The Germans are encouraged to spend their vacation at home this year. Many have therefore stormed popular excursion destinations at Pentecost, coasts and mountains groaned under the tourist load. The German Travel Association draws a terrifying picture for summer.
Fully parked meadows, wild campers and overcrowded beaches: These are the messages that are currently making the rounds out of popular excursion locations all over Germany. From overcrowded hiking trails in the mountains in the south to overcrowded beaches and coastal towns in the north: everywhere in Germany, residents and politicians are currently complaining about chaotic, sometimes unacceptable conditions.
The reason: Because many EU borders are still closed and politicians are calling for vacation at home, tourists and day trippers are now storming the most popular hot spots. The summer vacation hasn't even started yet.
The fear is now spreading in many places: What happens when more and more federal states start their holidays? Even before the Corona crisis, their own country was the most popular holiday destination for Germans. Around a third of the almost 71 million trips a year are aimed at one's own country, as figures from the German Travel Association (DRV) show. Due to the current international crisis and the requests of some politicians, this number will go up sharply.
Aggressive mood, crowds of people: Germany's hot spots groan under the tourist load
Officials had already felt “a more aggressive mood on the street than at the beginning of the corona restrictions”. Stefanie Böhm, Mayor of the municipality of Kampen on Sylt, also draws a bitter conclusion after the Pentecost weekend: "There were just too many people."
There were similar reports from Cuxhaven, where people could hardly avoid each other despite the eleven kilometer long beach promenade and legal requirements. The Mayor of Cuxhaven, Uwe Santjer (SPD), had previously appealed to day tourists to refrain from trips to the coastal city at Pentecost. "All those who can make themselves beautiful at home may do so and take a little Cuxhaven break," he told the "Nordsee-Zeitung". "In summer we can celebrate together again."
Even in the small streets on Norderney, it was sometimes difficult to keep the distance rules, said a police spokesman. A survey by the ZDF Politbarometer shows that this is just the beginning. More than a third of the people in Germany do not want to go on vacation this year. Just under a third of the respondents (31 percent) do not want to do without them entirely – and spend their summer vacation in Germany this year. Only about one in ten (13 percent) plans to do so in other European countries. 18 out of 100 people are still undecided.
Reading tip: Here you will find the most magical old towns in Germany.
Travel association warns: capacities in Germany are not sufficient
The DRV warned of the possible consequences of this trend: "The capacities in our own country are far from sufficient so that all those wishing to travel can also go on their well-deserved vacation." Finally, minimum clearances and other requirements, such as occupancy rates for hotels, must be observed – that also affect the light-heartedness that should go with a vacation trip.
From CSU politician Markus Soder's request to spend the summer vacation in Germany this year, the DRV generally doesn't think much: "Whether corona numbers are high or low is not a political decision, but a matter of fact," said the president of the DRV, Norbert Fiebig. "Anyone who gives unfounded warnings about trips abroad, just to promote the vacation in their own federal state, is destroying the business of the many travel agencies and tour operators," he says outraged by the Bavarian Prime Minister's call.
In Bavaria, the number of cases is currently even higher than in some popular holiday countries. Fiebig stated: “The number of people currently infected in the Free State is de facto higher than in the popular holiday countries Greece, Croatia and Austria combined. According to Mr. Söder's logic, a travel warning should also apply to Bavaria. ”
"The corona virus doesn't care about borders – domestic as well as international"
"Why should the risk of infection be higher if I cross a European border or a German one? Or when I travel from Berlin to Copenhagen compared to Berlin to Munich? The corona virus doesn't care about borders – domestic as well as international, ”said Fiebig.
The DRV therefore advocates gradual opening of the border, adapted to falling numbers of infections, as is currently happening gradually. The association also wants Germany and foreign trips to no longer be played off against each other: "Over 70 percent of all German trips go abroad – this business, as the backbone of the German travel industry, secures around 100,000 jobs at travel agencies and tour operators."
With the smartphone in the Corona crisis: How to protect your children on the Internet!
Tiktok, YouTube and gaming without end: Many children and adolescents have been spending even more time on the Internet since the beginning of the Corona crisis. Digital trainer Daniel Wolff explains in the webinar on June 15, 2018 from 7 to 8:15 p.m. what dangers this entails.
Excursion destinations are upgrading – the state parliament president calls for reason: "Don't want to become a second Ischgl"
Popular destinations within Germany are preparing for further rush of tourists. In the future, meadows of local farmers will serve as additional parking spaces on turquoise Walchensee in Upper Bavaria, where there was almost no penetration on Whit Monday. Notification systems on the highway, which warn of large crowds and are intended to keep drivers away in advance, are also under discussion.
Everyone is now responsible, warned the President of the Bavarian State Parliament, Ilse Aigner (CSU). "We don't want to become a second Ischgl," she said roughly. "These holidays are challenging us all." The volunteers face special challenges, the corona pandemic is an additional risk for them, said Aigner during a visit to the Wasserwacht am Starnberger See and the Bergwacht-Zentrum in Bad Tölz. “We have to be considerate of each other, comply with hygiene and distance rules. But we also have to be careful. We shouldn't overestimate ourselves when hiking in the mountains and exercise extreme caution on the still cold bathing lakes. ”
May not only head for the top sights – there are beautiful places all over the country
With regard to Bavaria, she also calls not only to head for the hot spots – there are places worth seeing throughout the country, so that the rush of tourists could spread well: “We now have the chance to explore the whole of Bavaria. The Franconian wine or lake region, the Spessart, the Upper Palatinate, the Bavarian Forest, the Altmühltal or the Romantic Road – to name just a few destinations. We don't all have to scramble on the same mountain or jump into the same lake at the same time. ”
The same applies to the overcrowded coasts on the North and Baltic Seas. In addition to the typical holiday destinations such as Rügen or Sylt, there are also numerous smaller towns and islands that are not yet so crowded. But also in the north, east and in central Germany, places vie for the favor of tourists. The Harz, for example, announces that it is "looking forward to tourists", the Lüneburg Heath awaits visitors with its purple fields, in Saxon Switzerland imposing rock formations decorate the landscape to delight the tourist's eye – and this is only a section.
Reading tip: You can find an overview of Germany's most beautiful places here.
If you really want to cool down, you will also find an overview of the most beautiful lakes in the various federal states here.