Holidays with duties: Tourists have to be tested for Corona every 48 hours.
Whether at public stations or in the accommodation itself. That brings challenges.
District -
Uncertainty was rampant before the new start in tourism in Grainau.
Stephan Märkl anticipated in advance that 3,000 guests would flock to the 3400-inhabitant community.
The mayor sent a cry for help in the district council.
He feared that the test capacities would not be sufficient.
But: Because of the bad weather, the place wasn't as bad as expected.
Hotels have to cut back on arrivals.
“The holiday apartments and the campsite have enough guests, plus day tourists,” says Märkl.
He estimates that a little less than 3000 tourists came over the weekend.
Vacation in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district: the test procedure has so far been satisfactory
The test procedure was satisfactory.
In addition to the station in the village gallery of Wasserwacht and BRK, a new center was built in the village.
A private operator opened this on Friday, just as the rush began.
"Without the second test station we would have flooded," supposes Märkl.
Even though most of the guests arrived with a negative corona test.
At least according to Josef Zebhauser's assessment.
The few without proof got the certificate in the public stations.
The director of the Berghotel Hammersbach confirms that his house is not being used to capacity: “Only a good 50 percent,” he says.
“But that's just right for the beginning.” Every 48 hours, the vacationers have to get a new test.
The staff strictly controls.
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The stable incidence allows further easing in the district.
© Graphic: Federal Government, State Government
Christian Bär, chairman of the hotel and restaurant association in the district, calls for a clear distinction between small and large businesses.
A small accommodation house would have to invest enormous amounts of time, personnel and logistics in order to be able to maintain test capacities.
There are currently three options for landlords: They send guests to local test centers.
In other hotels, visitors test themselves, the host checks the results.
In addition, some companies bring in a partner who has a test station.
This is also how it works at the Hotel Alpenhof in Murnau, which Bär runs.
"It works without any problems," he assures.
But every house has to find solutions for itself.
The district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen has a pioneering role when it comes to restarting tourism
Bär certifies that the district has a pioneering role when it comes to restarting tourism.
The operators knew early on that hotels and restaurants could reopen, but the "short-term nature" was a challenge.
The hygiene concepts from 2020 have been expanded, for example when ventilating the buildings and during the tests.
“Everyone did it well.
The hoteliers are good at organizing, that is our core competence, ”he emphasizes.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen: queues in front of the test stations
Daniel Schimmer sees the situation with the test capacities in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as less euphoric. “With us it's not enough back and front”, complains the DEHOGA local chairman. He speaks of “chaos”, long queues often form in front of the station on Richard-Strauss-Platz. The other place at the ski stadium was not opened at all (see box). There are many other options in the pharmacies, but the opening hours there are very limited.
While it is possible to settle accounts with the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians at the public stations, there is no regulation as to who pays for the tests in the accommodation establishments.
"The guest will not be thrilled if he has to pay four to five euros every two days," says Schimmer, who also advocates opening up indoor catering.
His ideal: test stations should be more accessible and capacities expanded.
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