Italian woman who owns home in Charlotte County unable to return to her paradise

Italy’s main tourist hubs are empty. Bars and restaurants in the country are running for limited hours.

Right now, 60 million people in Italy are on lockdown because of the coronavirus and it’s already hurting tourism here.

“We fell in love with it. It was a paradise to us,” said Laura Bonomi of Rome.

Charlotte County attracts people from all over the world.

“It was lovely. The beaches weren’t crowded, it was beautiful, so that’s how we fell in love with the place,” Bonomi said.

Despite living in the alluring city of Rome, Italy, Bonomi and her husband fell in love with Rotonda West’s beauty and bought a vacation home here. But they will have to wait to return to paradise.

“You can’t allow people who come from an area where there’s this problem to go around and spreading it out,” she said.

President Donald Trump announced travel restrictions from certain European countries like Italy where Bonomi is on lockdown as COVID-19 spreads.

“When we see something like this that’s having a macro effect, you have to know it will have an effect on the economy in Southwest Florida,” said Shelton Weeks, Ph.D., department chair of economics and finance at FGCU.

A decline in SWFL visitors means a decline in spending, which could have some serious implications for our tourist-driven economy.

“I think that your number of hotel nights go down, your revenue and restaurants and retail across the region will probably fall significantly,” Weeks said.

Despite canceling the trip back to her personal oasis, Bonomi supports the travel restriction.

“If it helps to keep it safe, I am more than welcome to do it,” she said, to avoid contributing to the coronavirus pandemic and protect everyone in SWFL.

We reached out to the Punta Gorda-Englewood Visitor’s Bureau today. A spokesperson told us as of Thursday afternoon it’s business as usual but recommends all tourists research safety travel information before going on a trip.