In these times of uncertainty when Covid seems to dominate everything, Italy is trying hard to regain a semblance of normality. After lockdown, even single day trips seem more tempting than ever. Unfortunately, the extension of the official state of emergency to October 15 and the flaring up of new hotspots around Italy do not look too encouraging.

It has been estimated that lockdown, economic uncertainty and the intermittent opening and closure of borders, will cause Italy to lose around 10% of its GDP this year. Much of this downturn will be felt in tourism which is already registering record losses of close to 50%.

Moving around Italy

Lockdown ended on May 18 and Phase 2 kicked in on June 3, the date Italy regained free movement throughout the nation. This has contributed to a kind of localised rediscovery of Italy by Italians; indeed, out-of-town excursions and last-minute holidays are offsetting, albeit partially, the huge losses generated by the lack of foreign tourists.

To escape the much feared crowds, there has been a surge in hikes along lesser known trails. This excellent form of leisure offers a much safer alternative to crowded, and often poorly monitored locations. It is no coincidence that Italy’s Touring Club has just launched a new program entitled “Walks and Routes” and even the UK’s “The Guardian” recently published an article on Italy’s most beautiful hiking trails and walkways.

European Borders

Come ormai noto, le frontiere Europee sono aperte dal 15 Luglio per tutti i paesi Schengen. Pertanto, con l’augurio di rivitalizzare l’economia e rilanciare un turismo ormai allo stremo, la Commissione Europea ha attivato una “piattaforma delle frontiere” . Da qui sarà possibile monitorare in tempo reale i vari aggiornamenti sui confini interni che potrebbero subire modifiche in base ai contagi da Covid. In questo modo (si spera) si potrà viaggiare in sicurezza ed evitare luoghi a rischio e/o quarantene forzate.

European borders have been open since 15 July for all Schengen countries. In an effort to revitalise the economy through a  relaunch of the practically collapsed  tourism industry, the European Commission has activated a special borders website. This allows you to monitor updates on internal borders subject to changes in the levels of Covid contagions, in real time. The hope is  that people can now travel safely and avoid places at risk or subject to forced quarantine.

Incoming Europe

As for non-European tourism, in addition to the United Kingdom (never excluded) these nations have been given a green light: Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay. China is under special surveillance: its tourists will only be able to come to Europe when the principle of reciprocity is applied. USA and Brazil (the two countries most affected), together with Russia, Turkey and Israel, remain blacklisted.

Travel between USA and Italy

On August 6, USA Today , reported that  the US State Department has lifted “maximum alert state” for its citizens, and is therefore allowing  authorised travel to certain European countries. Sadly, however, just Croatia and Turkey are currently willing to host Americans.

Despite high praise from the New York Times of July 31 for the excellent management of the pandemic after the initial uncertainty, I regret to say that Italy is still at Level 3 (Veneto and Lombardy 4). Here below is the updated COVID-19 list from the US department. It shows the respective alert levels assigned to each country.

Tour in Campania

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