Hotels to Open After June 1, Several Restaurants Start Working – Hospitality Sector Needs Additional State Aid Measures

Although restaurants were allowed to open on May 4, only a small number of restaurant owners have so far opened their facilities, Georgi Genov, the director of the Business Association of Hotel and Restaurant Industry of Serbia (HORES), says for eKapija. When it comes to hotels, he adds that the majority of them, primarily those in mountain centers, will open after June 1.

– Several restaurants have opened and cafes have opened in larger numbers. The problem is how to comply with the social distancing recommendations, as there should be 15 to 20 chairs in a restaurant on every 100 m2. That's not sustainable economically, and workers need to be kept – Genov says.

The Public Health Institute of Belgrade has published a detailed list of recommendations for cafes and restaurants, according to which the distance between the guests at the same or the neighboring table should not be smaller than the proscribed social distance of two meters.

Genov points out that the estimate is that hotels in Serbia will lose around EUR 230 million between March and June due to lack of guests.

– Some city hotels might even open earlier, and those in mountain centers will start opening after June 1. We then expect a procedure for spa and wellness centers, as guests primarily go on vacations for enjoyment – he says.

Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali announced that the final meetings with tourism and hospitality associations and transport and logistics associations would be held on Monday at the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, after which a concrete proposition of measures of help to those sectors should be presented. Genov emphasizes that the hospitality sector urgently needs one such additional set of measures.

– We expect it and hope that we will be able to save jobs – our interviewee says.

He adds that state aid in payment of minimum wage of at least 6 months to employees at hotels and restaurants could save jobs. More about the additional measures proposed by HORES can be found in a separate article.

I. Milovanovic

HORES Beograd

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

Hores

Ministry of Finance

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

Sinisa Mali

Georgi Genov

hotels

opening of hotels

restaurants

restaurant owners

opening of restaurants

opening of cafes

aid to hospitality sector

hospitality sector

minimum wages

aid to economy

coronavirus