Covid Journey Information: Italy Island Ischia Set to Win From Europe Tourism

The residents of the small Italian island of Ischia hope that the 30km stretch of seawater separating them from the mainland will help save their economy from another disastrous tourist season this summer.

They are eagerly awaiting a boatload of vaccines promised by a decree signed late last week that will create herd immunity among the island’s 70,000 residents. Once everyone gets the shot, they can declare the island a covid-free zone and thus help attract wealthy visitors from all over Northern Europe and the United States

“An Englishman called just yesterday to ask about a wedding at our resort this summer, but it seemed very difficult to organize as many of the guests were supposed to be from all over the world,” said Giovan Giuseppe Mattera, 58, the owner from Lido Ricciulillo Beach Resort and Restaurant in the capital of the island. “Now that I know the vaccines are coming, I’ll call him back.”

Giovan Giuseppe Mattera

Photographer: Alessio Paduano / Bloomberg

Islands that can easily seal themselves off from the spread of Covid-19 will see the biggest gains from European tourism this summer. This is another example of how the pandemic has rocked the global economy, creating new winners and losers. Greece, with its tourism-dependent economy, is way ahead of the game and has already vaccinated most of its residents on the smallest of its hundreds of islands.

In Italy, where the bulk of tourism revenue usually comes from the mainland, those who can’t rely on a body of water to protect their businesses from the virus don’t give in without a fight.

Mass vaccination on the country’s several dozen inhabited marine islands has so far been delayed by protests from regional governors arguing that no one should receive priority treatment. Islanders counter that the measure is a necessary step for Italy to remain competitive as the countries compete for a smaller percentage of visitors.

No rebound in sight

Sales in Italy’s hotels and restaurants may remain below pre-Covid levels

Source: Italy’s Association of Auditors

“It shouldn’t be a fight about who wins and who doesn’t,” said Luca D’Ambra, chairman of the Ischia and Procida hotelier association. “Here in Italy we’ve already wasted too much time – Greece started talking about islands without Covid a month ago.”

European tourism revenues are expected to recover this summer once a system of Vaccination records gets on the way. The documents provide evidence that owners had a Covid-19 shot or recently returned a negative test. American tourists who have been fully vaccinated will also be allowed to visit the European Union following a policy change announced earlier this week.

The Greek island of Skiathos is hoping all 6,600 residents will be vaccinated by early May to attract visitors at the start of the tourist season. According to Mayor Thodoris Tzoumas, it will hopefully be the turn of the seasonal workers as soon as the locals are covered.

“We are in direct communication with airlines and have seen unprecedented interest from tour operators,” said Tzoumas.

Renovation work at the Lido Ricciulillo beach resort on the island of Ischia.

Photographer: Alessio Paduano / Bloomberg

There is a lot that could still go wrong, however, especially since the islands cannot completely seal themselves off from unvaccinated outsiders. A virus outbreak on an island with few hospital beds is much riskier than on the mainland, as large cities are easy to get to.

Ischia, which can accommodate more than 300,000 tourists in high season, has only 75 hospital beds. Covid patients had to be brought to the mainland during the worst phase of the virus outbreak last year. Skiathos has only one health center and relies on army helicopters to take patients to a hospital on the mainland in an emergency.

Michael Blandy, chairman of the Blandy Group, which has interests in 15 hotels on the Portuguese island of Madeira and elsewhere, has warned that the passport system will not work properly until the second half of the year, when most Europeans are fully vaccinated. By then, tour operators will have missed most of the season. So far only 22% of people in the EU have received at least one shot, even if the vaccination rate has increased in recent weeks.

Visitors wait for a Covid-19 vaccination in a sports hall on the island of Ischia.

Photographer: Alessio Paduano / Bloomberg

Ischia, the a Tourism boom In the years leading up to the pandemic according to Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, 70% of the population is expected to be vaccinated by the end of May. The nearby islands of Capri and Procida will also undergo a mass vaccination program in the coming weeks. People who work in the mainland Amalfi Coast tourism sector will not receive preferential treatment until the islands are fully covered, the regional governor said in a press conference on Monday.

“Every week counts in seasonal tourism,” said Mattera, owner of the beach resort Lido Ricciulillo. “The sooner we can promote our Covid-free status, the better.”

– With the support of Joao Lima and John Follain