Page 10 - economic report 2019

indicate that long-distance tourism will be much more affected than nearby tourism, which may
play in favour of Andorra, as it is a nearby destination for the Spanish and French tourist markets
and is oriented towards outdoor activities and not massified. All in all, this leads us to believe that
the Andorran economy will see a serious fall in GDP in 2020, the scale of which is still difficult
to determine.

The length of the crisis will depend mainly, on the one hand, on the capacity of all countries to
control any outbreaks and to gradually remove measures that limit people’s movement and, on
the other hand, on how long it takes for ongoing research to discover an efficient vaccine against
Covid-19. In this context, the role of states and coordination in adopting measures to support the
economy will also be essential, to offset the effects of the crisis and avoid serious destruction of
the business network and jobs.

In conclusion, the cycle of expansion that the Andorran economy has seen in the last six years
stopped suddenly in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the economy was thrown into
a synchronised crisis with the rest of the European economy, from which it will be difficult for
Andorra to emerge without the external impetus. The world is expected to start to emerge from
the crisis in 2021, with the support of strong monetary and fiscal stimulus measures being adopted
by global and European governments, but with GDP increases that will only partly reverse this
year’s falls.

Faced with this difficult situation, the Chamber of Commerce will maintain its commitment to
working alongside national businesses, citizens and institutions to find the best way to come
through the crisis and emerge ever stronger.
8

Miquel Armengol Pons
President

Introduction