had said that Italians would no longer be able to spend the Christmas holidays on skis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conte said he asked for “European coordination” on the issue in recent talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel. “If the tracks are to remain closed, this should apply to all of Europe,” Veneto president Luca Zaia told Corriere della Sera on Tuesday. ‘You cannot forbid skiing in South Tyrol (Italy) and allow access to Carinthia (Austria).
It would be an unacceptable joke, “added Zaia. The ski resorts in Italy generate an annual turnover of about 11 billion euros, of which a third deriving from the holidays spent by Italians in the Alps and the Dolomites for Christmas and New Year.
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