LUGANO – “We often talk about catering, but the fitness and wellness sector has also been hit hard”. The Covid-19 pandemic has put a strain on the economy. And some sectors are not there to be “forgotten”. «The last ten months have been very traumatic for everyone, not to mention devastating – underlines the director of the A-Club of Savosa, Simona Malagoni -. Strong terms used deliberately, because today, as operators in the sector at the forefront, one has the perception that no one has realized the enormous difficulties our world is going through and consequently all the people who work there ».
Open (until December 22nd), but … – And if they are now completely closed, until a fortnight ago the fitness centers were open, but with reduced capacity, with very high operating costs. “Our center, for example, is active seven days a week, with 40 employees, associations that rely on us for physical activity, swimming courses for schools”. The decline, before the closures, was evident. “After a good restart between September and October, in recent weeks people were confused and undecided whether or not to attend the Club. The succession of directives, first cantonal and then federal, inevitably had important repercussions on the choices of customers. Some have temporarily given up for family or health reasons, others for opening hours, others even had the express prohibition of their employer from going to the gym ».
“The perception of the gym has changed” – Simona Malagoni closed 2020 with a lot of concern and regret. “People have gone from perceiving and experiencing the fitness center and gym training as an integral part of their psychophysical wellness routine, to an idea of a ‘high-risk dangerous environment’. Nothing could be more wrong – he adds -. The fitness centers have shown that they know how to organize spaces and manage flows safely ».
“We live day to day from March” – The fitness sector, according to those who deal with it every day, has been “living for the day” for 10 months, “trying to navigate between one restriction and another, to systematically readjust strategies, in the hope of receiving concrete help”. However, without underestimating the situation or the danger of the virus. «We are by definition health promotion centers. Our first concern was to make the environments safe. To allow employees to work safely and customers to be able to continue to maintain their lifestyle oriented towards well-being, continuing to do prevention ».
Waiting for economic aid – Sports facilities and facilities are closed, by decision of the Confederation, from 22 December and will remain closed (at least) until 22 January. In Savosa (as elsewhere), however, costs continue to rise just the same. What will happen after that date? «We want to respect the rules, but at the same time we must be able to organize and define a strategy to be able to overcome the period by limiting the damage as much as possible – concludes the director of the A-Club -. If it reopens but it is not possible to offer customers 80% of the activities and services normally provided, a support intervention becomes essential. The announcement of imminent economic aid from the Confederation and the Canton is welcome. But that it is a sustainable path that allows the sector to move forward and lay the foundations for a restart that will inevitably take place, but which is not yet clear when ”.
–
