For over a year now, well over a thousand people seeking protection have arrived in the German capital every month. At the moment, the number stands at 70 migrants and asylum seekers per day.

But now, another group of people are starting to arrive in Berlin en masse, albeit for a completely different reason: The beginning of spring and warmer temperatures have ushered in the tourist season, which means thousands of visitors are booking hundreds of rooms in hostels and hotels each day.

A large share of the migrants accommodated in these hostels and hotels now have to leave -- despite a lack of adequate alternatives.

The city of Berlin, along with many other small and large municipalities across Germany, has been struggling to house the large number of refugees and asylum seekers who continue to arrive in Germany from Ukraine and third countries.

With more than ten million guests per year, Berlin is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

Ukrainians have to relocate to Tegel

According to news outlet Tagesspiegel, a large number of people who fled Ukraine have to move to Berlin's former Tegel airport, which is a seen as a serious downgrade in terms of comfort level.

Tegel, which serves as the primary arrival center for refugees and asylum seekers in Berlin, received several additional temporary emergency shelters last year and can currently accommodate some 4,800 people.

Migrants whose asylum requests are still being processed, meanwhile, move from hostels and hotels to shared accommodation units at Tempelhof, the site of another former Berlin airport, among other locations.

New permanent facilities won't be available until the end of May or beginning of June, a spokesperson for Berlin's state office for refugees (LAF) told Tagesspiegel. According to the latest data from the federal statistics office, net migration from Ukraine to Germany last year stood at 962,000. More than 100,000 of them reportedly live in Berlin.

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650 refugees have already moved out

At the end of March, the contracts between the LAF and six of the hostels expired, different news media reported. Some of the 650 refugees who consequently had to move out already left on their own without authorities knowing where they went, according to Tagesspiegel.

Some were able to find state-run accommodation in their respective boroughs in Berlin, while 480 had to relocate to Tegel, according to Tagesspiegel.

As of Wednesday (April 4), 962 refugees were still accommodated in hostels or hotels, Tagesspiegel reported. Among them are 722 Ukrainians. Some of these hostels and hotels are apparently willing to extend their contracts with the LAF until the end of the year.

Close to 32,000 refugees are currently staying in LAF-run facilities in Berlin, the office said on Twitter on March 31. That's an increase of roughly a quarter compared to eight months ago.

Last month, Germany's interior minister announced at a refugee summit that the federal government will not provide further financial support to states, despite repeated calls from state governments to boost funding for resources and accommodation for increasing numbers of refugees.

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Problems for disabled refugees 

The forced relocation, according to Tagesspiegel, poses a particular problem for wheelchair-bound people. Some of them will be staying in facilities inadequate for people with disabilities, the LAF spokesperson said. Problems include a lack of accessible bathrooms or not enough space for wheelchairs.

Other accessible housing for refugees, such as the modular accommodation (so-called MUFs), are nearly completely full, the spokesperson said further.

In Tegel, Tagesspiegel reported, the conditions for wheelchair users are better. Thirty of them were registered there in the first 2.5 months of the year. In all of last year, nearly 200 wheelchair-bound people were accommodated at the former airport, a Red Cross spokesperson said.

According to Tagesspiegel, Tegel currently has three fully equipped doctor's practices. 

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This piece is based on an article by German news outlet Tagesspiegel