Markus Söder wants the end of the ski vacation in the Corona crisis.
But Austria and Switzerland stand opposite each other.
Ischgl wants to open - the Valais even pick up tourists abroad.
Berlin / Vienna - One thing is clear:
Austria's tourism industry
is heavily dependent on
skiing holidays
.
It is unclear whether winter fun can really become a pandemic driver again - but the assumption is reasonable in view
of the Ischgl case
and the usual
images of crowds at ski lifts
.
Either way, the dispute about the ski-out for the Christmas vacation *, which Germany is also calling for, is becoming increasingly sharp.
Even if it is not yet clear that all lifts in Germany will remain closed over the holidays.
Corona leads Söder, Kurz and Co. into serious conflict: Austrian Ski Association warns of "demonization"
The
Austrian Ski Association
(ÖSV) has now
demanded
in an
open letter
from its own federal government around
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
(ÖVP) to hold on to the start of the season for winter sports - against the will of Germany and other neighboring countries.
There is talk of a "campaign".
The
“demonization” of winter tourism
is a helpless substitute and not evidence-based.
At least there has recently actually been speculation that the particularly tough stance of several EU countries could be a return coach to Vienna's address, as
Merkur.de
* reported.
"In addition, it implicitly supplies the accusation that those countries that are considering opening their winter sports facilities would act irresponsibly," complained the association in the letter.
The ÖSV estimates that the
government of Austria
can withstand
the
pressure from Berlin, Munich, Rome and Paris
.
"Winter sports cannot be equated with party tourism and unbridled après-ski." There are also strict hygiene concepts and space restrictions.
The President of the Austrian Ski School Association, Richard Walter, also signed the letter.
The 2020/2021 winter season starts on December 17th in Ischgl, we look forward to seeing you.
pic.twitter.com/TZpn6Uy6Lt
- News from Ischgl (@ischgl_live) November 5, 2020
Corona: Switzerland and Austria in a clinch - Valais even wants to pick up tourists from France
But there is also outrage over the
demands from Germany, France and Italy
in
Switzerland
.
“Switzerland is skiing.
Of course! ”, It says in an advertising campaign that is also aimed at guests from abroad.
Some high-altitude ski areas are already open, for example in
St. Moritz, Davos and Zermatt
.
In the Swiss
canton of Valais they
want to attract French ski tourists with a special offer: “We are planning a bus service that picks up ski tourists from the French part of the Portes du Soleil,” announced the head of the Swiss part of the ski area, Enrique Caballero, on the radio at.
Ski areas, mountain railways and winter sports providers also target
foreign guests
with an interactive website
.
Interested parties can see which
ski areas
limit the number of guests in the gondolas, where additional terrace seats have been created in the mountain restaurants or where mountain trips can be reserved online in advance.
The
President of the Swiss Cable Car Association
, Hans Wicki, feels pressure from abroad.
"You have to be calm and cool to get through it," he said on the radio.
Austria's finance minister Gernot Blümel
threatened with monetary claims.
"If the EU makes a requirement that the ski areas must remain closed, we expect compensation payments," he told the newspaper
Die Welt
at the weekend
.
Winter sports are an important industry in these countries with thousands of jobs.
The Christmas holidays are high season.
Ski dispute with Austria: Ischgl wants to open - ski-out not yet fixed in all German areas
By the way, Ischgl wants to open.
"How good that you don't have to wait long for all of this, because on December 17, 2020 the time has finally come: the first day of skiing in the Silvretta Arena in Ischgl is on the agenda!", Says the ski resort's website.
Quite spicy: In Germany, too, it is not yet certain that all
ski lifts will be
out of operation well into the new year.
In
North Rhine-Westphalia,
for example, the
lifts will
remain
closed
until at least December 20
when the new Corona Protection Ordinance
comes
into force
.
With a view to the time after that,
NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann
(CDU) only said on Monday in Düsseldorf that he had no great hope that the infection would allow a different regulation over the Christmas period.
The operators would then be entitled to bridging aid, it said. This would of course be paid by the federal government - and not, for example, the EU, as Austria would claim for itself. In
Bavaria
, Germany's most important ski region, Prime Minister Markus Söder has also imposed a lift stop until December 20th * - an extension beyond this date seems to be a matter of form.
