Reform process underway

Tourism: “Historic opportunity to make a big splash”

Whether cycling, hiking trails or other infrastructure: the WKK wants a fund(Bild: Wallner Hannes)

The Carinthian Tourism Act has not been reformed for 14 years - this is set to change this year. The WK has suggestions.

"We don't want a small reform, but a big change in Carinthian tourism," agree Chamber of Commerce officials Josef Petritsch (tourism) and Stefan Sternad (gastronomy). As reported, a work process for a major tourism reform has been underway for months, which includes a restructuring of the tourism organizations, a clear distribution of tasks between the units and an increase in taxes.

Sternad, Petritsch & Kuttnig present the demands(Bild: ©HelgeBauer)

On Friday, the chamber presented its proposals: "Carinthia has lost its desirability, last year our province recorded 13.14 million overnight stays - 45 years ago it was almost 19 million," warns Petritsch. Lean, agile and efficient tourism is needed. If the Chamber of Commerce has its way, there should therefore only be thematically and spatially matching "multi-community experience areas" in addition to the state tourism organization in the future - the number is still unclear, but there is talk of nine to twelve. There are also calls for a tourism infrastructure fund, which is to be financed partly by the public sector and partly by the visitor's tax - which is what the merger of local and overnight tax will ultimately be called.

Success factors for Carinthia
Wolfgang Kuttnig, Managing Director of the Tourism and Leisure Industry Division, also advocates proper data management: "Tourism must be managed on the basis of data. This is the only way Carinthia can react strategically to market changes." This would also allow financial resources to be targeted at potential markets. Meanwhile, Sternad remains true to his themes and criticizes the excessive bureaucracy and the tax and reporting system, which are a burden on entrepreneurs.

Reform plans could still be ready this year
The reform plans are already remarkably detailed; if everything goes as planned, the necessary legislative changes could be submitted for review before the summer. "Hopefully no one will lose heart," concludes Petritsch. At least Carinthia's tourism councillor Sebastian Schusching has given positive signals regarding the reform.