Germany's Bavaria plans tourism revival this month

The southern German state of Bavaria will partially reopen for tourism this month, the state's premier Markus Soeder said on Tuesday, with superstores, beer gardens, restaurants, and hotels resuming operations, albeit with restrictions.

The announcement comes as states across Germany ready plans to partially defrost an economy that went into lockdown in March to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus that was then wreaking havoc in northern Italy. The lockdown measures have slowed the spread of the virus, whose reproduction rate has been drifting down for several days, leading to growing pressure from regional governments and business groups for them to be relaxed - despite Chancellor Angela Merkel's fear that that could trigger a second wave.

The umbrella group representing the German industry, the BDI, warned in Bild newspaper that Germany's future as a major manufacturer could be endangered if the freeze continued. After being the first of Germany's premiers to call for strict lockdown measures to contain the virus, Soeder's latest announcement makes him among the first to announce concrete measures for reopening the economy.

From Wednesday, Bavaria would move from a policy of limiting people's comings and goings to one of limiting personal contact, he said, and it would once more be possible for families to visit elderly relatives - a group particularly at risk - in care homes. Soeder said that beer gardens would open on May 18 in the wealthy Alpine state, with restaurants opening a week later, though with distancing requirements to minimize the risk of the coronavirus passing between guests. They would need to close at 10 p.m.

"We will allow hotels and tourism from the Pentecost weekend, the 30th, but without saunas, wellness facilities, or swimming pools," he told reporters.