Upper Austria fears shopping tourism in Salzburg
In Salzburg one is already in the middle of catching up for the Christmas business. The purchasing power from Upper Austria is important for the domestic economy. The Salzburg trade uses around 70 million euros annually from customers in Upper Austria.
Shopping center without realizing “shopping tourism”
On the second day of shopping, people came and went in Salzburg’s shopping centers. The center managers also discovered cars with Upper Austrian license plates in the parking lots, but there is no shopping tourism, said Manuel Mayer, center manager at Europark: Upper Austrian cars is well below the year 2019. “
“Shopping tourism” – in general terms – does exist, said the center manager, but mostly concentrates on the weekends. “But if we refer to this week, we know that trading in Upper Austria will open on Friday. In this respect, I assume that there will be no rush from Upper Austria in the Europark. “
Most of the buyers in the Designer Outlet Center in Salzburg come from Salzburg, Flachgau or Hallein. Noticeably less war on Tuesday where from the visitors came, but rather how many went, said center manager Markus Gratz “We can see a doubling or tripling of the number of visitors compared to 2019.”
LH Stelzer: Shopping tourism is “prohibited”
The Upper Austrian Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) emphasized last week that the CoV regulation does not allow “shopping tourism” to Salzburg during the lockdown. “That is not only forbidden, it is unpatriotic and very disagreeable,” said Thomas Stelzer.
Johann Höflmaier, the Salzburg trade spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce, sympathizes with the Upper Austrian entrepreneurs: “I am not only speaking for Salzburg trade here, but – I say once – also for the Upper Austrian colleagues, who of course each have a double drain. We’re all in the same boat. It’s about jobs, regional added value and local businesses. “
Upper Austria will control
In Upper Austria, trading companies are allowed to start the Christmas business on Friday. Until then, the state of Upper Austria has announced strong controls. But because many roads lead to Salzburg, it is questionable to what extent these controls have an effect.