Thinking tourism ahead – workshops with representatives of local politics in the Giessener Lahntäler

Around two years after the official launch of the Giessener Lahntäler Tourism Working Group, local politicians from the region were invited to find out about strategies, projects and development opportunities and to consider together what is needed to further promote tourism in the northern district.

The six municipalities, together with Anna Erb, project officer of the tourism working group and Philipp Borchardt, managing director of the Lahntal Tourismus Verband e.V., had invited to Buseck to take stock of the previous LEADER-funded start-up phase and to explore new perspectives. In addition to the mayors, elected representatives from all municipalities met and were first given an insight into the work of the past two years.

There were many positive things to report, such as the development of the tourist website for the region (www.giessener-lahntaeler.de) and the new logo, the introduction of a destination management system, which significantly simplifies the maintenance and display of information, or the establishment of the cultural network and the resulting event format “Kultur im Fluss”. However, a critical look was also taken at what has not yet been achieved. It was noted that not all citizens of the region have yet realized that a tourism working group exists and has actively started its work. “Further work is needed to make the newly created brand visible to the outside world,” Erb notes. Also reaching and integrating the service providers, such as gastronomy, accommodation businesses and leisure providers has not yet gone as desired. Here the project representative hopes also for the assistance of the municipalities and the people, who live in it. “Be an ambassador yourself and talk to the landlord or landlady about the Giessen Lahn valleys the next time you visit your favorite local restaurant. In the everyday working life the topic goes under with many.” Despite all self-criticism, the previous work of the Tourist Working Group and the development of the region was repeatedly praised by the Lahntal Tourismus Verband during the evening as an example of best practice. “It is remarkable what has been implemented in such a short time,” Philipp Borchardt summed up.

Borchardt also provided comprehensive information about the changes in tourism over the past few years and showed that new opportunities are emerging today thanks to a wide variety of transformation processes, such as digitalization. But the stakeholders have also changed. Not only guests should feel comfortable on site. Maintaining the quality of life for local residents and improving the quality of the location for companies are also key aspects. It became clear that the manifold tasks cannot be mastered without a network and the cooperation with all functional partners and the respective destination.

Afterwards, in two moderated working groups on the topics of “Organization” and “Infrastructure”, the mandate holders were able to jointly consider how tourism in the region should be further developed in the future. All agreed that cooperation and exchange between the municipalities should be further intensified.

The next step is to invite and inform the service providers. “We hope for a lively participation,” said Erb.

Your contact person:

Anna Erb
Project representative TAK Giessener Lahntäler
E-mail: anna.erb@giessener-lahntaeler.de
Phone: 06407 9109-27 | 0157 3201 6097