A few months ago the tourism industries’ future looked bleak
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As reported by the Omrop Fryslân, various camp sites and holiday parks across the province are busier than last year. But, the holiday spirit is being dampened by fear of a second wave of the Coronavirus, which could prove disastrous.
At the Rufus aan het Water holiday park in Broek, both the small campsite, guesthouse, and holiday apartments are full- and there’s also significant business being done at the boat rental point and in the restaurant. Owner Wim Driessen is incredibly happy with the situation: “until the end of August we’re completely full. Here and there is a small gap in availability, but in general we can’t take any more people! But the booking requests keep on coming.”
However, the hit on finances suffered by the business in the last few months still isn’t quite healed: “until now we’re at about 25 percent less turnover. We won’t make the same as other summers, but in general I’m satisfied. It’s busy, the weather is great, and everyone is having a good time”, says Driessen.
People that want to have a weekend on a rental boat can no longer hire one at Wetterwille in Teherne. Three months ago its boats sat silent, however now all 26 are reserved for the rest of the summer.
“The telephone is still glowing red-hot. It doesn’t seem to matter which type of boat or which week is available, people want them. But our answer is, unfortunately, often negative, which led to some people coming to check out jetties to see if we really didn’t have any more boats available!”, says Alexander van Walsum, the owner of Wetterwille.
The campsite Pasveer in Scharnegoutum is also almost completely full. Louise Hoekstra, the owner, says: “we have moved some of our places apart so that there is more room. We’ve got more people coming with their families and children, that might have gone to France or Spain, and they also need larger camping spots. And it’s definitely not a good idea to pack everyone in more tightly in these times!”
However, a cloud does hang over the celebrations; with the various operators very worried about a second wave of the Coronavirus. Now that infections are slowly rising again, it is possible that the Dutch government will bring in tighter regulations in order to combat the spread. The hope is that that doesn’t occur before September, so that the tourism operators can make the most of their summer rush.
Image via Pikist. License-free.
