342 LEGAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY on 20 March, Brazil decreed a state of public calamity, through Decree No. 6 of 20 March. As in many other countries around the world, Brazil also felt the impact and difficulties in all areas and sectors of the economy, and one of the first areas that was drastically impacted was aviation given the many closed borders and the strong restrictions on the movement of people in several countries. Many Brazilian states and municipalities were instituting norms and quarantines, which also immediately affected thousands of hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, focusing at this time on businesses related to the area of travel and tourism. Thus, it was urgent the request of all the sectors of travel and tourism, of all related representative entities, to the Federal Government, so that it took measures to protect the companies of this sector, especially the jobs. In any case, the Government did not only have to solve the issues concerning labour relations, as Brazilian tourism companies were still facing several taxes, generated in the previous months, due regularly every month and still needing to be paid, that is, measures would also need to be adopted regarding taxes. The many difficulties in the tourism sector led to companies having their financial situation torn apart, facing 'zero' revenues. Therefore, once again, the Government would need to act and present options to entrepreneurs to finance the obligations of their respective companies, especially salaries and taxes, since there were no more sales and revenues. Thus, measures related to the granting of credit, with viable conditions for companies, were pleaded to the Federal Government. If all the difficulties presented were not enough, the travel sector, especially that of travel agencies, would still need a lot of help from the Government to take care of the relations between tourism service providers and consumers. The former were facing a context involving thousands of consumers with purchased trips that were impossible to happen, without flights to be made, without hotels to host, without destinations or places to receive them. In other words, such relationships between consumers and suppliers would also need to be analysed with the support of rules to preserve the rights of consumers and make the sustainability of service providers viable. And so, this article will focus on the following four axes, pleaded to the Brazilian Federal Government, as to safeguard the activity of travel agency: a) measures in labour relations; b) measures in the tax area; c) measures for granting credit; and d) measures in the relationship between consumers and suppliers.
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