“We are a nice place, beautiful landscape, friendly people and we now want to have (more) tourism.” It’s the mixture of not missing out and economic expectations, that ask for a share of the global leading industry. So that’s where we start: We analyze status quo, check potential markets, bring stakeholders together and moderate workshops,…
Hungary
In 2013, the Europarc Federation celebrated 40 years Working for Nature: Integrated Management of Protected Areas, hosted by the Hortobágy National Park. “Communication comes naturally – or does it?” was the headline for a workshop session that I was co-moderating. It took place from 9 – 13 October 2013 in Debrecen, Hungary.
Georgia
The Georgian Ecotourism Association in 2018 invited the world to Tbilisi where they hosted the 5th European Ecotourism Conference in an excellent way. Great content, superb hospitality, perfect organizing and the fascinating blend of a buzzing ancient yet modern metropolis with amazing landscapes proudly inhabited by locals that cherish their tradition and skills. I was…
Uzbekistan
In June 2019, I received a call by a friend, asking me to join the First International Geotourism Forum as a guest speaker. “August 1-3, 2019, the First International Geotourism forum will be held in Kashkadarya region. The forum is organized by the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for tourism development and the…
Know your markets
There is a difference between “Me-Search” and research. The latter demands proper surveys of proper samples of the relevant people and the right questions to carve out what they really think and feel. From first project mindmap to scrutinizing the questionnaire draft to perfection, the planning of face-to-face as well online surveys and the data…
Sustainability for professionals
Avoid the term sustainability, wherever you can. This is not about sporting a “we care for the environment” sticker on your website or frontdoor, nor about your tree planting offsetting effort, this is about the blatant future of your business and our all existence on this planet. So, hell, put your words into real actions…
Monitoring and controlling visitor flows
Not only since we are told and for our own safety are clever to keep distance to the crowd, it is a major challenge for tourism professionals to know when and where people are clustering. This is the background of our research on tracking and tracing the flow of visitors in destinations. If we know…
The power of hospitality
What more can a person offer than an open door. Reflecting about the most precious – and sometimes exotic – moments of my life, it was always connected to invitations. That became my motto: “Visiting faces, not places!” Couchsurfing was a brilliant idea when I joined it in 2006. I met wonderful people in various…
Digitalising a destination
Some places are hard to find in the virtual world. They are simply not on the map. A short video, few pictures, a 360 degree panorama, some basic information about public transport access, opening hours and contact details make access to a point-of-interest much easier for visitors. The nodal points are a blog infrastructure and…
Urban tourism 2040
OK, the world is getting faster and faster. We know where we come from, but the crystal ball is blurry. Disruptive innovations, AI, changing mindsets, population pressure, urbanisation, new politics and the omnipresent threat of climate change … all factors influencing the global travel trade. A visit to a tourism hotspot and stakeholder discussions are…