There is no longer any mercy for après-ski in Austria
Updated on 2/6/2022 at 5:16 p.m
- Après-ski parties are a problem in Austria because the number of new corona infections is high.
- The authorities are now taking much more action to comply with the measures.
- The fear is growing that Austria and above all Tyrol will become the second Mallorca due to the party scene that has emerged there.
In 2009, Florian Gschwandtner founded a company to help people stay fit and healthy. 13 years later, he made headlines as a health hazard.
The 39-year-old has become rich with the fitness app “Runtastic”. Around 180 million people worldwide use them to keep an eye on their bodily functions while jogging and to listen to the best music.
Gschwandtner himself, however, enjoyed himself in mid-January to the powerful techno sounds of Gigi D’Agostino in a disco in the posh Tyrolean winter sports resort of Kitzbühel. The people stood there close together, the alcohol flowed in streams. When Gschwandtner posted a video of the party on Instagram, he received more than one Shitstorm.
Because such boisterous celebrations are prohibited in Austria due to the pandemic. Even Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger from the conservative ÖVP spoke up: It was “incomprehensible” that there were restaurateurs who organized such parties, she said angrily. Pictures like these are to blame for Austria being considered a high-risk country abroad. “They are causing enormous damage to tourism as a whole.”
Ischgl became a corona hotspot
The anger of the top tourism officer in Vienna does not come from anywhere. Since the beginning of the pandemic a good two years ago, Austria has repeatedly made negative headlines in connection with winter holidays in Tyrol. For example, when the authorities there refused to close bars and pubs in March 2020. As a result, the town of Ischgl became a Europe-wide corona hotspot. The following year, the then new South African variant spread from Tyrol across the entire continent. Many hotels did not comply with the strict lockdown and illegally rented rooms to foreign guests.
The Alpine nation between Germany and Italy has become synonymous with the sloppy handling of the corona protection measures. The entire tourism industry in Austria has to nibble under the negative headlines.
Corona rules are not followed closely enough
Because winter tourism in the Alpine region is one of the most important foreign exchange earners in the country. Minister Köstinger had therefore pushed massively for skiing to continue to be possible despite the pandemic, and hotels also remained open this year. A strategy that the Tyrolean virologist Janine Kimpel considered justifiable in an interview with our editors a few weeks ago: “As far as skiing is concerned, I don’t see any great danger.” On the other hand, “evening après-ski parties without a mask” are highly risky.
According to the minister, the sloppy handling of some guests and especially some catering establishments with the requirements not only endangers health, but also tourism as an important branch of the economy.
The authorities are now taking action all the harder. Because the legal situation is clear: It is allowed to go out until the curfew at midnight. But if you leave the table, you have to wear a mask, and bar operations are closed to ensure contact restrictions.
And that is now being rigorously controlled. “In the last week alone we carried out 32,000 checks,” says Stefan Eder from the Tyrolean State Police Headquarters in an interview with our editors. The crackdown was successful: “Overall, there were relatively few violations. We filed 83 complaints and distributed 33 criminal penalties.” In Tyrol, too, the following now applies: no more fun. After all, fines of up to 1,450 euros are threatened for anyone who does not follow the rules. Restaurateurs risk even higher fines.
Tyrol should not become a second Mallorca
The tourism associations also have little understanding for black sheep. “In the vast majority of cases, you stick to the rules,” says Oliver Schenk, spokesman for the hoteliers’ association, in an interview with our editors. He detects a general rethinking of the tourism industry – not only in connection with the Corona rules.
In winter tourism, the aim is to move away from the image of the party stronghold and towards sustainable forms of: “Numerous businesses are already managing to appeal to other groups of guests who value quality more,” he says. Tyrol in particular must not become a second Mallorca.
Gentle tourism, less partying, more nature: This should be the new holiday image of Austria in the future – at least if Schenk has his way. But first the PR damage abroad must be repaired and lost trust regained. Incidentally, Runtastic boss Gschwandtner also saw this. He has since published an apology: “I’m sorry that I didn’t do justice to my role model function here,” he wrote after the tourism minister’s rebuke.
Sources used:
- Conversation with Stefan Eder, Tyrol State Police
- Conversation with Oliver Schenk, Hoteliers Association
- Conversation with Janine Kimpel, virologist
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