Only the 3G rule applies. There is also a spirit of optimism among hoteliers and retailers. However, Vienna remains more cautious when it comes to corona measures, for example with 2G in night gastronomy – the economy is therefore warning Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) against taking a special route.
“It is very important that we are treated the same as the daytime gastronomy, that the guests can come without a mask,” said night gastro spokesman Stefan Ratzenberger in a conversation about the nationwide regulation. However, it remains to be seen how masks will be dealt with in Vienna.
Video: These loosening are imminent
Hoteliers are not out of the woods economically
The hoteliers are also in a jubilant mood: Walter Veit, President of the Hoteliers’ Association, is hoping for “the biggest comeback since Lazarus” for Austrian tourism. For the time being, however, one is economically “not over the mountain yet, we still have a few challenges to work through, you can’t tick that off yet”. Veit assumes that those hotels that had previously opted for 2G will stay with it until March 5th. “For the time after that you will have to think about it very carefully, for one or the other it will be a real USP, a market niche for which there will continue to be demand.”
Video: What passers-by think of the openings
For Susanne Kraus-Winkler, Chairwoman of the Hotel Industry Association, and Gregor Kadanka, Chairperson of the Association of Travel Agencies in the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKÖ), the phased plan announced today is “an important step towards freedom and hope for normality”.
“Long Overdue Step”
The easing of entry requirements from 2G to 3G is of great importance, especially for the city hotel industry and for the travel and tour operator industry, said Minister of Tourism Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP). “This will make our tourism location more attractive not only for European local markets and Great Britain, but also for distant markets such as the USA, Russia and China.” In the medium and long term, the entry regulations should correspond to the national corona regulations, said Kadanka. “If the 3G rule no longer applies domestically, it should also be possible to enter the country without it. Anything else only leads to a lack of understanding and confusion among travelers.”
For WKÖ President Harald Mahrer, “the abolition of all measures that are no longer necessary in spring means a relief for companies and people and thus maximum freedom in everyday life”. The easing announced today is “a long overdue step towards normality”. WKÖ Secretary General Karlheinz Kopf pointed out that many countries with comparable developments had gradually withdrawn corona measures for weeks.
Does the mask requirement also fall in Vienna?
However, Vienna remains more cautious when it comes to corona protection measures, in the federal capital the 2G rule in gastronomy does not fall on February 19th. And when the night gastronomy opens on March 5th, Vienna’s mayor announced in the afternoon that access will only be granted to those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.
Video: Vienna takes a stricter path
One could live with that if the curfew would otherwise fall, said night restaurant spokesman Ratzenberger. “The most important thing is whether the mask requirement falls. If you can dance in the disco without a mask in the rest of Austria, but not in Vienna, then you don’t have to open it at all,” warned the chairman of the Association of Austrian Night Gastronomes (VÖNG). Ratzenberger said that it was good that the mask requirement was retained in some areas. “Where it is a free decision to go, it should be made. Where you can’t avoid it – public transport, supermarkets, pharmacies – it is appropriate,” he argued.
Economic aid and short-time work should remain
The industry representative also had a demand in his luggage: “It is important to extend the economic aid and short-time work beyond the end of March 31, 2022 to at least six more months.” Otherwise there is a real threat of “night gastronomy dying”. Because you will not – literally overnight – be able to connect to the old, usual business size.
The trade also welcomes the end of the G rules from March 5th as a “vital” step. “This will avert further billions in damage and secure many jobs,” said managing director Rainer Will according to the announcement. “Due to the end of the 3G regulation in the catering trade, stationary shops are expecting a weekly increase in sales of 50 million euros, because trade as a yin and gastronomy as a yang belong together.” Will appealed to the Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) not to take a special path. “Otherwise, individual countries going it alone would put some locations at a massive disadvantage and lead to competitive disadvantages,” warned Rainer Trefelik, head of the federal trade division in the Chamber of Commerce.
A spirit of optimism in trade and crafts
The abolition of the 3G rule from March 5 will also make things easier in trade and crafts. “We very much welcome the fact that the restrictions on events, gastronomy and the hotel industry will now also be lifted. Because this will finally also create a spirit of optimism for those tens of thousands of suppliers who have suffered greatly from the restrictions imposed by their customers,” said division chairwoman Renate Scheichelbauer-Schuster .
Source: Nachrichten
