Rainy, gray and overcast with clouds, the summer is now drawing to its meteorological end. The review that local outdoor pool operators are throwing on this season is just as gloomy: They counted 30 percent fewer visitors this year compared to the pre-Corona summer two years ago
Strict conditions, 3-G rule for access and bad weather on top of that – these factors really didn’t make it easy for those responsible in the 146 open-air swimming pools in the region between Enns and Leitha this year. “The start was bumpy, May was completely rainy, and the Corona regulations have also contributed to a mixed bathing season,” Kurt Staska sums up.
Numbers similar to last year
The spokesman for the local pool operators knows of increases in some places, but many visitors stayed away elsewhere: “In terms of numbers, this summer in our pools was similar to last year’s.” In concrete terms, this means that we are again almost 30 percent away from the pre-crisis level stayed. Some are now financially floundering.
Private pools are booming
But it wasn’t just rain and arguments about the 3-G rule at the cash registers that reduced business. “Holidays by the sea were possible again this year, and private pools in the gardens are booming,” says Staska. And the people of Lower Austria are also drawn to nature – that is, to ponds and bathing areas by streams. Now Staska and his colleagues are hoping for a passable indoor swimming pool and thermal season – if possible without a lockdown.