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‘We’re really feeling their absence’: Amalfi Coast braces for a summer without US tourists

With its white and multicoloured houses perched on the mountainside above the crystalline waters of the Mediterranean, Italy's Amalfi coast is an ideal holiday location – but it is suffering.

Published: 10 July 2020 15:55 CEST
'We're really feeling their absence': Amalfi Coast braces for a summer without US tourists
Beaches in Amalfi are emptier than usual this year. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

The beauty of the villages of Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi is world famous, but today the normally bustling streets are practically empty. With fewer boats bobbing around the harbour and no traffic jams on the coast road leading to the villages, it has an air of low season.

The problem is a lack of visitors, particularly from across the Atlantic. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic means that tourists from the United States – where cases continue to rise – are not currently allowed into Europe.

READ ALSO: Italy's latest travel rules, explained

“In previous years we had 80 percent foreign tourists, and half of those were from North America,” the head of the local tourist association, Andrea Ferraioli, told AFP.

Agricultural union Coldiretti estimated that their absence will cost the Italian economy €1.8 billion ($2 billion) this summer. Some 13 percent of Italy's GDP comes from tourism, a key driver of jobs in the country.


Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

On the Amalfi coast near Naples most of the small family businesses only opened in early June due to Italy's long lockdown, while the region's many luxury hotels only opened this month.

Perched on the rocks in Positano and with a spectacular sea view, Le Agavi hotel welcomed its first guests on July 1st. But greeting them were only half its usual 110 employees.

“We had exceptional occupancy last year, around 93 percent, but now we're at around 60-65 percent,” said owner Giovanni Capilongo.

IN NUMBERS: How important are American tourists to Italy?

But reservations were in from tourists from the United States, Canada and Australia for September and October, Capilongo said.

“They account for [on average] 82 percent of our guests and we hope that the market can take off again,” as international flights resume, he said. Hotel operators hope that since the season started late, it may continue longer into November.

Meanwhile, Italians who usually account for only five to seven percent of guests are today the majority.

Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Among them were tourists Mario Bocci and his Brazilian wife Elisabeth De Assis, who said they usually go abroad on holiday.

“So many foreigners come to Italy, but we Italians don't make the most of its beauty. We've rediscovered it,” Bocci said.

READ ALSO: Most Italians want American tourists to stay away this summer: poll

A handful of tourists were making the most of the balmy early evening with a cocktail at Positano's Palazzo Murat, an early 19th century architectural jewel. Although only around a quarter of the hotel's rooms are filled during the week, the hotel manages 80 to 90 percent occupancy at the weekend, “with lots of Italians,” said co-owner Tanina Vanacore.

US tourists have flocked to Positano – where colourful cliffside homes overlook the clear blue waters – for decades, Vanacore said.

“Americans gave Positano its grandeur and today we're really feeling their absence.”

Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Despite the challenges for those in the industry, the few visitors appeared to be enjoying themselves, without the usual crush of tourists.

“I feel very lucky to be here when there's nobody,” said London doctor Ravi Solanki, 27. “I can enjoy the village and everything it offers, almost like it's my own.”

READ ALSO: The parts of Italy where fewest tourists go

Generally, smaller businesses have slashed their prices to compete, but luxury hotels have only slightly reduced prices, so as not to devalue the services.

Other businesses like cruise operators have had to adapt as well, said Andrea Russo, sales manager for luxury cruise specialist Plaghia Charter. “We try to offer more accessible services,” she said, such as small group excursions at €60.

Today's tourists lack the larger budgets of US tourists, who don't hesitate to spend €1,200 a day for a 12-metre boat, she said.


Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

The lack of US tourists has even altered working hours for restaurant staff, who begin serving dinner for foreigners in the early evening.

“At 9:30 [pm] there's nobody left at table,” said Armando Gambardella, owner of the Da Armandino restaurant in Praiano.

“With Italians, it's the opposite, they go for their siesta 6:30 to 7:00 and start eating at 9:00!”

By AFP's Céline Cornu

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TRAVEL NEWS

What will Europe’s EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

The EU's Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport checks will usher in big changes for travellers - here we answer readers' questions on the position for dual nationals.

Published: 22 April 2024 17:10 CEST
What will Europe's EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

The EU is preparing, after many delays, to introduce the EES system for travel in and out of Europe.

You can find a full explanation of how it works HERE, but in essence it is an enhanced passport check – registering biometric details such as fingerprints and facial scans and introducing an automatic calculation of how long you have stayed within the EU/Schengen zone in order to detect ‘over-stayers’.

And it’s already causing stress for travellers. We asked readers of The Local to share their questions here – and one of the biggest worries was how the system will work for dual nationals ie people who have a passport for both an EU country and a non-EU country.

EES: Your questions answered

EU passports 

One of the main purposes of EES is to detect ‘over-stayers’ – people who have either stayed in the EU longer than their visa allows or non-EU nationals who have over-stayed their allowance of 90 days in every 180.

As this does not apply to EU nationals, people travelling on an EU passport are not required to do EES pre-registration and will continue to travel in the same way once EES is introduced – going to the ‘EU passports queue’ at airports, ports and stations and having their passports scanned as normal.

Non-EU 

Non-EU travellers will, once EES is up and running, be required to complete EES pre-registration.

This means that the first time they cross an EU/Schengen zone external border they will have to go to a special zone of the airport/port/terminal and supply extra passport information including fingerprints and a facial scan.

This only needs to be done once and then lasts for three years.

Non-EU residents of the EU/Schengen zone

This does not apply to non-EU citizens who are permanent residents of an EU country or who have a long-stay visa for an EU/Schengen zone country – click HERE for full details.

Schengen zone passports/Irish passports 

EES applies within the Schengen zone, so people with Swiss, Norwegian and Icelandic passports are treated in the same way as citizens of EU countries.

Ireland and Cyprus are in the EU but not the Schengen zone – these countries will not be using the EES system at their borders, but their citizens are still EU citizens so can continue to use EU passport gates at airports and will be treated the same as all other EU citizens (ie they don’t have to do EES pre-registration).

OK, so what if you have both an EU and a non-EU passport?

They key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any of the rules on immigration – it’s just a way of better enforcing the rules that are already in place. 

Therefore the rules for dual nationals remain as they are – for most people which passport to travel on is a matter of personal choice, although Americans should be aware that if you have a US passport and you are entering the USA, you must use your American passport. 

But it’s also important to remember that the passports of dual nationals are not ‘linked’ – therefore if you present an American passport at the Italian border, you will be treated exactly the same as every other American, there is no way for the border guard to know that you are also Italian.

Likewise if you are a UK-Germany dual national and you travel back to the UK on your German passport, you can expect to be treated the same as every other German at the border, and might be asked for proof of where you are staying in UK, how long you intend to stay etc – the system has no way of knowing that you are also British. 

Therefore whether you have to complete EES pre-registration or not is entirely a matter of which passport you are travelling on – if you use your EU passport you won’t have to do it, if you use your non-EU passport you will.

It’s also possible to use two passports for the same trip – so let’s say you’re travelling from Spain to Canada – you enter Canada on your Canadian passport, and show your Canadian passport again when you leave. However, once you re-enter Spain you show your Spanish passport in order to benefit from the unlimited length of stay.

If you’re travelling between France and the UK via the Eurostar, Channel Tunnel or cross-Channel ferry, you need to remember that the Le Touquet agreement means that French passport checks take place in the UK and vice versa. You can still use both passports, but you just need to keep your wits about you and remember to hand the French one to the French border guards and the British one to British guards.

In terms of avoiding immigration formalities using two passports is the most efficient way for dual nationals to travel, but some people prefer to stick to one passport for simplicity, or don’t want to keep both passports together in case of theft.

Basically it’s a personal choice, but you just need to remember that you will be treated according to the passport that you show – which includes completing EES pre-registration if you’re showing a non-EU passport.

It’s also worth remembering that if the changes do cause border delays (and there are fears that they might especially at the UK-France border), then these will affect all travellers – regardless of their passport. 

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