Resilient tourism

In recent decades, tourism has developed into a fast-growing and dynamic economic sector, both as a driver for the development of the Alpine regions in Salzburg-Tyrol-Bavaria and as an engine for the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in tourism. For a long time, the tourism industry was considered a crisis-proof sector with many small and often family-run businesses, but the industry has been particularly hard hit by the measures relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tourism companies, their employees, regional institutions and tourism associations suffered considerably from a lack of crisis resilience.

The Resilient Tourism project aims to implement initiatives to increase crisis resilience in the destinations in the project regions of Bavaria, Tyrol and Salzburg. Relevant stakeholders are involved at different levels. At macro level, it is the destinations in which the tourism businesses and associations are embedded; at micro level, it is in particular the employees who work in the tourism businesses. Developing their resilience skills and capabilities, as well as those of the tourism businesses and associations, is a key objective of the project. As a result, economic and employment development in the tourism industry should be strengthened. Targeted support is essential in the context of the diverse challenges: From coping with the post-pandemic phase, the associated shortage of skilled workers and digitalization to the transformation towards sustainable and climate-neutral tourism. Only resilient companies will be better able to face future environmental changes and react better in crisis situations.