Giuridico e Amministrativo

🛫 Paris airport workers' unions called off a strike planned for today after reaching an agreement with Aeroports de Paris (Adp) just 9 days before the Olympics. The dispute was over "extra pay" due to increased workload for the upcoming Paris Olympics (July 26-August 11) and Paralympics (August 28-September 8). Adp, employing 570,000 people across Charles de Gaulle-Roissy, Orly, and Le Bourget airports, agreed to certain financial incentives. Paris expects 15.3 million visitors for the Games, 90% being domestic, half from the Île de France region.

💰 In Italy, the 2023 fiscal calendar shifted the tax payment deadlines from June 30 to July 1 due to the former falling on a Sunday. Travel agencies and tour operators face a congested period with the usual monthly VAT and withholding payments due on the 16th, combined with income tax balance payments for 2023 and the first 2024 advance payment due on July 31. The newly introduced Biennial Preventive Agreement alters the deadline for eligible parties to the month's end. Italian tax authorities are accelerating compliance document issuance, including presumed undeclared POS earnings alerts, to manage the August break. Adjusting the fiscal year-end to September 30 or August 31 could help companies avoid summer tax bottlenecks.

📃 FTI Voyages, subsidiary of German-based FTI Touristik, is now in administrative liquidation as declared by the Strasbourg court, with the sale open until July 22 but no buyers emerging. The company proactively canceled all bookings up to 2025, affecting thousands of clients, as confirmed by General Manager Ludovic Rigel. Bookings made via agencies with full or partial payments for GDS-based or low-cost flights packages are not canceled.

📍 Iberia has updated their seat selection policy, now allowing customers to change their seat at no extra cost using the airline's website or app. The new rule requires changes to be made to seats of the same or lower value; for upgrades, full fare applies. The unlimited changes also apply to Iberia Express, Air Nostrum, and Level flights.

🏖️ Italy's Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè addresses overtourism and short-term rentals, highlighting the Meloni Government's efforts to regulate these issues. No specific dates or numbers provided. Measures cited include a database for accommodation facilities, regulations for tour guides, support for lesser-known destinations, and sustainability initiatives.

✈ Insurance Travel (I4T) introduces new insurance policies to address inconveniences in the air travel sector, including flight delays and cancellations. The coverage, which includes issues caused by low-cost carriers, offers up to €1000 per person for expenses such as overnight stays and alternative travel or return to the departure airport. I4Connection also offers a 50% refund on package travel cancellation penalties and has a specific extension for flights connected to maritime cruise embarkations. Christian Garrone of I4T highlights the greater protections offered when booking through travel agencies.

🏖️ Once a top Italian destination, Gallipoli's rapid fall from grace highlights the critical impact of service and infrastructure issues on tourism. Tourists, previously flocking to the city, now face problems like inadequate parking and a non-vehicle-friendly park road, forcing them to walk under the scorching sun. This decline serves as a cautionary tale for the entire Italian tourism sector, emphasizing the country's need to address infrastructure weaknesses despite its strong brand appeal.

💸 Lufthansa, responding to downward earnings revisions and an anticipated negative second quarter, initiates immediate cost-cutting measures including a 25% reduction in administrative material expenses, a 10% cut in marketing expenses, and a hiring freeze on vacant positions with a reduction of vacation days until the end of the year. CEO Jens Ritter outlined the areas affected in a letter to employees, citing stagnant ticket prices, a slow recovery in business travel, and increased personnel costs due to contract renewals. Further measures may follow.

🚩 In Spain, the WTTC condemns riots against tourists in Barcelona, Cadiz, and the Balearics, urging local authorities to manage tourism flows better and involve local communities. Virginia Messina, Senior Vice President of the WTTC, emphasizes the need for tourists' experiences not to impact local residents' lives. The WTTC advocates for policies to distribute tourism in lesser-known destinations and regulate tourist accommodations with reinvestments in local areas.

💰 Eu Travel Tech, representing European tech companies, accuses Google of anticompetitive practices, claiming Google could favor its own services in search results. Emmanuel Mounier, the association's secretary general, alleges these practices continue despite previous contestations, highlighting Google's control over 90% of online searches. The association demands decisive action from the European Commission on this complex issue.