"Financial disaster": Silent night at Christmas markets

Created: 12/23/2021, 4:23 PM

By: Alexander Eser-Ruperti

Due to the pandemic, there is no hustle and bustle at Christmas markets in Lower Saxony, and thus also the income.

Showmen sound the alarm.

Hanover - Christmas markets as you know them: the smell of roasted almonds and mulled wine is in the air, people crowd between the stands.

Hardly any of this can be felt at Christmas markets in Lower Saxony this year due to the corona pandemic and corona measures.

The smells stayed, the people stayed away.

For many showmen this represents an existential threat. That is why the Lower Saxony Showmen's Association paints a gloomy picture at the end of the Christmas season.

Christmas markets in Lower Saxony remain empty during the corona pandemic, showmen are concerned

Some things are different this Christmas, not just the need to test yourself on the holidays.

For many potential visitors these days, the question is not about the next Christmas market, but about the next vaccination station - even at Christmas.

In Lower Saxony, as elsewhere, there are now stricter rules that do not stop at Christmas markets.

The consequences of the corona pandemic for showmen are dramatic, the losses in sales are great.

For some showmen and stall operators, they could even be a threat to their existence.

For many years there was no financially comparable situation.

Sales for showmen at Christmas markets in Lower Saxony have slumped massively due to the corona pandemic.

© Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert / dpa

If you compare the income of many showmen with the pre-crisis year 2019, it becomes particularly clear how tense the situation is.

In comparison, sales at the stands were only around 15 to 20 percent of sales in 2019 - only very few make a profit at all.

Between the years, special corona rules also apply in Lower Saxony, but showmen currently have other worries, for them there is usually no carefree Christmas party this year.

Christmas in the corona pandemic: In Lower Saxony, too, many Christmas markets close prematurely

While there was no income, the expenses for stand operators remained high. They had also paid stand fees, bought goods, paid staff or had to pay for electricity and decoration during the corona pandemic, as the chairman of the Lower Saxony showmen's association, Kevin Kratzsch, discovered. Kratzsch finds clear words - with a view to this year's income he speaks to the

of an "absolute negative business". Several municipalities in Lower Saxony had decided to close Christmas markets early.

In many places, the 2G-Plus rule was and still applies - meanwhile, many are still wondering what exactly the Corona rule is all about.

At Christmas markets in Stephan Weil's state, it means that in addition to a vaccination or proof of recovery, visitors have to show either a corona test from the same day or a booster vaccination.

Kratzsch believes that this is one of the reasons why many visitors stayed at home.

In Lower Saxony you can also get vaccinated or "boosted" over the Christmas period this year.

Lower Saxony's Christmas markets in the corona pandemic: showmen in need hope for help from the country

The showmen and booth operators at Christmas markets in Lower Saxony are in need and are hoping for help from politics.

The state of Lower Saxony is planning to provide financial support to showmen and organizers who are in need due to the corona pandemic.

Aid funds of around 25 million euros are planned, whereby a maximum of 50,000 euros can be paid out per company.

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For many showmen this is little consolation, usually they take a break with a cushion from the Christmas business until Easter.

There is no financial cushion this year, for many of them this is existential.

The German Showmen Association had spoken of a “financial disaster” with regard to the drop in sales this year - considering the amount of sales lost, that is hardly an exaggeration. * Kreiszeitung.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.