The corona situation in Austria is getting worse.
This is now also endangering ski tourism, which should actually start again in the coming season.
A short time ago it looked as if the winter season in Austria could take place again this year under 3G rules. But now there is a lockdown for unvaccinated people in neighboring Germany. Access to cable cars, hotels and restaurants is now only permitted for people with proof of vaccination and recovery. The 7-day incidence hits new peaks almost every day. According to the Austrian Food Safety Agency (AGES), it is currently
990.7 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants
- three times as high as in Germany. The front runner is the state of Salzburg with a value of 1,740.3. Here and in neighboring Upper Austria there is even a lockdown for everyone. But for many, these measures come too late.
“Cancellation wave” puts ski tourism at risk: Around every second booking in Austria is canceled
The hotel industry in particular is currently
facing
“
an enormous wave of cancellations and a standstill in new bookings
”, as Susanne Kraus-Winkler from the Austrian Chamber of Commerce is
quoted
by
Spiegel
. Not only the strict rules, but also the
hospital
occupancy is likely to cause uncertainty among vacationers. According to AGES data, 84 percent of the intensive care beds in Salzburg, for example, are occupied. A survey in a focus group by the hotelier association in the last two weeks showed that roughly every second booking was canceled in all of Austria. According to spokesman Martin Stanits, “this
has already reached an extent that you can actually no longer work with
".
For business trips, for example, up to 90 percent of bookings were canceled.
Also interesting
: Ski holidays in Germany, Austria, Switzerland: The current Corona rules.
Tourism in Austria depends on guests from Germany
From the perspective of the federal government, Austria is a high-risk area.
Germans in particular make up the majority of holidaymakers in Austria: "In 2018/19, last winter before Corona surfaced, the proportion of German overnight stays was 37 percent," explains Stanits, according to Spiegel.
Last year the number of overnight stays decreased from 72.9 million to 5.6 million
.
For the second time, the industry could hardly survive this, said the association man.
Also read
: New Corona rules all over Germany: What that means for holidays and day trips.
But especially in Salzburger Land and Upper Austria, where the
lockdown for everyone should
come
from Monday (November 22nd)
, the ski season is about to end.
According to the ADAC lawyers, anyone who has booked a holiday in these areas could at least have the option of
withdrawing free of charge
.
According to German law, this is possible if the booked services can no longer be provided as contractually agreed due to a lockdown.
(fk)
