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Munich (dpa / lby) - the end of the Christmas holidays, snow and lockdown: Popular excursion destinations are again preparing for the crowds on the weekend.

The restriction on the radius of movement for residents of corona hotspots, which will apply from Monday, could intensify the rush.

"That is definitely to be feared," said Blaichach's mayor Christof Endress, for whom the restrictions do not go far enough.

"People will still want to take advantage of that," suspects a spokeswoman for the tourism office in Grafenau in Lower Bavaria.

But that's not the only problem.

Ambiguity due to the 15 kilometer rule

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In order to put a stop to excursion tourism, people from regions with an incidence of more than 200 are not allowed to move further than 15 kilometers from their place of residence as of Monday.

But the number of cities and districts affected fluctuates daily.

"We must rather assume that these numbers will grow," emphasized Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU).

This leads to uncertainties like in the Fichtelgebirge: The Bayreuth district was just above the 200 mark at the end of the week, the city of Bayreuth just below it.

“The numbers can change all the time.

It is almost impossible to keep an overview, ”said Andreas Munder from Tourismus- & Marketing GmbH Ochsenkopf.

"In the end, the locals sit at home, while day trippers from regions with lower values ​​are out and about in the Fichtelgebirge," fears Munder.

Because the 15-kilometer rule only applies to residents, excursions to a corona hotspot are still possible.

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"I would prefer a district-wide entry ban," said Oberstaufen tourism director Constanze Höfinghoff.

The limitation to hotspots with an incidence of more than 200 is "difficult".

It remains to be seen whether the regulation actually restricts excursion tourism.

Rush to green spaces in cities

Not only the classic excursion locations expect many visitors on the weekend.

When the winter weather is nice, urban parks and around the sledging hills quickly become tight.

On Epiphany, the police in Munich sent 150 people back home who were huddled on a toboggan hill.

In Augsburg, the officials had to announce to the tobogganers to keep their distance and to wear a mask.

Both cities announced regular controls for the coming weekend.

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In Nuremberg, Bamberg and Bayreuth the snow was not yet enough to make the sledge hill unsafe.

Nevertheless, there people push outside.

At the animal enclosures at Röhrensee in Bayreuth, for example, up to three times as many walkers have been out and about since the pandemic. A spokeswoman for the city suspects that the last weekend of the holiday will be particularly special.

Different regulations for the infrastructure

The regions deal with the expected crowd very differently, and there is no uniform concept.

In many places, in addition to ski lifts and restaurants, parking spaces and public toilets are also closed.

This is to keep day trippers away from further away.

The concept had "worked," said a spokesman for Bergbahnen Oberstdorf Kleinwalsertal.

"The fact is that thank God there weren't the traffic jams and queues in the Allgäu as in Winterberg or Upper Bavaria."

In other regions such as Franconian Switzerland, on the other hand, parking spaces and toilets are deliberately opened to prevent chaos with wildly parked cars and annoyance for residents.

As soon as there is more snow, even the upper trails in the Fichtelgebirge should be groomed.

"The goal is that the winter sports enthusiasts spread out even more," explained Munder.

Lockdowns would do little.

“The ski slopes are currently closed to skiers, and there are signs everywhere.

But that's why they are sledding there now. "

Hope for income

In Upper Bavaria, too, the slopes are partly snow-covered - still in the hope of being able to start the lifts at some point.

In order to generate income at all, the railways have raised their parking fees.

It cost 15 euros in some parking lots in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, five euros at Brauneck and ten euros at Spitzingsee, but the toilets are open.

However, this is not a long-term business model.

"That way we couldn't keep our staff," said Antonia Asenstorfer, spokeswoman for Brauneck and Wallbergbahnen and Alpenbahnen Spitzingsee.

From Monday, most employees would have to work short-time - initially until the end of January.

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Figures from the RKI

Excursion sticker Upper Bavaria

Tips for visiting the national park in winter