Dörte Kasüske, Consultant at mascontour GmbH: "Sustainability in German Tourism Destinations" Dörte Kasüske is a consultant at mascontour GmbH, a Berlin-based consultancy that aims linking tourism and sustainability management innovatively and consistently. mascontour was founded in 2005. Since then the company has successfully implemented over 100 tourism projects in more than 30 countries. mascontour works at local, regional, national and international levels. Clients include destination management organisations, tourism businesses, development organisations and tourism policy makers. Being part of mascontour's interdisciplinary team Dörte was involved in tourism projects in Germany, India and Myanmar. Besides working as a consultant, Dörte is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Geography/University of Cologne. Her research focuses on value chains in tourism. Sustainability in German tourism destinations A nationwide, exclusive online survey conducted by mascontour GmbH in cooperation with ITB Berlin in 2014/2015 analysed sustainable tourism in German holiday destinations for the first time. The study took a look at understanding the importance of sustainability, responsibilities and commitment, implementation and need for action from the perspective of destinations. The result: sustainability can no longer be ignored in German tourism.

1. © mascontour GmbH 2015
Sustainability in
German Tourism Destinations
Presentation of the Study Results
Dörte Kasüske, Consultant at mascontour GmbH
Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin1 18 June 2015

2. © mascontour GmbH 20152
Background
§ Tourism
des+na+on
development
worldwide
is
guided
more
than
ever
by
the
principle
of
sustainable
development.
§ So
it
is
in
Germany,
where
sustainable
tourism
has
been
a
subject
of
debate
for
about
30
years.
§ Since
years,
market
research
has
suggested
that
sustainable
prac+ces
are
ever
more
important
to
German
travellers.
§ In
the
past,
policymakers,
des+na+ons
and
companies
have
taken
a
variety
of
steps
to
make
tourism
development
in
Germany
more
sustainable.
Sustainable
Tourism
in
Germany
The
ques9on:
What
exactly
can
we
say
about
the
current
state
of
sustainable
tourism
in
Germany?
18 June 2015Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin

3. © mascontour GmbH 20153
How
did
we
design
the
study?
§ Methodology:
Online
survey
§ Dura9on:
November
to
December
2014
§ Topics
discussed:
- Understanding
and
Importance
- Responsibility
and
Commitment
- Implementa+on
- Need
for
Ac+on
§ Target
group:
Des+na+on
management
organisa+ons
of
all
- Federal
states
of
Germany
- Tourism
regions
and
local
tourism
associa+ons
- Ci+es
with
a
popula+on
of
over
100,000
Methodology
and
Sta9s9cs
18 June 2015Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin

4. © mascontour GmbH 2015
Percentage
of
the
Sample
4
430
Popula9on
(respondents)
Sample
(par9cipants)
134
Federal
states:
16
Tourism
regions:
312
Ci9es:
102
Federal
states:
10
Tourism
regions:
93
Ci9es:
31
Methodology
and
Sta9s9cs
Who
par9cipated?
Download the complete study at
www.mascontour.info/befragung/
18 June 2015Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin

5. © mascontour GmbH 20155
Key
Results
–
Understanding
and
Importance
Ques%on:
“From
the
list
below,
please
select
five
terms
that
you
most
associate
with
sustainable
tourism.”
1. The
German
tourism
des9na9ons
have
a
clear
and
comprehensive
understanding
of
what
sustainable
tourism
means.
18 June 2015Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin

6. © mascontour GmbH 20156
Now
In
five
years
Key
Results
–
Understanding
and
Importance
Ques%on:
“How
important
is
sustainability
for
tourism
in…
2. Sustainability
does
not
play
a
major
role
for
German
tourism
des9na9ons
yet,
but
in
their
own
view,
this
is
going
to
change
significantly
in
the
next
few
years.
...Germany
in
general?“
...your
des%na%on?“
18 June 2015Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin

7. © mascontour GmbH 20157
Key
Results
–
Responsibility
and
Commitment
Ques%on:
“In
your
opinion,
which
of
the
following
stakeholders
should
bear
most
of
the
responsibility
for
sustainable
tourism
in
Germany?
Please
rank
the
following
six
actors
according
to
importance.”
Rank
1
Policymakers
2.7*
Rank
2
Tourism
companies
2.9
Rank
3
Des9na9ons
3
Rank
4
Tourism
associa+ons
3.5
Rank
5
Consumers/guests
4.3
Rank
6
Associa+ons
(environmental,
social,
cultural,
etc.)
4.6
*
Average
rank
3. It
is
believed
that
policymakers
should
bear
most
of
the
responsibility
for
sustainable
tourism
development
in
Germany.
18 June 2015Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin

8. © mascontour GmbH 20158
Key
Results
–
Implementa9on
Ques%on:
“Which
of
the
following
ac%vi%es
require
strong
commitment
to
the
promo%on
and/or
implementa%on
of
sustainable
tourism?”
4. The
steps
taken
by
German
des9na9ons
primarily
focus
on
the
conserva9on
and
promo9on
of
tradi9ons,
customs
and
cultural
iden99es
and
on
the
responsible
use
of
cultural
heritage
and
a^rac9ons.
18 June 2015Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin

9. © mascontour GmbH 20159
Key
Results
–
Need
for
Ac9on
5. Altogether,
there
is
believed
to
be
urgent
need
for
implemen9ng
sustainable
tourism.
Some
achievements
have
been
made,
but
there
is
s9ll
a
lot
to
do.
18 June 2015
“In
which
of
the
following
areas
is
in
your
opinion
(s%ll)
urgent
need
to
act
in
order
to
promote
and/or
implement
sustainable
tourism?”
Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin

10. © mascontour GmbH 2015 18 June 2015Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin10
§ BUT 22% of all Germans already consider sustainability aspects when
travelling
§ Additional 61% would like to do so, if…
6. Sustainable
tourism
is
considered
to
be
of
li^le
importance
to
consumers/guests
at
this
point.
*Source: FUR Reiseanalyse 2014
1. there wouldn’t be additional costs
involved
2. sustainable trips would also satisfy
their travel demands
3. they would have more information
4. there would be a sustainability label
5. there would be more offers
6. they would know more about the
benefits of sustainable travel
7. public transport could be assured in the
destinations
8. it wouldn’t be so difficult to find offers
9. travel agencies would offer advices for
sustainable travel
10. there would be sustainable travel
options that perfectly fit their
expectations
…
Key
Results
–
Responsible
tourists

11. © mascontour GmbH 2015
So, what can travellers actually do to travel more responsible?
11
Key
Results
–
Responsible
tourists
Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin 18 June 2015

12. © mascontour GmbH 2015
Thank you!
12 18 June 2015
www.mascontour.info
Sustainable Tourism in German Tourism Destinations @ Sustainability Drinks Berlin