The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

cope with a lockdown. This led to the consequence that touristic contracts could no longer be performed mainly for three reasons: Italians being prevented from going out of the region of residency; foreign countries preventing people coming from Italy to enter their territories and tour operators; and carriers cancelling their contracts due to the impossibility to perform 3 . The first sites affected by the spread of the infection were a few centres in Lombardy and Veneto, and, as mentioned above, under the Legislative and Prime Ministerial Decrees of 1 and 4 March 2020 – then replaced by Prime Ministerial Decree of March 8, 2020 – measures were taken to limit the spread of COVID-19 and the epidemiologic emergency management in Veneto, Lombardy and a few Provinces of Emilia Romagna; measures such as declaring these areas as red zones, i.e. restraint areas with severe restrictions to the mobility of people and subsequent consequences on the circulation of goods. Movement was permitted only for business needs, situations of need, health reasons. Schools shut down, school excursions and trips were suspended, as were almost every activity not considered as essential. According to the above-cited decrees, limitations to freedom of movement and, therefore, to travel were imposed to the following individuals: a) those who have been obliged to quarantine with active surveillance by health authorities; b) those residing or domiciled in the areas affected by the infection, the so-called red zones; c) those who tested positive to COVID-19 and subsequently obliged to quarantine or isolation at home; d) those who had programmed trips or stays with departures or arrivals in those areas affected by the infection; e) those who had to participate in events or public exams or reunions, either publicly or privately held, which had been cancelled or postponed, for example, exhibitions or shows; and f) those in possession of travel documents bought in Italy with destination in one of those foreign countries in which arrival, landing or entrance had been prevented due to the epidemiologic emergency. In those days, travellers from the Northern part of Italy had to cancel and/or withdraw from their flights, their packages, their hotel bookings in accordance with the provisions issued by the Government and many of them, who were travelling in those days, were prohibited from entering certain countries. On 2 March, a Legislative Decree was issued in order to, among other measures, regulate the consequences of the restraint measures on transport contracts and packages, for those individuals whose freedom of movement had been limited. As noted, as of 2 March, those individuals affected by containment measures were only those residing or domiciled in the red zones, and the foreign countries prohibiting entrance in their territories were still a few at that time. However, the severity and uniqueness of the situation led the Government to extend the containment measures to the whole national territory with a Legislative Decree dated 9 March, and, by 11 March, Italy was in lockdown, which stands until 17 May, as provided for by the latest Decree, issued on 26 April. The only activities that are allowed to stay open are those considered as essentials, in other words, mainly those related to food and health. 3 The present article is not intended to address issues of Italian general principles and contract law. Therefore, for a better understanding of the concepts of supervening impossibility to perform and the related remedies, see Cottino, L’impossibilità sopravvenuta della prestazione e la responsabilità del debitore, Milano, 1955 and Sacco-De Nova, Il contratto , Torino, 2016, among others.