After the quarantine, business is slowly beginning to restart in Rome, one of the most touristic cities in the world. Millions of tourists each year visit its history-laden streets, and who wouldn't want to go home with a small souvenir?
Although souvenir shops can be found on every corner, one of the most popular buying spots is in Borgo Pio, one of the most trafficked streets near the Vatican, which is also adapting to the “new normal.”
PIER
“We opened the store to see how things would go, but there are very few people. It's hard. In one day you make five to 13 dollars. It's pretty frustrating that there are no tourists.”
Tourism is undoubtedly one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic-caused economic crisis in Rome. In addition to souvenir shops, popular religious stores hope the situation will improve.
In the meantime, they adapt their stores to respect existing security norms like interpersonal distancing.
Other shop owners have taken advantage of the quiet time in Rome while tourists start to make their way back. One such example is Massimiliano.
MASSIMILIANO
“Everything has been very calm, with very few people. We thoroughly cleaned and sanitized the shop, but there aren't many customers. We hope more people will come toward the end of June—at least Italians.”
PIER
“We hope a few tourists will come. Now it's kind of hard because not all the borders are open. When the borders reopen, we hope more people will come, but it's difficult because many of them are scared.”
These shopkeepers don't lose hope however. Italy recently opened its borders to the rest of the European Union, without requiring arrivals to spend time in quarantine. Thus, the expectation is that the situation will improve little by little, even if it is within a “new normal.”
Daniel Díaz Vizzi
Translation: CT
