Sexten Fireside Talks: Tourism industry must take social responsibility

It takes imagination for the unthinkable, for alternative developments, and even radical changes," emphasized Andreas Flora. He is a freelance architect and teaches at the Institute of Design at the University of Innsbruck. In the 19th century, tourism turned even the most remote mountain valleys upside down, and presently, it still has the potential to be an 'Agent of Change.' "The most valuable asset of tourism is the pristine natural landscape, and this makes me optimistic that the industry will also advocate for its protection. However, protection should not be limited to mountain regions alone. Lowland landscapes are equally important for ecology." Therefore, unconventional thinking is required, such as considering new settlement archipelagos in areas already intensively used, like ski slopes, car-free mobility solutions through cable cars, multi-generational houses, or vertical cities.

Ivan Bocchio, from the Institute of Technology and Architecture at ETH Zurich, followed a similar line of argument. "Everyone thinks about their own house, their own apartment, their own hotel, their own room. But our homes are only as beautiful as the streets, squares, and meadows we look out onto!" We must move away from thinking in terms of volume and move towards a shared overall picture.

Development can only occur in harmony with the population," knows Daria Habicher, project manager of the PNRR project for the municipality of Stilfs, aimed at upgrading and revitalizing the village in Vinschgau, which is particularly affected by emigration. Despite all the ongoing developments, social development is lagging behind. If tourism wants to be a force for change, the industry must also allow for new models of work and organization, and also grapple with what it means when young representatives of the industry think of contraction instead of expansion. In contrast, in Bad Gastein, hundreds of new beds are currently being created. Evelyn Ikrath found clear and critical words for this: "What is not being created are living spaces, mobility solutions, and childcare for the people who live and work in the destination - not just in times of skilled labor shortages, this is a negligent omission. Investors are not the solution, and we cannot always wait for politics. Tourism must initiate thought processes itself." Lukas Krösslhuber, Managing Director of the Wilder Kaiser Tourism Association, agreed with this. As a tourism association, they had voluntarily decided not to allow any additional beds and instead to better utilize existing capacities and to provide advisory support to the industry in terms of realignment. They also sought to identify and prevent illegal second homes through control committees.

The tourism industry must become more proactive, emphasized Harald Pechlaner, Director of the Center for Advanced Studies at Eurac Research and Professor of Tourism at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. Especially in South Tyrol, one sees touristically advanced places that lag far behind in many other areas of development. Clear visions are needed at the local level for who should live in the valleys, villages, and cities in the future and how these places should look.

The Sexten Fireside Talks were organized by the Center for Advanced Studies at Eurac Research, the Sexten Tourism Association and Sexten Kultur. The greetings at the "Sextner Kamingespräche - Sesto fireside talks" were delivered by Christoph Rainer, President of the Sesto Culture Association.