60 participants present

Tyrol: Visitor guidance was the focus of IT Talk

The Villa Blanka Event Center was the venue for the IT talk on visitor management in tourism regions.(Bild: Die Fotografen)

The software company General Solutions invited 60 people to the Villa Blanka Event Center for an IT talk. The focus was on the topic of visitor guidance in tourism regions. An expert gave a practical example.

The IT Talk, initiated by software company General Solutions, took place for the third time in a row. Around 60 representatives from tourism, business and technology discussed the topic of visitor guidance at the Villa Blanka Event Center. The tenor: especially in heavily frequented places, there is no way around the guidance of cyclists, mountaineers and other recreational athletes. "Many of these groups can be reached with digital solutions," says Florian Falkner, Managing Director of Generals Solutions.

On peak days, we counted 18,000 visitors with a population of just 650. We had to act.

Silke Stabinger

Parking lot booking system and access restrictions
Silke Stabinger, Managing Director of the Prague Tourism Association in South Tyrol, provides an insight into how this can work: "On peak days, we counted 18,000 visitors with just 650 inhabitants. We had to take action. In 2020, we therefore started to limit the number of people at the lake at any one time to 4,000."

A parking space booking system and access restrictions were introduced for this purpose. "In retrospect, these steps were right and important," emphasizes Stabinger.

Restrictions yes, but only with moderation and purpose
However, it is important not to impose too many restrictions. Klaus Pietersteiner from the Office of the Tyrolean Provincial Government says: "Visitor guidance measures that don't involve pointing fingers tend to work better. People need to understand why they shouldn't do something."

The creation of sufficient offers is important in this respect: Starting with routes for ski tourers through to hiking trails. As these infrastructures are repeatedly exposed to extreme weather events, tourists need to be informed quickly about any closures. "Digital tools are a good instrument for real-time communication."