Monaco isn’t just a tax haven – it’s a golden refuge from the pandemic, too

85 per cent of residents wear masks, no doubt encouraged by the €100 penalties for those who don’t comply

Credit: getty

Meanwhile, the hospitality industry has been decimated. Amongst the worst hit are hotels that have endured a double blow: a sparsity of global clientele alongside multiple cancellations of conferences and events. Even the temporary relief of the summer months saw hotels working at 50 per cent less year-on-year capacity.

Yet Monaco Government Tourism director, Guy Antognelli, says that “restaurants have remained relatively buoyant”. A loyal local crowd have kept dining venues across the principality afloat. In particular, top-billing venues with multiple Michelin stars and extravagant interiors have bucked the downward trend. Meanwhile, capacity limitations have been most felt by eateries with no outdoor terrace.  

Proactivity has become the byword for survival during Covid-19 times. Cranes dot the Monte Carlo skyline as tourism-based companies turn their efforts to construction. The luxurious Hotel Metropole has closed its doors for 18 weeks for the first phase of a top-to-bottom facelift, while work continues apace on the principality’s €2 billion offshore urban extension project. This new eco-district will provide a 6,000m2 extension to the principality’s main conference and concert venue, Grimaldi Forum.

Other hospitality employees on furlough leave have volunteered for charitable causes. One senior hotel PR has been promoting the Noma Fund, which provides care for those affected by orofacial gangrene in Africa, South America and South Asia.

The principality’s largest tourism group, Monte Carlo SBM, has also adapted to Covid-19 times. As well as developing partnerships with private aviation companies and famous guest chefs such as Yannick Alleno, group director of sales and marketing, Axel Hoppenot, notes the focus upon safety and sanitation: “The new normal includes a quest for open-air terraces in restaurants, more take-away food and more QR-code digital menus.”

‘A loyal local crowd have kept dining venues across the principality afloat’

Credit: getty

The leitmotif across all Monegasque sectors is security. As well as security of assets, personal safety and hygiene, there has been an increasing push towards data security. €45 million has been earmarked in the preliminary 2021 preliminary budget for the digital economy including the development of a sovereign cloud. Antognelli concludes that visitors are attracted to Monaco as a safe haven: “The image of security is ubiquitous: in our hotels, restaurants and cultural attractions.”

He maintains that the pandemic has accelerated tourist trends towards commercial travellers booking smaller, niche conferences – and towards visitors booking fewer flights, but longer stays. According to Antognelli, “Slow tourism is set to become the new normal”.

Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/monaco/articles/visit-monaco-lockdown-holiday/

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Publish date : 2020-12-07 08:00:00

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