A new stream of money may flow to some Poles,  this time in the form of vouchers. Jadwiga Emilewicz, development minister, has claimed that her ministry is working on the 1,000 plus program to help save the tourism industry that has been incurring huge losses because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have been meeting representatives from the tourism and hospitality industries and tour operators from the moment we began to feel the economic effects of the crisis related to the spread of the pandemic,” Emilewicz said in an interview for Radio Maryja, a religious, and politically and socially conservative Polish radio station founded by Tadeusz Rydzyk, a controversial priest, in 1991 in Toruń, central Poland.

“A voucher will be issued for any event related to domestic tourism,” she said. However, she did not explain on what grounds the vouchers will be distributed, whether they will be available to tourist agencies, whether they will be in the form of a surcharge or they will be subject to restrictions. The announcements are still general.

“The money would go to Poles in the form of vouchers. They could be spent on a specific purpose – trips or other types of tourism-related events,” she added.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that the losses caused by the spread of coronavirus will be greater for the industry than expected a few weeks ago. According to the latest forecasts, they can reach up to $50 billion.

(Radio Maryja, PAP)