Community participation in the Wilder Kaiser region

In the spring of 2021, the tourist board took advantage of the current moment to deal in depth with the topic of "sustainability" internally. Exciting speakers were invited to weekly digital brunches, and the participants reflected on their own activities in the field of ecological, economic and social sustainability.

Inevitably, the Strategy 2024 was also reviewed for its validity and to see where it needed to be more sharply focussed. During this workshop series, all employees of the tourist board as well as interested parties from the tourism businesses in the region participated and discussed under the professional moderation of Kristina Sommerauer and Alexander Hader. The result was an update of our Strategy 2024.

Additionally, concrete projects in various thematic areas, such as the lessening of individual traffic or the reduction of waste, were also initiated and will be implemented in the coming months.

The crisis caused by Covid-19 has lead to significant change for us and our environment. Especially in a region that is strongly characterised by tourism, it has become abundantly clear that things have changed dramatically overnight.

Therefore, in autumn 2020, it was a matter of concern for the Wilder Kaiser tourist board to reflect on the current situation and mood together with community members and decision-makers in the region and to work out together in which areas we want to return to “the way things were," in which areas we need to slow down or speed up our efforts, and where we need completely new approaches in the future.

During a full-day forum at the Kaiserlodge in Scheffau on Friday, 18 September 2020, approx. 30 lively participants (under the professional moderation of Kristina Sommerauer and Alexander Hader) addressed the question: "How do we define quality of life in the Wilder Kaiser region in the future and how do we make the most of the chance to change tourism in a sustainable way?"

As part of a joint dialogue and subsequent group work, exciting approaches and concrete ideas were developed from the different perspectives and experiences, which were also reflected in an "Update" to the "Strategy 2024" as part of the "Quality of Life in the Wilder Kaiser region" project.