Kategorie: News
Shutdown on an island
Mr. Harold Rabeling of Euro-Divers Lanzarote sent us a report about the situation in Lanzarote. We do not want to withhold this interesting text from you, so in the following you can read en-detail whats going on in Lanzarote and the thoughts of the dive-center owner Harold Rabeling:
Of course we follow the news about the Corona virus, but on Lanzarote there were no known cases yet so it doesn't run that’fast you think and in the Netherlands where I still come weekly for my work they also response that it was so far away.
On Saturday, March 14, 2020, the world suddenly looked very different- the number of infected people in the Madrid region in particular grew spectacularly and the Spanish government intervened, LOCKDOWN!
At that time there had not yet been any infection on Lanzarote and then it is just as badly scared.
One rule after another was issued by the Spanish government, entertainmentvenues, restaurants, and shops that do not sell essential items such as food, drink, medicine etc. had to close their doors the same evening, all tourist attractions had to be closed, including all sports activities such as surfing, boat trips, cycling and therefore also Scuba Diving.
Tourists were ordered to leave the island as soon as possible and also various hotels and apartments have to the doors. The moment I write this, there are still sporadic planes coming and not to bring people (with a few locals left) but to pick up the last tourists.
Local people are not allowed to go on the streets for no good reason, you may pick up groceries, go to the doctor or pharmacy or possibly walk your dog and visit any needy people,such as older or disabled people who are not able to take good care of themselves and police keep a very strict supervision of them and a ticket can be up to € 1.000,-
Until further notice, we have also had to close our dive centre and we will have to put our staff on hold, which this means exactly in Spain was not yet known at the time of writing, but will probably mean that the employment contract will be temporarily terminated and the staff will receive a benefit from the government.
Apart from the fact that we are not allowed to dive with customers, it is also forbidden to divefor fun yourself and, which for the stress factor would have been very tasty, but that should not be because you are not allowed to come on the street unnecessarily.
The lockdown is now for 15 days, but it is already spoken out loud that this could be three months ormore. Of course, this has major financial consequences, especially since we only opened our dive centre two and a half years ago and were still working hard to recoup our investment and therefore have not been able to build up a proper reserve. Fortunately, our fasting costs are low and if the government can do its bit by compensating the staff then we have to make it. Think positive is the credo of the moment.
In the upcoming months we basically had a nice full agenda with customers including many repeat customers, some even for the third or fourth time in two and a half years time and that also gives us the motivation not to leave the cups hanging , but with great confidence to look to the future.
Since we are in very close contact with most of our customers, we also know that it is for the most postponement and not a adjustment, so we are definitely going to see them again on Lanzarote.
The question is natural, what does this disaster have, because that is what we can call it, of consequences for the financial situation for the world, for the people and therefore also for our customers, of course no one knows that yet.
Everything will depend on how long it will all take, and that will of course also be for our fellow dive centres – either the ones in Lanzarote or our Euro-Divers Group worldwide, the consequences will be immense for some.
We already heard that there are dive centres that are finally closing their doors because for them it where already difficult times , again there will be a sifting and the healthy dive centres will survive, most important thing is that this can be done without loss of the safety and quality for the customer.
We are eagerly awaiting the moment when we are told again that we are allowed to enter the water, depending on how long it will take, we have the idea that a lot will changed underwater after weeks or maybe even for months without boats near the coastline, no divers, probably it will make a positive contribution to marine life.
The marine life on Lanzarote is of course already fantastic, various small and large Rays, Octopus, Sepia, Sea bass, slugs, etc. and of course not to mention the Angel Sharks. With Playa Grande on our doorstep we have diving sites for novice divers but also for the experienced divers, with beautiful drop-offs up to 50 meters.
One of my favorite dive site in the regions is Black Beach, with our luxury bus just 5 minutes from our dive centre but totally different dive area, with large schools of Barracudas,Tuna, etc. We hope that everyone can deal with this crisis with as little problems as possible and that everyone stays healthy and that we can welcome you back to Euro-Divers Lanzarote soon.
More information:
Corona common information page (German) on Taucher.Net
Information from dive centers worldwide (German) on Taucher.Net