Sylt and North Friesland: From now on, overnight guests can return to the islands and Halligen, among other places. The East Frisian Islands are still waiting for the green light.
Update from May 1: After a six-month break due to the corona pandemic, the first holidaymakers arrived on Sylt on Saturday morning. The largest German North Sea island is part of the North Friesland tourist model region. Tourism is being ramped up again under strict conditions. The first car trains brought only a few vehicles to the island in the early morning. “We expect an increased number of passengers in the coming days,” said a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn (DB).
Loaded with around 20 cars, the first blue car train from the private rail company Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) reached the island shortly before 7 a.m. “We assume a lively arrival around noon, but do not expect a crowd,” said RDC spokeswoman Meike Quentin.
What is possible in North Friesland from Saturday is also what the hotel operators of the seven East Frisian Islands want: receiving guests. To this end, they submitted an opening concept to the state government of Lower Saxony. The proposals aim at a permanent opening of tourism with simultaneous control of the infection rate. The answer is still pending.
Vacation on the North Sea: North Friesland starts as a model region
North Friesland is slowly ramping up tourism again under strict conditions: On May 1st, the district, including islands and halligen, will start as the second and probably largest tourist model region in Schleswig-Holstein. The project will initially run until May 31 with the option to extend. As soon as the 7-day incidence exceeds 100 for three days, the project can be canceled. Several thousand small and large businesses are participating in the model region, according to the district. During these days, restaurateurs and landlords in North Friesland are preparing for the expected rush of guests on Saturday.
The Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei (WDR) will again be offering more trips to the islands of Amrum and Föhr than before. In May there are between 12 and 13 departures daily from Dagebüll to Föhr and Amrum or in the opposite direction to the mainland, as the shipping company announced. “Additional ferries are used on heavily booked days.”
“For us there was not even a single discussion about whether we want to take part in the model region,” said Dominic Cloudt, who, together with his wife and a business partner, took over the Dünencamping campsite in Wittdün on Amrum at the beginning of the year. He expects a good 50 arrivals on the first weekend. “From the middle of next week we will be as good as booked out for what we are allowed to do.” One of the biggest requirements is the subject of testing.
A corona test every 48 hours in the North Friesland model region
Every 48 hours, the guests in the model region of North Friesland have to be tested; those who want to take a seat in the indoor catering must be able to present a result that is no more than 24 hours old. In order to make it as pleasant as possible for its guests, the decision was made to test it for themselves, said Cloudt. Together with the operators of the Hotel Seeblick in Norddorf, the Dünencamping team has set up its own test center with locations at the respective companies. A total of around 10,000 tests per week can be done here.
The Association of Campground Entrepreneurs of Lower Saxony is calling for the camping holiday to be approved in communities with few new corona infections. Only permanent campers are allowed there.
Nicole Hesse from Hotel Seeblick is happy about the model region. “For us it was the only and also a good way to show that safe tourism is possible.” They are very good, but not one hundred percent booked, said Hesse. But this is also good to see how it works. They are already aware of the “huge responsibility” that they have for tourism as a whole.
Preparations are also in full swing on the neighboring island of Sylt *. Jürgen Gosch has been cleaning and drilling for days: “We’re just cleaning up here, I think I’ve never cleaned as much as this year,” said the fish entrepreneur who has shops in List, Westerland and Wenningstedt on Sylt. “I have decided to take part in the model region, we have to go through it now.” According to his own statement, he feels well prepared for the guests expected on Saturday.
The beach in front of Westerland is now more busy again than in the quiet lockdown months. Ulrich Hoenack and his team take beach chairs from winter storage to the beach every day. “We are now stepping on the gas: by Monday we want to have 800 baskets on the beaches,” says the head beach basket keeper from the municipality of Sylt. Most recently they had only taken out a few baskets because vacationers were not allowed to come to the island. By the end of July, all 4,000 baskets should be on the beaches in the community.
In the Schleiregion and in Eckernförde, holidaymakers have been allowed to vacation under strict guidelines and with clear restrictions since April 19. Further model projects are planned at the Bay of Lübeck and in Büsum (Dithmarschen district). The projects are intended to prove that a safe vacation can be possible even under Corona conditions.
Tourism Minister Bernd Buchholz (FDP) drew a positive first balance. “I think it’s going very well,” he said, referring to the Schlei / Eckernförde model region. And although North Friesland is a region of a different size at the start, he is also very optimistic that everything will go well. dpa * 24hamburg.de and Kreiszeitung.de are offered by IPPEN.MEDIA.
List of rubric lists: © Lea Pischel / dpa
