A forest fire raged for weeks in summer in a small part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. Cancellations rained down in hotels and guesthouses. The situation is improving, but patience is needed.
Pirna (dpa/sn) - Tourism in Saxon Switzerland is still suffering from the aftermath of the forest fire in a small part of the national park of the same name. "The booking situation with a view to the autumn holidays is better again, but it is still well behind the strong values of previous years," said Tino Richter, Managing Director of the Saxon Switzerland Tourism Association of the German Press Agency. On the one hand, a certain reluctance was to be expected this year, as the development of the corona pandemic meant that there were better opportunities for trips abroad again. "On the other hand, there are still no bookings that were not made during or after the forest fires."
According to Richter, demand is recovering only slowly. "With a large-scale advertising campaign - supported by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism and the Tourism Marketing Society of Saxony - we are trying to boost demand." The fact is, however, that the time of the forest fire caused significant losses. "In addition, there were no new bookings for the autumn months during this period. In our estimation, September was also well behind the previous years." The official statistics are not yet available. A slight recovery is not felt until October. "We are continuing to focus on increased advertising in order to stabilize the winter months and bookings for the region for next year in particular."
According to Richter, other concerns in the industry remain. He referred to the labor shortage and energy prices. "In addition, with the rising prices, we expect cautious consumer behavior that will put guests back on their travel decisions. So: Rising prices could meet lower demand. This gives rise to fears of a decline in sales, which companies will find difficult to cope with after several years of crisis. "
