Germany laments lost tourism season, Munich does not miss Aussie, Kiwi 'hooligans'

Bavarian mountain farmer Petra drinks a beer: South Germany is short of 6 million visitors this year. Photo / Matthias Schrader, AP

Each fall the Resch family bring their cows down from Alpine pastures before the cold weather sets in, and each year the crowd of tourists coming to watch the traditional Bavarian spectacle grows bigger.

Not this year.

Pandemic travel restrictions meant the celebratory return of the herd Friday was more muted than usual, as visitors from Asia and the Americas stayed away.

That didn't stop the Reschs from welcoming the 15 cows and herdswoman Petra, who had spent the summer in the mountains with the herd, with beer, schnapps and music.

Cows come home: The German spetacle of moving to winter grazing was devoid of tourists. Photo / Matthias Schrader

After leading the cows down from the pastures to the Koenigssee lake near Berchtesgaden, the well-fed animals were draped with flowers and loaded onto a ferry to take them back home to the farm for winter.

In the Bavarian regional capital of Munich, the annual Oktoberfest was been cancelled over the public health threat posed by the pandemic. The German beer festival, which has spawned imitations the world over, normally brings six million tourists to the region during the end of September.

Yesterday would have marked the final day of the festivities.

Smaller unofficial events took place throughout south Germany. The Sueddetscher Zeitung reported that 150,000 litres of beer were still sold, but this is a drop in the ocean of the annual 7 million normally consumed over the month.

After a summer in lockdown the city has extended these pared-back celebrations to stimulate local hospitality businesses. The city officials have created a substitute programme of outdoor activities, called "Summer in the City".

Bavarian mountain farmers return their cattle from summer pastures across lake Koenigssee, Germany. Photo / Matthias Schrader, AP

"The people of Munich and city guests have taken well to the experiment," said Clemens Baumgärtner economic consultant for the city, who said it had marked some relief for local restaurants and beer sellers.

The Zeitung reported that local politicians had seen "Summer in the City" as a chance to move the festival past the cliche of "Australian and New Zealand hooligans and binge drinkers" which Oktoberfest had come to represent in the mind of residents.

- AP with additional reporting

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