Covid-19, Crisis, Lithuania, Markets and Companies, Tourism

Although there's no plan to close hotels, the suspension of SPA and catering services would make no sense for hotels' operation, she said.

"They can close hotels as much as they want as they don’t have residents. And SPA hotels, if they suspend SPA services, so it would be the same if they closed all resort hotels. A hotel is dead without services," Siskauskiene told. 

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said the plan is to introduce three-week nationwide quarantine and close all catering venues, excluding take-away places, suspends massage services, excluding medial ones, as well as close gyms and SPAs.

Skvernelis says hotels would not be ordered to close but the proposal will be to ban group services, and also restrict catering by just allowing food delivery to rooms or take away. Hairdressers and beauty salons' operation would not be restricted by pre-registration and additional safety measures would be required.

Once restrictions are put in place, the government will reintroduce business support measures that were in place during the first coronavirus wave, he said.

But Siskauskiene says businesses will not be capable of contributing even 10% to state assistance, therefore, they will be forced to lay off people.

Hotels in Lithuania's resort town have seen visitor numbers fall more than 50%, the association president said, and the number have gone down in 5-6% in major cities, and some 30% o hotels have been closed ever since March.

The Lithuanian government is set to decide on three-week nationwide quarantine as of Saturday.