Lądek-Zdrój. Tourists cancel their reservations. “They are afraid of the effects of flooding”

As a result of the floods in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, the tourism industry has suffered. According to the director of the Lower Silesian Tourism Organization, there are two faces of post-flood problems in tourism. – The first concerns entrepreneurs and tourist attractions in five of the 169 Lower Silesian communes, including the eastern part of the Kłodzko district – Kłodzko, Lądek-Zdrój, Stronie Śląskie and Bystrzyca Kłodzka.

“This is a region with a very developed tourist industry. In these five communes, all entrepreneurs from the tourism industry and towns that are difficult to reach due to flood-damaged roads have problems – these are the opinions of entrepreneurs from Bolesławów near Stronie,” said Feiga. He added that they are afraid that they will not receive aid because their guesthouses were not damaged, but they do not have guests because they cannot be reached.

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Another problem is faced by municipalities that were not affected by the flood and have good access, but tourists are canceling their planned stays there. “They are canceling because they are afraid of the effects of the flood – lack of GSM coverage or lack of water, but everything worked and works normally there,” said the DOT director.

The scale of the flood problem of the Lower Silesian tourism industry is illustrated by ticket sales in the Stołowe Mountains National Park. None of the trails there were destroyed by the flood, all are open. It is also easy to get there.

“In the ten days since the flood, 1,030 tickets have been sold at Błędne Skały, and in the same period last year – over 9.3 thousand. These are real losses, tourists have not come – they do not stay overnight here and do not use the catering facilities,” the director pointed out.

The DOT chief noticed that the situation is slightly better in the Wałbrzych region and in the Karkonosze mountains. “Individual tourists are slowly starting to return there, but many school trips have been canceled in panic, including to Świdnica,” Feiga said.

Many organized trips have been canceled in the Karkonosze Mountains, including green schools. “We have an example of one of the local hotels, which has 100 rooms. Within five days, reservations were canceled for a total amount of over PLN 100,000,” he reported.

Another example is a palace near Wrocław, where large events for companies are organized. In five days, events worth PLN 500,000 were canceled there, the director said. He also mentioned the tunnels in Walim, where there was no flooding, but despite that, reservations for tickets worth PLN 30,000 were canceled.

“We are most afraid of the fact that now, for example, schools are making decisions about trips, camps, holidays, and that everyone will avoid Lower Silesia in these plans. These could be large, long-term losses,” Feiga assessed.