Jeremy Zabatta: We’d imagine you consider the reopening of terraces good news.

Lex Delles: The government has taken a decision to give restaurateurs and café owners the opportunity to reopen terraces. A decision that was discussed with health representatives. I am very happy, and I think that the government and the country are happy that we can begin to reopen the hospitality industry with the terraces and a start of normality.

Doesn’t the reopening also mean an end to financial aid for the hospitality sector?

Indeed, I have the impression that the message was sometimes misunderstood. So, I make it clear that if a café owner or a restaurant owner reopens their terrace, the recovery aid and direct aid remain in force. Just like partial unemployment, which also remains in force. The government realizes that even if a restaurant owner has a terrace, it will not be enough to restore their bottom line. The reopening of the terraces is a first step towards a return to a certain normality.

But the reopening comes with a condition…

This is what the prime minister stressed during his speech. If there is an increase in covid-19 numbers, this reopening will not be possible.

Regarding vouchers of €50 to spend in hotels across the country, their validity has been extended until 15 September. But, for the moment, only 15% of the vouchers distributed have been used. It's rather little, isn't it?

I think that 108,526 people spent at least one night in an accommodation structure in Luxembourg. To me, that means a lot. Residents and cross-border workers have discovered or rediscovered that Luxembourg is a tourist destination. We can interpret the figures positively or negatively, but, for me, 108,526 people may have extended their stay, and therefore brought back much more than the €5.5 million corresponding to the vouchers used.

The purpose of the coupons was threefold. The first, in the short term, was to have an incentive to visit the country's accommodation facilities. The second objective was to see people exchange experiences on where and how they used their €50 voucher, and therefore to give visibility to accommodation structures. The third objective was for the 108,526 people to return this year to a Luxembourg structure, because their first experience was good.

Assuming that in September there are still unused coupons left, will your ministry use the remaining money for other aid or another project?

It doesn't work like that. Even though the 700,000 vouchers have been budgeted, there is not an envelope with €35 million at the finance ministry that you receive as you would receive pocket money from your parents. And just because the whole budget has not been used does not mean that we can get that money and do something else. If there is any money left, it will go back into the economy.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, the crisis is particular. We expected an explosion in the number of bankruptcies and, ultimately, this was not the case. On the other hand, some predict a real explosion of bankruptcies at the time of restart and the end of the financial aid from the government...

In absolute numbers, there were fewer bankruptcies in 2020 than in 2019. In addition, the number of business permit applications--for which the ministry of SMEs is responsible--remained stable in 2020 compared to 2019. For this year, we have not seen a significant drop in the number of business permit applications, which indicates that there are always people with ideas who want to get started. As far as aid is concerned, we can see that it worked and helped companies not to go bankrupt during the crisis.

There are surely companies which survive only thanks to aid and which will fall as soon as they reopen. But what I can say is that, on our side, the objective is to safeguard as much as possible the economic fabric that we had before the crisis in order to keep jobs. It will be necessary to be attentive on the conditions of reopening in the various sectors. I emphasise that the government aid system is analysed every three months. We do a full analysis of the aid, which sectors are closed and impacted, who needs help. This is a method that is quite well adapted, and the few bankruptcies since the start of the crisis show the effectiveness of the aid.

We have never before cycled and walked so much in Luxembourg. Will this tourism boost experienced by the country last year encourage more investment in nature tourism?

This is nothing new for the tourism ministry and has been a priority for years. It is also a priority included in the 2018 government programme. Luxembourg lends itself very well to active tourism, walks, hikes and bicycle tours. We were very active last summer with, in particular, the Vëlosummer programme with the help of the transport ministry. It was a success, and we will be doing it again this summer. Just like the Move We Carry programme, which consists of transporting the luggage of hikers or cyclists who wish to discover the country in stages. It was not in 2020 that we discovered active tourism. For two to three years, there has been a project to redo the signage for walks and pedestrian circuits. This was finalized last year, and we are in the process of putting it in place.

On the other hand, looking at the future with a vaccinated population and the health crisis behind us, are you not afraid that the population wishes to start travelling again and therefore to abandon domestic tourism?

No, because I am convinced that non-resident tourists know Luxembourg and want to go there. So, I have a little less gray hair when it comes to tourism. I am aware that Luxembourg is a destination with great potential. When people can travel, the country can be a great destination, especially for tourists from nearby countries.

This interview was first published in French on paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.