School trips have been possible again since the summer - and business is up and running.
The Starnberg-based company Alpetour has already organized 1,000 trips.
Starnberg - a skiing holiday in Austria, a class trip to Rome or a final trip to the Golden Sands - for many young people, the holidays together are the highlight of their school days.
Get out of the classroom and into the adventure.
In the past year and a half, however, everything had been canceled due to the corona.
Since June the business of school trips has slowly started up again.
“The Ministry of Culture allowed travel again from the summer,” says Simone Hagen, department head for summer, city and sea class trips at Alpetour in Starnberg. For a few weeks now, in addition to trips within Germany, school trips to European destinations have been possible again. “Most customers, however, want to stay in Germany. The feeling of security is simply greater. ”Holidays to the Baltic or North Sea, to the mountains or to Berlin are particularly popular at the moment. "We notice, however, that it gets tight when all students in Germany want to go on a class trip."
Hagen can recommend trips to neighboring countries, such as Holland or Lake Garda, with a clear conscience - as long as the area is spacious, the hygiene rules can be adhered to and the corona situation is stable.
"We have already organized school trips to Rome or Dublin this autumn."
Alpetour employees are happy that business is up and running again
It is important that they inform the teachers and students about the current rules before driving. In Germany, for example, the school tests are sufficient, but for those abroad, unvaccinated people have to take a new test, says Hagen. “Of course we need a lot more time than before the pandemic. There is a lot to consider. ”She and her 60 or so colleagues, who organize trips for schools throughout Germany, are just happy that the period of short-time work is over and that school trips are allowed again. “The mood is really good.” Not only among the Alpetour employees, but also among the students from grammar schools, secondary schools and vocational schools. “They are happy to finally be able to travel together again. That is part of school life. "
Before the pandemic, Alpetour sold around 7,000 school trips a year.
The company has organized around 1,000 trips since June.
"It will definitely take until 2023 until normal operations are restored," says Hagen.
She is currently planning the ski season with her colleagues - but it is not yet certain whether the school trips can take place in winter.
“We'll have to wait and see how everything turns out.
Corona has shown us: Long-term planning is no longer possible. ”Lf