Italian tour guides demand more aid as Italy reopens

Tour guides in Italy are demanding more economic help and tourists from the Italian government, as the country has started to reopen gradually after being in lockdown for months. A few days back, tour guides in Rome organised a flash mob in protest right outside the Pantheon, which is one of Rome’s biggest tourist attractions.

The whole country was rocked by slogans such as, "Without tourism Italy dies, tourism is not here but tour guides are."
In the protest, the tour guides demanded more help from the government in the time of crisis. All the protesters were dressed in black and protested by stomping their feet and shouting slogans.

They sang Singing in the Rain outside the Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple. The livelihood of the people was paralyzed by the Coronavirus. Though several attractions across the country have reopened this month, there are no considerable tourists. During the demonstration, which was organised by the Association of Licensed Tourist Guides (AGTA), participants maintained social distancing and were seen in masks. One of their demands from the government was the possibility of suspending payments of taxes in 2020 along with paying them in installments.

As per tour guides, they feel "invisible", and complain that the government has ignored them. Now that the country is reopening in phase two, a number of restrictions are easing with tourist attractions, stores, restaurants and museums.

Apparently, Italy is among the worst-hit countries by the pandemic but the country has now started reopening to tourists starting June 1.