Quality of life at the Wilder Kaiser

Lukas Krösslhuber: The idea had several fathers. Hospitality and appreciation are essential components of our brand/DNA/culture. Maintaining or even improving the consistently positive attitude towards tourism among the population has long been our concern, but we didn't know how.

The number of guests in summer has also grown by 25% in just three years, which has pushed our services such as mobility, guest programs, parking spaces, etc. to their limits. We didn't want to grow so quickly in future and needed an alternative strategy.

I also wanted to have the "right" answer ready in case external hotel operators asked the municipalities for land. Do we want new hotels, beds and if so, which ones?

And fourthly, we have lost the main argument for quantitative growth, namely more jobs, in times of staff shortages. As TVB Managing Director, who had previously been measured by quantitative success in the form of overnight stays, I wanted new parameters for success.

It quickly became clear that the question of "how much tourism" could not be the right one; instead, the question had to be "how should tourism be designed?"

Incidentally, the project was initially called "Quality of life through tourism". In order to broaden the topic, we soon renamed it "Quality of life at the Wilder Kaiser", which was a very good decision, as it allowed us to reach non-tourists. The term "living space" was also up for discussion, but we decided against this spatial term and in favor of the evaluative term "quality".

Lukas Krösslhuber: The core topics were worked out at the meta-level and then measures were developed. These were then prioritized and one to three measures then became independent projects: some of them large and expensive (Tiroler Almrind, environmental school, Personal Regional), others small and fine (dialogue evenings, information event for apartment seekers, awareness raising for dog owners).

It was astonishing how well the dialog was attended and how grateful the people who felt "affected by tourism" were that their opinions were finally being asked for. I was also amazed at how much people's opinions and prejudices changed in the course of just half a day.

Lukas Krösslhuber: I have outlined the results and follow-up projects for the individual core topics. At the meta-level, there will be a meeting of decision-makers and project managers once or twice a year to discuss what has been achieved, what still needs to be achieved and new challenges. I actually also count the dialog evenings as part of the meta-level, because many new aspects will certainly come to light here.

Apart from the projects, it is clear to me that three approaches are particularly suitable for improving the quality of life in the Wilder Kaiser region:

1. making tourism attractive again for locals, whether as entrepreneurs, private landlords or employees. This would increase tourism knowledge and thus the attitude. More people would participate in the success of tourism. Less accommodation would be needed for seasonal workers, tourism professionals would have loyal employees, guests would have authentic experiences, there would be a reduction in traffic due to jobs within walking distance, ...

2. a flattening of the seasonal peaks, i.e. no new capacities, but better utilization in the early, late and mid-season. This would not increase the pressure in the high season, but the offer in the low season would be better (village inn open). Year-round jobs (with more family-friendly, regulated working hours) would be created in the upscale hotel industry, mountain railroads, etc.

3. avoidance or relocation of individual tourist traffic (even if a large part of the traffic is home-made). Traffic jams and the search for a parking space are always a nuisance, it is always the fault of others, even if every car driver is part of the problem. The advantage here is that, in contrast to the other two issues, the public sector (including TVBs) has direct scope for action. Less traffic is also a great benefit for guests.

As TVB Managing Director, I am delighted to now have clear goals for the tourism development of the Wilder Kaiser region, which focus on the quality of life of the residents and not on overnight stays or turnover.