Michael Volgger gives a guest lecture at the Center for Advanced Studies

It was a Eurac Research Homecoming. During his short stay in Europe, Michael Volgger was also a guest at Eurac Research's Center for Advanced Studies and gave a lecture on "Atmospheric Interventions in Anthropogenic and Natural Landscapes: A Cross-Cultural Perspective".

Michael Volgger, a long-time Senior Researcher at Eurac Research, recently celebrated his habilitation at the Catholic University of Eichstätt Ingolstadt. He is an Associate Professor at the School of Management & Marketing at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, and Co-Director of the Curtin Tourism Research Cluster (TRC). The economist was also significantly involved in the elaboration of the Provincial Tourism Development Concept 2030+ "Ambition Habitat South Tyrol. On the way to a new tourism culture".

In his guest lecture at the Center for Advanced Studies, he focused on the differentiated perception of atmospheric interventions in anthropogenic and natural landscapes and presented a comparison between the impressions of Chinese and Western tourists. How important is the atmosphere for visitors from different cultures in the context of the visitor experience? How are tourist interventions in this atmosphere (such as the construction of paths, trails, shelters, or viewing platforms) evaluated by people from different cultures? With the help of data from qualitative-experimental as well as quantitative surveys, Volgger was able to clarify that tourists from China seem to have a heightened sensitivity for atmospheric and situational aspects, place greater value on infrastructure, and prefer a controlled experience of nature, whereas visitors from a Western context tend to perceive the wildness of nature as exciting and worth exploring. These findings are particularly valuable for tourism product development for different markets.

While the lecture contrasted East Asian and Western perceptions, Volgger's visit also offered numerous moments of exchange where the differences between European and Australian research realities in terms of working methods and choice of topics could be discussed.