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Hanover (dpa / lni) - The restrictions in the corona pandemic led to a massive slump in tourism in Lower Saxony and Bremen last year.

As can be seen from data from the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, Lower Saxony and Bremen registered only half as many guest arrivals as in 2019. The number of overnight stays also fell significantly - in Lower Saxony by more than a third, in Bremen by almost half.

The food-gourmet-restaurants union (NGG) took the numbers as an opportunity to draw attention to the needs of employees in the hospitality industry.

"Because of low wages and months of short-time work, many of them struggle with existential problems," said the chairman of the northern district, Finn Petersen, the German press agency.

In Lower Saxony, the number of guests decreased by 43 percent to 8.7 million in 2020.

Before the corona pandemic, it was last at 15.4 million.

In Bremen, the decline was even more pronounced compared to 2019.

The city-state recently registered 710,000 guests in hotels, guest houses and other catering establishments - 53 percent less than in 2019. Lower Saxony reported a decrease of 35 percent in overnight stays - recently a little more than 30 million were counted.

In 2019 there were more than 46.2 million.

With minus 47 percent in 2020, Bremen had almost half as many overnight stays as before, namely 1.49 million.

Despite the temporary opening in summer, vacation regions such as the North Sea or the Lüneburg Heath have been hit with full force by the consequences of the corona pandemic, said Petersen.

City tourism suffered even more.

According to the information, only around half as many guests came to the Hanover-Hildesheim regions and the Braunschweiger Land as in the previous year.

On the North Sea coast and in East Frisia, the decline was not quite as significant at minus 30 and minus 36 percent.

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Before the next federal-state talks in the coming week, the NGG union, which had evaluated the tourism figures, is calling for an opening strategy for the hospitality industry.

"Without a perspective on how to proceed in March, many companies are threatened with the end and unemployed," said Petersen.

The NGG is in favor of a step-by-step plan that enables gradual openings with low case numbers.

Petersen also called on Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) to stand up for employees in the hospitality industry.

“The Lower Saxony state government must not forget the needs of hotel employees, cooks and waiters,” warned Petersen.

"Without additional help there is a risk of enormous upheavals in the lower income sector."

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210223-99-551632 / 2

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Federal Statistical Office - Monthly Tourism Survey December 2020

Federal Statistical Office - comparative figures for 2019