On Tuesday, industry leaders will meet the Minister of Health. The WKÖ demands a perspective.
Gastronomy and hotel industry in Austria do not expect to be unlocked anytime soon, despite the announcement of possible new perspectives by politicians on Monday. “The government is obviously not thinking that something could open at the beginning of March,” said the Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV) on Friday for the APA. In view of the number of infections and the mutant in Tyrol, health policy would not receive much approval, they say there.
The heads of the hotel and catering trade associations of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) have been invited to the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, but this is not confirmed there. The day before, one of the usual political meetings with virologists and other medical experts will take place with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP).
In any case, the local gastronomy now needs a perspective for the future, namely under what conditions it can be reopened and whether the industry needs to develop new strategies together with the politicians, said the chairman of the professional association for gastronomy, Mario Pulker: “Because people make us gloomy the gastronomy opens, there will be a new boost. ” On Monday “the Chancellor could say yes, whether the catering will stay closed or will be opened on March 1st”.
Pulker does not believe in the idea of the Vienna City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ) to open the catering trade during the week, but to allow it to continue on the weekends: “This is a crazy idea.” For the village inns that would be ruin, “they live on the weekend”, Pulker told APA. Opening steps should always be a federal matter.
Restaurants and hotels have essentially been closed since the beginning of November. The gastro may only offer take-away and delivery services that the accommodation providers only accept business travelers. The ÖHV “does not want to bet” that it will open from the beginning of March, and on Friday they recalled the latest statements by Vienna Tourism Director Norbert Kettner: “Before April or even Whitsun there will be no business worth mentioning in Vienna's tourism industry”, he had explained just last week.
