Sandra Kern expects blatant loss of sales for Bad Tölz and the local businesses. Nevertheless, the business development agency sees the Corona crisis as a great opportunity for the city.
Ms. Kern, who is particularly affected by the crisis in the region?
The cultural scene is currently particularly badly affected, especially because there is no end in sight for this area. We assume that events will only be relaxed as one of the last measures. Many cultural organizers postpone their dates into the coming year, which means that little additional events can be offered next year. Leisure businesses such as the Blombergbahn also suffer greatly from the current restrictions.
Isn't the Tölz economy particularly hard hit because many companies live from tourism and gastronomy?
We have a good mix of trade, tourism and service companies in Bad Tölz. Nevertheless, tourism plays a very important role in the overall economic cycle. It is not just companies in the first value chain that are affected, for example the catering trade. The second stage of value creation, such as the craft sector, also has an impact. However, thanks to a touristic orientation, we also have the chance that after the crisis we will reach a noteworthy level more quickly thanks to a strengthened domestic tourism and day visitors.
9801 people in the district in short-time work
How unsettled are the companies? Nobody knows at the moment what is going to happen.
A certain level of uncertainty is perceptible across all industries, and in some cases there are also fears of existence.
Do you think that some companies are threatened in their existence?
I hear that many companies are currently struggling. However, no company has yet approached me that specifically spoke of insolvency or a business shutdown.
Major events such as the Harley meeting have been canceled and overnight guests will come back at the end of the month at the earliest. How much turnover will the city or the company lose?
We anticipate blatant failures, but we cannot yet quantify them, for example, because trade tax or tourism contributions are charged with a delay. The economic damage will only become concrete in the next few weeks and years. According to the Ifo Institute, the temporary loss of value added during the shutdown phase averages 53 percent on average in Germany, which will probably also be seen at Tölz companies. For the tourism sector, according to the marketing company "Bayern Tourismus Marketing" from the week before last, it can already be said that the Bavaria-wide loss of sales in the tourism industry is almost as large as the previous gross turnover for the whole of Upper Bavaria including Munich in a whole year. Nationwide, according to DWIF - this is a leading tourism consultancy - the failure of the two "Easter months" in March and April alone costs Germany tourism around 24 billion euros.
Despite the crisis: “A lot of enthusiasm” in Bad Tölz
Do you have an overview of how many companies have registered short-time work?
The latest figures from the Employment Agency show that for the period from March 1 to April 26, 1173 advertisements for "short-time business" have been received for the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen. This affects 9801 employees across the district. The values are a snapshot of April 26th.
Some cities have set up a hotline to help companies with problems and questions. What are the offers in Tölz?
I do not call this a hotline, but of course I can be reached by phone and e-mail for all questions about emergency aid, special loans, general directives and so on. I also send e-mails to the entrepreneurs once or twice a week, in which I report on the latest information. Of course I also keep the new Facebook account and the business page up to date.
Feel the aftermath for a long time
How long will the effects of the Corona crisis be felt in the region? What do you think will change in the long term?
We will definitely feel the aftermath for a while in different areas of everyday life. In the long term, I think that there may be a rethink regarding consumption or that the focus on issues such as cohesion, regionality and sustainability will be sharpened.
Do you think Tölz can emerge stronger from the crisis?
I am convinced that every crisis brings with it the opportunity for further development - provided you are ready to initiate it. A major opportunity for Bad Tölz could be to strengthen its own region. We have so many varied and great entrepreneurs here who deserve that we all work together with all our might to reduce the economic losses. The crisis has shown that there was a lot of enthusiasm and commitment on the part of the citizens in Bad Tölz. Hopefully this will be preserved. You should be aware of what a wonderful area we can live and work in, where we have good infrastructure and where there is still strong economic power.
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