(Tourism) acceptance cluster of the local population presented at symposium “Tourism in harmony with the locals”

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 “Symposium on Tourism in Harmony with the Locals” in Rendsburg. Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen began by emphasizing the role of locals in positive tourism development, describing them as the “calling cards” of destinations. In her welcoming address, Prof. Dr. Anja Wollesen, Vice President of the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences, pointed out that it is now the task of the tourism players to find out what is needed in the respective destination from the locals’ point of view – after all, in addition to the destinations where it is felt that the load limit has at least been reached, there are also numerous places where there is a desire for “more tourism”. As a result, balanced tourism development could be sought throughout the country. Norbert Kunz, Managing Director of the Deutscher Tourismusverband (DTV), reminded the audience that the tourism sector is much more than just an economic indicator. Therefore, alternative key figures are also needed in the measurement and orientation of tourism development projects, which enable a holistic view of tourism. Dr. Sabrina Seeler (German Institute for Tourism Research) then presented initial results from the project “Acceptance Cluster SH based on the Tourism Acceptance Study Schleswig-Holstein 2022”. The interim results presented show that five types of acceptance can be identified in Schleswig-Holstein, which can be differentiated by different attitudes towards tourism in one’s own place of residence. At around 50%, a considerable proportion of the population can be assigned to the “indifference” acceptance type. There was a consensus that addressing this group and demonstrating the tourism-induced benefits to them is a key future task for tourism stakeholders in the state. Over the course of the day, various stakeholders were given the opportunity to present their perspectives and highlight projects on the topic of “tourism in harmony with the locals”. It was not only important to look at the topic from different perspectives, but also to think outside the box – how do colleagues from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony deal with the topic and what measures have already been taken here? This was followed by an interactive coffee break to collect ideas on how the five types of acceptance identified can be reached in the future – whether in the form of ambassador campaigns to give a voice to those who are already very committed to tourism in the state, “only-we-places” for locals or fireside chats with locals who are not yet fully aware of the importance of tourism. The numerous ideas and inspirations will now be processed and deepened in order to derive concrete options for action. Presentation: Acceptance clusters of the local population of Schleswig Holstein – results of the tourism acceptance study Schleswig Holstein 2022