Ministry of Economy to work out measures to support tourism sector affected by pandemic

Chisinau, 8 April /MOLDPRES/- Solutions to support economic operators in tourism, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, were the subject of discussion between Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Sergiu Railean and representatives of the National Association of Tourism Agencies of Moldova, Investment Agency, Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection Agency.

The sides debated the requests from business environment to diminish the negative consequences on the tourism industry in the context of the epidemic. One of the pressing problems stated by the travel agencies is refund for the contracts signed before 17 March, by which the client was to use the tourism product in summer 2020. The money collected by the organizer has already been transferred to the service providers from abroad.

In this context, Railean said “the dramatic situation in this sector affects not only the operators, but also the tourists ”. Therefore, the Minister opted to identify best solutions for both sides. "The pandemic crisis has hit hard not only in the tourist agencies of our country, but also in the entire industry worldwide. We analyzed the proposals from the travel agencies, measures that other countries have taken in a similar situation and interests of tourists to recover money or reschedule vacation. In this situation it is important to help businesses survive and our citizens be assured”, he said.

Among the proposed measures were the establishment of a moratorium for restoring payments to customers canceling trips based on contracts concluded before 17 March 2020 and allowing the tour operator to repay money within 31 March 2021, staggered repayment of the tour package and issuing floating holiday vouchers, valid until 31 December 2021.

The official said that the proposals will be included in a document, worked out by the Economy and Infrastructure Ministry and will be submitted for consideration to the National Commission for Emergencies. At the same time, the minister invited the representatives of the agencies to stay in constant communication with the institution's team for further consultations.

On 17 March-15 May, state of emergency is declared in Moldova. During the period, the provisions of the National Commission for Emergencies are mandatory and enforceable for authorities of all levels and businesses to prevent and combat the spread of coronavirus, the Commission had to make several restrictive decisions affecting citizens and businesses.