assessment of the correlation of architecture and profitability in the tourism indusry
INITIATORS:
Bundesministerium fĂĽr Wirtschaft und Arbeit
Wirtschaftskammer Ă–sterreich (WIFI)
Vorarlberg Tourismus
Concerning the tourism product development, one has to identify trends and elaborate theirprofitability.
The topics of architecture, culture of construction and design are attracting theattention of the public. However, the innovative potential which lies within contemporaryarchitecture is still hardly used in the tourism industry, although it could benefit the process ofcreating the corporate identity and market position of businesses, villages or destinations.
On the one hand, the tourism industry invests enormous amounts of money in construction anddesign, often without basic architectural reasoning. The function and design of concepts and thestructural alignment of residential areas are not taken into account. What has to be kept in mind isthat buildings constructed in such a manner do shape the landscapes and living environments ofAustrian people, and, in addition, affect the tourist’s perception of such surroundings. Despite theclose collaboration between the business areas of architecture and tourism, no goal setting orstrategic development has taken place so far.For the first time, this study collected data which relates tourism to architecture directly, inorder to integrate those interfaces with conceptual, theoretical and scientific approaches.
The aim is to identify and link economical and cultural demands regarding the Austriantourism architecture.
The main goal is to work out an orientation guide for decision making units in tourism projectdevelopment. The succession of a new generation in tourism businesses has brought about anincreasing interest in innovation and new product design. The opportunity for competitiveadvantage through the implementation of the prior two has been discovered by the newgeneration. Creative and innovative entrepreneurs should be supported and motivated to use
“architecture and design” as an economic success tool.
In the long term, the objective is to bring about sustainable tourism development as wellas the international positioning of Austrian tourism through contemporary architectureand design. Historical buildings are still important signatures as well as highly valued objects;however, contemporary architecture has the ability to extend the cultural offers of Austria
continuously.
In the download section of our homepage, you will find a short version of our research paper „Architecture Attracts Visitors“ (in German). You can order the full version on www.studien.at.