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In the News section you will find the latest information on research results, publications and events at the Institute. Here we keep you up to date on relevant developments in tourism and our activities.
News
17.09.2025
KIEL/HEIDE. The state government is funding a three-year research project at the universities of applied sciences in Kiel and Heide in order to better direct visitor flows to the state’s tourism strongholds in the future. State Secretary for Ec...
27.07.2025
St. Peter-Ording, July 27, 2025 – The long-standing cooperation between the German Institute for Tourism Research at FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences (DI Tourismusforschung) and Tourismus-Zentrale St. Peter-Ording has now been formal...
22.07.2025
We are currently conducting a short online survey as part of the“DPM: Data, People, Management: Digital Visitor Management 2.0” project. We are interested in: What significance does visitor management currently have in Schleswig-Holstein?...
26.06.2025
Thinking tourism forward together
Science meets practice: With the signing of a cooperation agreement on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, the German Institute for Tourism Research (DI Tourismusforschung) at FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, Tourism...
12.06.2025
Two reasons to celebrate at the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences: the German Institute for Tourism Research (DI Tourismusforschung) celebrated its fifth anniversary with a ceremony – and signed a cooperation agreement with the German...
26.05.2025
Erich Schmidt Verlag (ESV) has published the anthology “Tourismus im Kontext aktueller gesellschaftlicher Entwicklungen – Interdisziplinäre Einblicke und Perspektiven” (Tourism in the Context of Current Social Developments – I...
19.05.2025
We are very pleased to welcome Prof. Peet van der Merwe (North-West University / Noordwes-Universiteit) as a new Fellow of the German Institute for Tourism Research.
Prof. van der Merwe has been closely associated with our institute for many years th...
16.04.2025
The German Institute for Tourism Research receives further support!
We are delighted to welcome Prof. Dr. Tim Gruchmann back to our team.
Tim Gruchmann (FH Dortmund) was a board member of DI Tourismusforschung during his time at the FH Westküste Univ...
28.02.2025
Tourism stakeholders are real lucky charms
– They create moments of happiness for guests and locals alike – as the results of current DI Tourismusforschung research projects show.
But how happy are employees in German tourism and how does...
18.12.2024
For a long time, the success of the tourism industry was measured primarily on the basis of economic indicators such as the number of overnight stays or sales. However, these key figures fall short when it comes to capturing the overall social value ...
03.09.2024
The research project “AI-based Recommender for Sustainable Tourism” (AIR) is entering its final phase after three years of research. At the end of the project, the participants cordially invite tourism professionals, partners and interest...
03.09.2024
A recent nationwide representative survey by the German Institute for Tourism Research at the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences (DI Tourismusforschung) examines the influence of major events on the vacation travel plans of the population li...
01.08.2024
Following the successful launch in spring, the workshops on the Smart Destination maturity model are entering the next round. DI Tourismusforschung and Tourismus NRW e.V. are continuing their research cooperation and are once again inviting participa...
01.07.2024
On 01.07.2024, the project “Emission-free camping: The regeneratively supplied campsite”, funded as part of the BMWK’s “LIFT Transformation” funding program, was launched.
The German Institute for Tourism Research (DI To...
24.06.2024
How are visitor frequencies distributed over the year and what share do the different visitor groups have? The AIR project (= AI-based Recommender for Sustainable Tourism) has answered this question comprehensively in the latest short report for sele...
05.06.2024
The dynamic and rapid progress in digital development is leading to a continuous change in the opportunities and requirements for destination management organizations (DMOs). The Smart Destination 2024 guide and updated self-checks for the Smart Dest...
23.05.2024
In close cooperation with DI Tourismusforschung, the Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit, Verkehr, Technologie und Tourismus des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, under the direction of Claus Ruhe Madsen, published a “Leitfaden Akzeptanz” (Accept...
14.05.2024
Some destinations in German tourism have already set out on the path to becoming a Smart Destination. A research cooperation between the German Institute for Tourism Research (DI Tourismusforschung) and Tourismus NRW e.V. is supporting them in their ...
10.04.2024
DI Tourismusforschung publishes the results of the study “The dream destinations of Germans”. The results provide insights into Germans’ dream destinations and show where dreams and reality differ.
In a survey representative of the ...
04.03.2024
Since the early 2000s, hiking has been considered ‘in’ and is described as an activity with a positive, modern image. But is this still true today and what concrete image do Germans actually have of hikers? What characteristics are ascri...
21.02.2024
As part of the project “AI-based Recommender for Sustainable Tourism (AIR)”, the DI Tourismusforschung of the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences has been working on digital visitor management with a large number of nationwide par...
15.02.2024
The German Institute for Tourism Research at the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences is testing a tourism dashboard in cooperation with Wangerland. The aim is to support and further develop the tourism offer in the region.
Dashboards are pow...
15.01.2024
How do Germans rate their quality of life and what contribution does tourism make to the perceived quality of life in their own place of residence – these are the central questions addressed by the Quality of Life and Tourism project of the Ger...
03.12.2023
The German Institute for Tourism Research of the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, the Tourist Service GmbH Deidesheim and the city of Deidesheim celebrated the tenth anniversary of their successful cooperation from November 8 to November ...
07.11.2023
The German Institute for Tourism Research presented the results of a scientific study on the demand for coach travel in Germany at the Annual General Meeting of the Federal Association of German Bus and Coach Companies (bdo) in Berlin. In addition to...
01.11.2023
Professor Dr. Sven Groß (Harz University of Applied Sciences) joins the German Institute for Tourism Research. His election as a so-called Fellow is an important development step for the institute: Groß is the first member to be appointed by another ...
24.10.2023
For many guests, a vacation in Schleswig-Holstein also means a vacation in a vacation home – whether rented or privately as a second home. The results of the Tourism Acceptance Study Schleswig-Holstein 2022 show that the number of second home o...
22.10.2023
Nature and Tourism Symposium under the motto “Sustainability is the new normal” The Nature and Tourism Symposium will once again take place in Westerland/Sylt on November 2, 2023. The event is being organized by the Schleswig-Holstein Wad...
11.10.2023
10th anniversary of the cooperation between FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences and the city of Deidesheim The German Institute for Tourism Research based at FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, the city of Deidesheim and Tourist Serv...
26.09.2023
On November 30, 2023, the Tourism Day Schleswig-Holstein will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. with a subsequent supporting program in the Eckernförde town hall. Under the motto “The tourism high in the north – setting the course fo...
25.09.2023
For twelve years now, the market research managers of the state tourism organizations of the federal states, together with the Deutscher Tourismusverband and the German National Tourist Board, have regularly exchanged views on issues relating to tour...
07.09.2023
Erich Schmidt Verlag (ESV) has published the anthology “Resilienz als Erfolgsfaktor im Tourismus. Beiträge aus Wissenschaft und Praxis zur Entwicklung von Destinationen”, Volume 2 of the publication series of the German Institute for Tour...
07.09.2023
Christian Antz is an art historian and cultural manager. He has been head of department at the Ministry of Economics and Labor of Saxony-Anhalt in Magdeburg since 1998 and an honorary professor at FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences in Heide ...
04.09.2023
For the third time, those involved in the nationwide research project “AI-based Recommender for Sustainable Tourism (AIR)” are inviting people to a public discussion on the topic of digital visitor guidance. All interested destinations an...
04.09.2023
In recent months, four guidebooks on digital visitor management have already been published as part of the research project “State-wide digital visitor management for tourism in Schleswig-Holstein (LAB-TOUR SH)”. Now that the project has ...
01.09.2023
Reinhard Meyer, Minister of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labor of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and honorary president of the Deutscher Tourismusverband, visited the DI Tourismusforschung at FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences...
03.08.2023
North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, and FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences have been cooperating closely for many years. In addition to student semesters abroad, the focus is on joint research projects. To this end, Heide ...
31.07.2023
With “Gardens and their Guests”, the German Institute for Tourism Research at the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences presents a comprehensive insight into the world of gardens and parks as well as garden tourism. Editor Professor...
25.07.2023
The project term of the research project “State-wide digital visitor management for tourism in Schleswig-Holstein (LAB-TOUR SH)” expired at the end of June and the project has continued to run at full speed in recent weeks. The aim was to...
23.06.2023
Quality of life is a subjectively perceived and complex construct that is influenced by a variety of factors – this was also shown in the results of the regression analyses that were carried out as part of the pilot study on quality of life and...
17.05.2023
The nationwide joint project “AI-based Recommender for Sustainable Tourism (AIR)” has been dealing with digital visitor management in tourism since the beginning of 2022 and is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Co...
15.05.2023
The interest of Germans in camping and caravanning is unbroken – after the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, the simultaneity of other crises (war in Ukraine, inflation, climate change) cannot affect this. Following an initial study in 2021 on ca...
12.05.2023
A group of students from the International Tourism Management Master’s program at the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences recently visited the NORDPFADE hiking region. As part of a case study project in the current summer semester, the ...
06.05.2023
After the first guidebook on digital visitor management was published a few weeks ago, the second guidebook on “Data generation as the basis for digital visitor management” has now been published as part of the research project “Sta...
05.05.2023
In times of overcrowding, successful visitor management is essential for destination management organizations in order to promote sustainable tourism development. The German Institute for Tourism Research (DI Tourismusforschung) and its partners have...
02.05.2023
For almost a year and a half, the participants in the nationwide research project “AI-based Recommender for Sustainable Tourism (AIR)” have been working together on digital possibilities to avoid the temporary overloading of travel and ex...
13.03.2023
The research project “State-wide digital visitor management for tourism in Schleswig-Holstein (LAB-TOUR SH)” has set itself the overarching goal of designing and, as far as possible, implementing an effective state-wide digital visitor ma...
09.03.2023
“How does digital visitor management work?” – This was the question posed by the speakers and over 200 participants during a webinar on the topic of “Sea of data in mountain tourism”. The webinar was organized by CIPRA I...
17.02.2023
Against the backdrop of multiple crises (COVID-19, war in Ukraine, climate change, inflation), there is much discussion about possible adjustments in travel behavior. Long-haul destinations such as South Africa in particular appear to be becoming les...
13.02.2023
The research project “AI-based Recommender for Sustainable Tourism (AIR)” aims to research, develop, implement and evaluate AI-based procedures. These should help to avoid the temporary overloading of travel and excursion destinations thr...
31.01.2023
Now it’s official: The editors of the Journal of Information Technology and Tourism (JITT) have awarded the article “Assessing pre-travel online destination experience values of destination websites: scale development and validation”...
29.01.2023
It’s that time again – registrations for Barcamp Tourism 2023 are now open and the main theme of this year’s event is the image of the tourism industry. Value creation, attractiveness of the region, maintenance and expansion of infr...
23.01.2023
At the German Institute for Tourism Research at FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences in Heide/Holstein, a
Consultant position (m/f/d) for research projects and projects in tourism with a focus on innovative research methods (1.0 position)
...
18.01.2023
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences is once again hosting the ‘Forum: Digitalization’ again. The topic of driver assistance systems, itself part of the digital transformation...
11.01.2023
The English-language anthology entitled “Towards Sustainable and Resilient Tourism Futures”, which has just been published by Erich Schmidt Verlag (ESV) and forms the first Volume of the publication series of the German Institute for Tour...
19.12.2022
Destination managers are increasingly recognizing that it is necessary for successful destination development to take into account the attitudes of residents towards tourism in their place of residence. Tourism development that is supported by all st...
16.12.2022
The Airbnb booking platform has become a relevant booking channel in tourism worldwide. In view of the diverse socio-economic effects of the platform, knowledge of the spatial location of the Airbnb offer is of great importance. To date, there has be...
14.12.2022
The 25th Annual Conference of the German Society for Tourism Science (DGT) took place in Bern from 8 to 10 December 2022 on the topic of “Tourism and green transformation – aspects of tourism in the transition to climate neutrality”...
12.12.2022
On 5.12.2022, around 100 participants accepted the joint invitation from the Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit, Verkehr, Technologie und Tourismus des Landes Schleswig-Holstein and the German Institute for Tourism Research to attend the “Sympo...
29.11.2022
Following the positive feedback from participants at the two previous seminars in 2019 and 2022, the successful series of this event format will be repeated in February 2023 and now offers interested parties the opportunity to take part in the Deutsc...
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events
16.09.2026
Veranstaltungsort:
FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, Fritz-Thiedemann-Ring 20, 25746 Heide
The overarching theme of CBTS 2026, "From Consumption to Contribution: Social Dimensions of Tourist Behavior", invites presentations on a wide range of perspectives related to social sustainability and consumer behavior in tourism.