This is how the Germans wanted to defeat the Polish resorts on the Baltic Sea. The plan failed

Will German tourists still be able to enjoy shopping Sundays on the Baltic Sea? The Higher Administrative Court in Greifswald has overturned the national regulation on shop opening hours in German resorts and health resorts, which poses a threat to this year’s summer season. Shopping Sundays in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were to include, among others: one of the ways to gain an advantage over Świnoujście and other cheaper destinations abroad.

Shopping Sundays were intended to help German tourism

The promenade in Świnoujście is full of German tourists every season – the Polish resort has been attracting guests from abroad for years with attractions and lower prices in restaurants and hotels. One way to protect tourism in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was to allow shopping on Sundays. While in the rest of Germany shops remain closed on the last day of the week, thanks to the “spa regulation” in resorts such as Bansin and Heringsdorf it was still possible to shop from March to October. “Shops could be open thirty-six Sundays a year. Each time for a few hours, between 11:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Sales were allowed even on some public holidays,” we read.

However, there is no data proving that the restoration of Sunday trading actually brought the expected benefits to German resorts. It is even more difficult to talk about an advantage over Poland.

German resorts may lose tourists

Meanwhile, according to the decision of the Higher Administrative Court in Greifswald, shopping Sundays are at risk. It turns out that entrepreneurs used privileges too liberally, and the scope of what was sold and when went much beyond the applicable regulations.

The German media reassures us that nothing will change in the short term. The court’s judgment is invalid. However, the future of Sunday trading remains uncertain.