EU tourist hotspots urge Germans to keep vacation plans

As one of the most popular places in Europe for holidaymakers, Spain is doing everything it can to save its tourism sector. Flights are back up and running, and foreign tourists are allowed in with negative PCR tests. Germans and French are topping the visitor lists to the Balearic Islands to enjoy the beaches, bars and restaurants. Paradoxically, Spaniards are banned from travelling between regions. The Spanish tourist sector is complaining about such contradictions, and many Spaniards are fed up with what they feel are inconsistent Covid-19 restrictions. Our correspondents report.

More than 100 people were adrift at sea in rubber boats trying to reach Europe. Hundreds of people have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year in their search for a better life.

As vaccinations increase, Germany is experimenting with tourism in one of its most-visited coastal regions. The popular island of Sylt and other resort areas are allowed to welcome guests — under strict stipulations.

The global travel and tourism sector lost $4.5 trillion and 62 million jobs in 2020. Some countries are beginning to reopen their borders to vaccinated foreign tourists and hoping for a strong summer season. Virginia Messina, Managing Director of the World Travel and Tourism Council, believes vaccines will help the industry recover but are not the only solution. "Everyone should be able to travel," she told FRANCE 24, but consumer confidence has been undermined by a lack of consistency in international regulations.

Before the pandemic, the Italian city of Venice was overrun with tourists and was looking for ways to restrict numbers. Now that Italy’s lockdown restrictions are easing, the city is looking forward to the much-needed tourist revenue.

Seville's pandemic-hit tourism sector is hoping to get a shot in the arm from UEFA's last-minute decision to name the southern Spanish city as a host for Euro 2020 matches. While thousands of football fans are set to flock to the city later this month, hotels, restaurants and bars warn the event won't be enough to make up for the collapse in business brought on by the health crisis.

Disneyland Paris has reopened after nearly eight months of Covid-19 restrictions. Masks are still required, but it could mark a symbolic turning point for France's tourism industry. Also in the show: the EU gives Greece the green light for €30 billion in recovery funds and the World Bank issues a blow to El Salvador's efforts to use Bitcoin as legal currency.

Pyramids, Tutankhamun masks, Nefertiti busts -- Egypt's souvenir craftspeople are pinning their hopes on a new lease of life, after tourism was battered by the coronavirus pandemic. Anticipating a surge in tourists, the government is investing millions in local replica production to boost revenue.

It's a Mediterranean melting pot with a culture, language and identity all of its own. Fought over and conquered by neighbouring Italy and mainland #France, Corsica's tumultuous history has left its mark on the population of this mountainous island. We meet the people for whom arts and culture are the vectors of Corsican identity, as FRANCE 24's Olivia Salazar-Winspear heads to the city of Ajaccio for this special show.

A United Nations report says the global tourism industry will face huge losses due to lockdowns and vaccine disparity. Developing nations and countries with low vaccination rates are expected to suffer more.

In the lush green fields of Egypt's fertile Delta Valley, farmers and artisans are struggling to make a living as they keep alive the Pharaonic-era tradition of making papyrus.

In a square in central Fez, the steady beat of hammers on copper has returned - a welcome signal for the ancient Moroccan city's thousands of artisans that trade is slowly picking up after a brutal COVID-induced slump. Activity is still some way below pre-pandemic levels, and master coppersmith Mohammed Kobbi says the high cost of the metal has hit profit margins. "The situation is starting to improve," he told Reuters as he hurried past Seffarine Square to deliver an order of eight large pans to a local restaurant.