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

9 they claim with hotels can reach substantial amounts and can be collected immediately, whereas an individual consumer has no interest in extending their action beyond a reasonable limit. As is made clear by the dramatic drop in the fees asked by the best Italian hotels, immediately before the disqualification measures, it is reasonable to fear and expect that many shops and businesses will go out of business, with a substantial impact on the country’s overall tourism structure credibility and, for now, the political system has not provided any means of mitigating this hazard. According to news published in the press, part of the solution could be left to private initiatives, since restaurants are ready to offer contracts to consumers, providing the right to have services performed within one year, requiring immediate payment of the consideration, with a strong discount, however, which should compensate the risk of businesses closing down. This strategy was devised in the United States and it could be applied in Italy, although campaigns of this type have not yet been launched (as of 6 April 2020). The analogy with the provisions of the Decree-Law No. 19 of 2020 is evident, and the solution is legitimate, from the Italian private law point of view, and ingenious, on a commercial level. Nonetheless, only high-quality companies (which therefore apply high prices) can operate in this context because, failing that, the discount would have little meaning. With personalised offers and the use of telematics resource, such a proposal, addressed to the most loyal customers, could have excellent chances for success. 5. The travel intermediary As a matter of fact, Art. 28, paragraph 4, of the Decree-Law No. 9 of 2020 provides that the carrier can either return the amount paid or issue the so-called " voucher " also to the intermediary for the transport contracts concluded by them on behalf of the customers. These should have undertaken travel in the so-called quarantine, home-stay or hospitalisation periods, being now subject to and for those transport contracts departing or arriving in Italy, which have been