Schaffhausen Tourism Facing the End?

The most famous tourist attraction in Schaffhausen: the Rhine Falls.The people of Schaffhausen decided on the October election Sunday to cancel the cantonal contribution of 450,000 francs to the tourism organization. This has serious consequences for the organization "Schaffhauserland Tourism", as the organization reported in a statement.The offer must be questioned and adapted. "There is no taboo in this," Thomas Imobersteg, president of "Schaffhauserland Tourism," is quoted in the release. The closure of tourist offices, staff cuts and the role of him as president of the association are also up for discussion.The task force cannot take much time with its clarifications: The money will only last until May 2016.If staff are to be laid off, the decision for a realignment must therefore be made as early as February so that the notice period can be met.If no agreement is found, "Schaffhauserland Tourism" will have to file for insolvency. However, the president of the association emphasized in the message that he will not allow this to happen under his responsibility. The task force is headed by Thomas Holenstein, former economic promoter and long-time board member of "Schaffhauserland Tourism".Tax money for a private sectorEvery year, around 400,000 guests come to Schaffhausen. The organization "Schaffhauserland Tourismus" markets the region including the Rhine Falls and operates, among other things, three tourist offices. The opponents of the voting proposal - SVP, Jungfreisinnige, Juso and AL - criticized that a private industry is supported with tax money, and this in times of tight budgets.The proposal was supported by SP, FDP, CVP, ÖBS, GLP, EVP and EDU. They had emphasized in vain that tourism was important for the entire canton and that everyone benefited from it.