10 years of successful cooperation: FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, Tourist Service GmbH Deidesheim and the town of Deidesheim celebrate their anniversary

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 10, 2023 as part of the 6th Deidesheim Talks on Tourism Science and extended the existing cooperation agreement. Manfred Dörr (Mayor of Deidesheim), Prof. Dr. Bernd Eisenstein (Director of the German Institute for Tourism Research), Stefan Wemhoener (Managing Director of Tourist Service GmbH Deidesheim) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Wiemers (Vice President of FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences) signed the extension of the cooperation between the three partners in the council chamber of Deidesheim town hall on 10.11.2023. Since 2013, the cooperation has been characterized by a close exchange. The Deidesheim Talks on Tourism Science are an integral part of the cooperation and have been held in Deidesheim every two years since then. The concept of the Deidesheim Talks on Tourism Science is something special: it is a conference to which academics and practitioners are specifically invited. This creates a platform for both highly focused and open-ended discussions – a benefit for science and practice alike. In the anniversary year 2023, the focus topics of the previous events were taken up again, developments were examined and current issues were addressed. Prof. Dr. Bernd Eisenstein and Christian Eilzer led through the program. The individual sessions were led by the participants and focused on topics such as accessibility, sustainability, experiences, resilience, artificial intelligence (AI), quality of life and tourism. On the first day of the event, Olav Clemens, for example, shed light on the topic of reader travel and its potential for small and medium-sized tour operators. Ann-Kathrin Klinger and Prof. Dr. Thomas Wiemers also gave a presentation on the use of AI in visitor guidance. On the second and third day of the event, the agenda included topics such as crowding and digital visitor management (Prof. Dr. Julian Reif), sustainable mobility in rural areas (Prof. Dr. Werner Gronau and Prof. Dr. Sven Groß) and experiential values of destinations on LMO websites (Prof. Dr. Anne Köchling). In the public part of the conference, moderated by Dr. Tim Harms and Manfred Dörr, the participants of the Deidesheim Talks discussed tourism acceptance and the influence of tourism on the quality of life in Deidesheim with the interested public. Dr. (AUT) Sabrina Seeler from the German Institute for Tourism Research gave an introductory presentation on quality of life and tourism, the findings of which were explored in greater depth in a subsequent panel discussion. The pleasing result: the residents of the town show a high level of acceptance for tourism, which indicates a positive development and integration of tourism into the community. The 6th Deidesheim Talks on Tourism Science were not only a review of ten years of successful cooperation, but also an outlook on future challenges and opportunities in the tourism sector. The German Institute for Tourism Research at FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, the City of Deidesheim and Tourist Service GmbH Deidesheim would like to thank all participants and Scientific instructors for their committed participation and valuable contributions and look forward to continuing this successful collaboration.