The position of the Direction and the Specialized Tourism Commission of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ponta Delgada (CCIPD) was stated in a meeting on Friday, where the situation of the sector was analyzed, the experiences already initiated of the resumption of activity in several countries and regions and a reflection on the prospects for the future of tourism in the region and, especially in São Miguel and Santa Maria.

It is necessary to "urgently define a timetable contemplating the opening of internal and external connections, the respective transport policy and the end of the travellers' quarantine", proposes the Directorate and the Specialized Commission for Tourism of the CCIPD, stating that the "current uncertainty" following the covid-19 "is paralyzing all the activity not only the immediate, but also for the next months".

In the opinion of the CCIPD, tourism companies "need to know well in advance, to know what they can count on to decide when they open or close definitively", taking into account the current circumstances due to the pandemic.

"A collapse of the tourism sector will cause a greater catastrophe than that of civil construction in the last crisis, when this sector alone lost more than 12,000 jobs", they warn.

The Direction and the Specialized Commission of the Tourism of the CCIPD consider the "situation of the sector", which is "almost totally inactive" due to the pandemic, to have "overwhelming impacts on the financial situation of the companies".