However, because of the crisis campsite owners don’t expect to have it easy in the upcoming months. One thing is clear: Only a small number of campers are pitching their tents.
Florence Kirtz-Bertemes is not only the president of the campsite association Camprilux, but also the proud owner of the campsite "Tëntesmillen" on the Our. The campsite can accommodate up to 56 campers, and in a normal year it would have been packed during Ascension Day. However, due to well-known reasons the situation is different this year. Reservations have gone down by 90%.
Thanks to financial aids by the ministry, the campsite is able to survive for now. Kirtz-Bertemes hopes that further aids will be available after the state of emergency comes to an end:
"We work for 6 months a year so to speak, and during that time we have to make enough to survive winter. It's almost certain that we won't make enough this year, and therefore we have to hope for additional financial aids to get us through winter"
70% of customers are from the Netherlands. They currently have difficulties getting here because of the Belgian border controls. A special document has been prepared with the Belgian ministry in order to help customers cross the border.
"If they show this document and the booking confirmation, they can cross the border. However, they are not allowed to stop for coffee or petrol"
All necessary measures have been taken on the campsite itself, and the 18 campers currently staying there are enjoying themselves.
The campsite association itself counts 55 members, and in 2019 950,000 overnight stays were recorded. According to Kirtz-Bertemes, even though there will be a lot less this year, this is no reason to despair:
"Indeed, we have to look ahead and try handling the situation as best we can. We have to implement the restrictions set forth by the government, no matter what that entails. Whether this concerns the sanitary area, the way campers enter the site, or how we greet them… One thing is for sure, we have to be content with less this year"
It will not be easy to travel by plane this summer, but maybe some people might want to discover Luxembourg in a different way.
Video report in Luxembourgish
