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Potsdam / Berlin (dpa / bb) - The corona pandemic and the lockdown caused the number of guests in Berlin and Brandenburg youth hostels to plummet in the past year.
In 2020, a decrease of 70 percent compared to 2019 will have to be coped with, said the Brandenburg State Association of the German Youth Hostel Association on Thursday.
In 2020, 118,000 guests were counted - after 386,000 in 2019.
Gradually, it is hoped that normal operations will return.
School trips are the most important factor.
The main thing is to look after children and young people in an educational way.
"Against the background of the long lockdown, we would like politicians to take into account the needs of schoolchildren for informal learning on school trips," it was emphasized.
The regional association with its 17 houses in Berlin and Brandenburg had to accept losses of 7.4 million euros in the previous year, mainly due to the lack of class and group trips.
In 2019, the income was 13 million euros.
Without normal operation, the youth hostels cannot hold out on their own.
The closure of the houses is temporary due to the corona, none of them remain permanently closed.
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Flexible cancellation conditions can be used for families and school trips until summer 2022: Corona-related cancellations up to one day before arrival are free of charge.
Youth hostels were also made available for other uses in the previous year.
In the Bremsdorfer Mühle facility (Oder-Spree district), soldiers spent the night on a mission against African swine fever, and the Berlin-International youth hostel became a shelter for the homeless.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210225-99-588482 / 2