Italy’s tourist industry struggles to survive – ‘even George Clooney doesn’t come any more’ amid the coronavirus pandemic

Yup, not even George Clooney came.  But I have a feeling he'll be visiting his home this year, don't you?

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Italy’s tourist industry struggles to survive – ‘even George Clooney doesn’t come any more’ amid the coronavirus pandemic

• With Venice ‘a dead city like Pompeii’, and hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk, the coronavirus crisis has taken a heavy toll on tourism in Italy
  
• After its worst recession since the second world war, authorities try to kick-start tourism with launch of ‘Covid-19-free’ Rome-Milan high-speed rail services
  

Published: 6:20pm, 29 Mar, 2021

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Portofino, an Italian town popular with celebrities and artists, is devoid of visitors. Photo: Getty Images

Just over a year into the pandemic, Venice remains a ghost town. Portofino, a colourful playground for the jet set on the Ligurian coast, and Varenna, on the shores of Lake Como, are also deserted.

The coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on tourism in Italy, the world’s fifth-most visited destination – and with a third wave now under way, there is no obvious end in sight.

The collapse in the number of visitors to Italy in 2020 was jaw-dropping, with only 25.5 million foreign visitors spending at least one night in the peninsula, versus 65 million in 2019 – a drop of more than 60 per cent. That corresponded to revenue of only €17.45 billion (US$20.6 billion), €26.85 billion less than the previous year, according to new figures from the Bank of Italy.

“The situation is really dramatic and everything must be done to revive a sector so vital for our country,” said the president of the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce, Carlo Sangalli.

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San Giorgio Square in Varenna, Lake Como. The coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on tourism in Italy. Photo: Getty Images

Nearly 100,000 companies in Italy’s tourism sector are at risk of bankruptcy, according to the research institute Demoskopika, with a potential loss of 440,000 jobs.

“The year 2020 was catastrophic for us,” said Marina Denti, owner of a leather store in picturesque fishing village Varenna. She is still sorely lacking in foreign customers, especially big-spending Americans, an absence that saw her turnover drop by 80 per cent last year.

“Even George Clooney doesn’t come any more with this pandemic,” she said, referring to the area’s most famous homeowner, proprietor of an opulent villa on the other side of Lake Como, in Laglio.

Before coronavirus swept across the country and beyond, tourism accounted for nearly 14 per cent of gross domestic product for Italy, the euro zone’s third-largest economy. The collapse of this key economic driver, with hotels and restaurants closed for months on end, helped plunge the country last year into the worst recession since the second world war.


To try to get things moving again, Italian railways are offering “Covid-19-free” high-speed rail services between Rome and Milan beginning in early April, a first in Europe. All staff and passengers will be tested before boarding. The airline Alitalia launched a similar initiative last year on some domestic and international flights.

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The Grand Canal is unusually quiet because of the absence of tourists in Venice, Italy. Photo: Getty Images

The mayors of Venice and Florence, cradles of art and history, meanwhile, have joined forces to demand urgent aid from the government, claiming that without these two cities back on their feet, Italy will not recover.

“Deprived of tourists, Venice has become a dead city like Pompeii, it’s sad when you walk down the street,” said Anna Bigai, one of the city’s tour guides, who has only done a dozen guided tours over the past year.

Throughout Italy, overnight stays of foreign tourists fell by 54 per cent, to 184.1 million in 2020, and the outlook for 2021 remains bleak.
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The Louis Vuitton store in Portofino remains empty. Photo: Getty Images

“International tourism in Italy should not return to pre-pandemic levels before 2023,” warned the director of the national tourism agency, Giorgio Palmucci.

The Rolex and Christian Dior  stores in Portofino, a popular destination for celebrities and billionaires from all over the world, remain desperately empty, waiting for the return of rich foreign customers.

“In 2020, we had the worst year in a decade,” sighed Emanuela Cattaneo, owner of a wine bar in the port, lamenting the absence of American and British customers.

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Milan’s Gothic Duomo, or cathedral, has had few visitors this year. Photo: Getty Images
Still, a few rare foreign tourists have enjoyed the unusual calm.

“It’s fantastic to be here when there are not so many people around,” said Rainer Lippert, from Heidelberg, Germany, as he and his family admired the view from the roof of Milan’s Gothic Duomo. “Given the circumstances, it’s the best choice we could make.”

As if to hammer home the challenges faced by Italy’s tourist sites, within days of Lippert’s visit, the Duomo was once again closed for coronavirus restrictions.

I wonder if they’ll make it to Italy this year. Based on California’s announced vaccine schedule, he and Amal should be able to be fully vaccinated by the end of April, and I imagine the first trip after that will be to see Nick and Nina. Depending on when the shoot in Australia begins, maybe they’ll go straight there? I would, it’s basically back to pre-pandemic times there and they can live a fairly normal life.

Today we suspect putting the USA and Italy (Germany and 40 other countries) on our Quarnteen list.....

This is highly politically sensitive....

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Those with private means of access...no matter if they have more jabs than a tea stainer, would be risking reputational damage to travel other than for work or humanitarian reasons at this time... And absolutely not with the family on your holliers...

My strong advice would be to stay home....stay safe...

i think them going to see Nick and Nina would also depend on whether they had also taken the shots.

At their age, surely Nick and Nina would have had their vaccinations by now, wouldn't they?

Yes, they should have been in the first group after healthcare workers.

I get the impression that George is absolutely obeying the rules wherever he in the world,

and is understandably concerned for both his parents and his children. As we go on there is

more continual twice weekly testing for those who are working in addition to the jabs.

Given that he said to the Boston onlookers that the family were all there with him I wouldn't

mind betting they will find a distanced (if necessary) way to see his parents.....

If Kentucky is following guidelines, Nick and Nina should have had their shots already. I bet George will make time to go see them before he leaves the East coast.

I think first and foremost for George is to see his parents in person. If the four of them are fully vaccinated George and Amal could certainly visit with Nina and Nick.  I really don’t see George and Amal going to Italy this year. Most countries will not be that safe for traveling to during the summer months.  With variants circulating it’s really risky.  Hopefully next year the Clooneys can make it back to Como.  They must miss it so much.