Businesses on the island want visitors to feel welcome
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As reported by the Leeuwarder Courant, the Wadden Island of Schiermonnikoog would like visitors to feel welcome and relaxed when they arrive. A range of business owners on the island have added their support to the message, due to the economic pressure exerted upon them by a lack of guests during the Coronavirus outbreak.
The business organisation for the island has said that people who, for example, have second homes on the island, should not feel guilty about accessing them. According to Remmelt Mulder, chair of the association of businesses on the island, the Spar supermarket on the island can still safely take four to five times more people whilst upholding the Coronavirus regulations: especially holding a 1.5-Metre distance.
Of course, visitors will have to bear in mind the current situation we are living in when staying on Schiermonnikoog, says Mulder: “So not bringing your children to the supermarket with you so that they can choose a specific sort of crisps; only one person per household should do the shopping.” And, if a queue were to form outside the supermarket? “That’s not a problem, everyone that is slightly older and has lived in the Netherlands won’t find that odd.”
The ferry (operated by Wagenborg) can take more passengers whilst still keeping within regulations, says Mulder. At the moment, it is operating at about a third of its capacity.
On the island itself, says Mulder, holiday parks and hotels are slowly but surely opening. “They weren’t asked to, but many closed voluntarily”, he said. At the moment, people on the island are focusing on winning over hearts and minds: “it’s simply about not having to worry about whether you can follow the 1.5-Metre rule when you come to our island. We live for hospitality… even if there is a minimal opportunity to host people, you have to seize it.”
