Sigi's peaks: Case study Pragser Wildsee

Sigi Heinrich has been a sports reporter and TV commentator for decades

The efforts of many clubs continue. Spectators should return to stadiums in all sports next season. At least a few. To achieve this, there is a lot of work being done on complicated hygiene concepts. Main motto: distance. Great idea. And then the next sentence: personal responsibility of the fans. Also great. But it's also a pious wish, because neither will work. When a mass of people are together in a room of any kind, the sense of responsibility is gone faster than you can count to two. If this ever existed at all. You can currently experience this in tourism, which is a perfect example of how everything can get out of control if you just put your little finger up. No matter where you look: to Bavaria to Lake Walchensee, for example, or to North Tyrol, where even on the once tranquil Achensee everything is getting out of control. From the beaches on the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, the same, frightening picture presents itself everywhere. Chaos. And in South Tyrol you are unfortunately not on an island of happiness. “Overtourism” at the mountain lake A visit to the popular Lake Braies makes this clear. First comes the sheet metal avalanche, which pushes itself into the valley like a steaming monster, as far as possible up to almost 1500 meters. Preferably by car directly to the lake. That would be the wish. And then the cars empty and the avalanche of people rolls like a swarm of ants onto the hiking trail around the glittering blue jewel at the foot of the Seekofel. The television series “Mountain Police” with Terence Hill attracts primarily Italian guests to the mountain lake. The residents groan. Now. At the beginning it was nice and pleasant and certainly didn't cause any economic damage. On the contrary. But now Lake Braies is also part of a phenomenon known as “overtourism”. This is about open conflicts between locals and visitors to heavily visited destinations. The blessing has become a curse. Everywhere. The easy accessibility of many destinations has a significant influence on their attractiveness. concerns of residents The effects are fatal. Nature is being violated, and the safety of the residents is at stake. At Walchensee in Bavaria, garage entrances are blocked and verges are full of cars. Emergency vehicles can no longer get through. The nerves are on edge. Also in Alta Pusteria, because there is now an additional component that has often been pushed into the background due to convenience and the longing for normality. The coronavirus hovers over everyone, especially over crowds of people shuffling shoulder to shoulder to the best viewing platforms. Protective masks only hang shamefully on the ear or cover the double chin. Every caution is ignored. People push and push and there is no other way because there is actually not enough space for so many people. Uncertainty remains And things won't be much different if several thousand spectators are allowed into the stadiums. Possible discipline at the beginning is guaranteed to give way to an artificial light-heartedness after the first few minutes of a game. No fan wants to be two meters away from the next one. Watching is only fun in a group. One person starts, everyone joins in. And so they will move together in the stadium like on the hiking trail at Lake Braies and at the end of the day they will not only leave behind garbage and dirt, but also a lot of uncertainty. Because no one knows whether Covid-19 hasn't found a few victims in the faceless crowd and where it will spread when the juggernaut retreats. Sport still has it easy in this regard. It's up to him to open up carefully. You can't deny the many tourists their destinations. And August, the main holiday season, is still ahead for Italy.

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Sigi's peaks: Case study Pragser Wildsee

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