20 years ago, a hundred-year flood of the Elbe left the hospitality industry in Saxon Switzerland up to its neck in water. Now forest fires are causing new trouble. A site visit.
Schmilka (dpa/sn) - When hotelier Frank Schönherr from Wehlen in Saxon Switzerland hears and reads reports about the forest fires in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains these days, he sometimes cannot believe his eyes and ears.
There is talk of a fire roller, black forests and toxic smoke, says the 45-year-old and thinks that is grossly exaggerated. The term disaster alert also suggests that everything here is rubble and ash: "I would like more clarification and a more differentiated picture of the situation." He himself gets two dozen calls every day and tries to tell worried guests what the situation is and what can be done.
Nevertheless, Schönherr and his Hotel Wehlener Hof are also affected by cancellations. People would have canceled even for Easter 2023. For the rest of the year, the 45-year-old business owner sees 20 to 30 percent cancellations. "We're just overwhelmed by the cancellations." He could understand if holidaymakers who wanted to travel to Saxon Switzerland these days decided differently in view of the pictures in the media. But the cancellations mainly affect autumn, when the entire fire situation should have calmed down a long time ago. Once you cancel, you usually don't come back.
The Saxon Switzerland Tourist Association is also a bit at a loss. The hospitality industry has just recovered a little from the troubles of the corona pandemic - and the industry has had to accept a blow to the neck again. Micaela Lindheimer, Deputy Managing Director of the association, does not want to put the word "wave of cancellations" in her mouth just yet.
Current figures from the German Hotel and Restaurant Association, which asked the companies about the effects, are not yet available. The association can understand the decision of the district office to block all forests in the district. "We can no longer afford another source of fire," says Lindheimer.
Nevertheless, the tourism experts hope that a modified regulation will soon come into force and that the forests can be entered again. Because hiking is a main reason for many people to come to the region. Until then, the providers will try to point out what is possible when holidaymakers make inquiries. Because steamer and boat trips on the Elbe are just as possible as bike tours on the Elbe Cycle Path or a visit to Königstein Fortress or the Rathen Rock Stage. Hotelier Schönherr has sent regular guests to Meissen and to the castles of Moritzburg and Weesenstein: "Some saw these beautiful corners for the first time."
Schönherr does not want to be in the shoes of those who have to make decisions in the district office. The ban on entering forests is primarily intended to concentrate the capacities of the fire brigade on the fire in the rear part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, where around 150 hectares are affected by the flames and embers keep appearing. Nevertheless, the 45-year-old thinks it makes sense to open the Uttewalder Grund or the Bastei area to visitors again. "Opening up the forest trails would reduce our damage by half." Perhaps warning signs could be used to raise people's awareness again.
Sven-Erik Hitzer, owner of the bio-refuge in Schmilka, sees the closure of the forest less as the real problem than the reporting. The hotelier argues that 90 percent of the Saxon Switzerland National Park is not affected at all. Of course, all guests had to leave when it got hotter. His objects are more or less in the center of the fire. The road to Schmilka is already closed in Bad Schandau. A shuttle service has been set up for residents of the small border town. "We are the only place in Saxon Switzerland that is completely closed."
Heater says he has a weekly loss of sales of 150,000 euros - and there is currently no solution to the problem. He is sufficiently insured and also has what is known as business interruption insurance. However, this only applies if the building itself is affected by elementary damage. "If we had burned down, she would have grabbed." According toWärmer, Schmilka urgently needs financial support. The residents would also suffer from the fact that the place had been made "Airbase Number One" - in fact, helicopters take extinguishing water from the Elbe every minute all day long.
On Tuesday afternoon, Tourism Minister Barbara Klepsch (CDU) will meet restaurateurs and hoteliers in Hohnstein, an area that is not being hit by the fires - and is still affected. They actually wanted to put on some bacon for the winter, but now they can tick off the business for this year, says a hotel operator: "It's a scary situation for everyone." Margaux Paulin Steiger, who runs several hotels in the region, puts it this way: "My real concern is that we'll be sitting in an ICE train, racing towards a cliff and not being able to get the brakes back on."
The people from the hospitality industry make it clear to Klepsch that the survival of an entire industry is at stake and that bridging assistance is needed. The fire and the cancellations are just the current problem, there are also staff shortages, rising energy prices, inflation and growing costs for employees - all after two years of the pandemic. "We come out of a hopeless situation and are steering into a hopeless situation," says Steiger. In the past, you could still prevent some things through entrepreneurial skill. Now everything I learned seems useless.
Sven Reumann, who runs the popular Hocksteinschänke with his family, has tears in his eyes when talking about the situation. "We have to keep motivating ourselves and soon we won't be able to." He sees no horizon. His restaurant has been in the family since 1907, and previous generations also had to struggle with problems: "But the problems are increasing, the cycles are getting shorter and shorter."
Two young women from Heidelberg spread hope on this day. They are standing with their car on the market square in Hohnstein and are making plans for the coming days. A few days after the fire broke out, they drove to Rathen as planned and were not deterred. "You have to be flexible," says one of the two. They have also been hiking - along the Elbe. Every other day we go to Dresden and also to the museums. They definitely want to come back in the years to come.
