As summer approaches in the northern hemisphere, the European Union (EU) is desperately discussing measures to save the bloc's tourism industry, which is in crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Europe, which accounts for around half of the world's tourist arrivals, has been brought to a standstill amid the coronavirus and the EU fears losses of up to €400 billion ($435 billion) for this vital sector.

The industry's woes were highlighted when the EU's industry chief, Thierry Breton, promised to convene a summit on reviving it. 

At a virtual meeting on Monday, the bloc's tourism ministers discussed how to help shelter a sector ravaged by lockdowns. Measures discussed included a tourism corridor and so-called "COVID-passports," that would allow those either without the virus, or with a level of immunity to it, to travel. 
 

Cover image: A man wears a mask to protect against the spread of the coronavirus in a street close to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. /AP Photo/Michel Euler