13.06.2022 / Kitzbühel Tourism has been working on the new image of the future of Kitzbühel for over a year together with locals of all ages and professions. The goal: Everyone should love living here - guests, employees and, of course, the people of Kitzbühel themselves.
Kitzbühel Tourism has recognized the global crisis as a huge opportunity and has taken a completely new and unconventional approach in its search for a new image of the future. Because as strong as the established Kitzbühel brand is, "at some point the time comes when you have to actively shape the future because you can no longer live off the past," explains Kitzbühel Tourism Managing Director Dr. Viktoria Veider-Walser.
Kitzbühel's image of the future
How a tourist destination should best position itself and what it stands for is often decided by (external) agencies and consultants. Kitzbühel Tourism, on the other hand, invited all Kitzbühel residents to participate in the process: "Tourism should no longer be seen in isolation, but as a living space for all of us. If we want tourism to be appreciated by everyone, we have to involve everyone", is how Dr. Viktoria Veider-Walser describes the approach.
The interest of locals in getting involved was enormous: 70 Kitzbühel residents from a wide variety of backgrounds and all age groups accepted the invitation to actively work on the new image of the future of their hometown: "Suddenly, the 20-year-old student, the 60-year-old agricultural consultant, the master painter and the hotelier were sitting at the same table with the board of the mountain railroad, the sporting goods retailer and local councillors and had a lively exchange," recalls Karina Toth of the process that began in 2021. "It took almost half a year for everyone to get everything off their chest and get their opinions on Kitzbühel out. Then we started to work constructively on the future."
Five success patterns and a performance core
Many conversations, meetings and sessions later, the group agreed on Kitzbühel's five core areas, so-called success patterns, and a common performance core, which together will form the framework for all future measures and activities. "Brand building is not a sprint, but an endurance sport. Building on an honest analysis, five success patterns were defined over many months, which are then found around a central statement. The great commitment of so many people is really special and shows how important future development is to the people of Kitzbühel," says CEO of Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel Mag. Anton Bodner.
Sports (Outdoor Active) and culinary delights (Culinary Delights) remain key cornerstones, flanked by living sustainable quality (New Premium), networking (Inspiring Networks) and establishing Kitzbühel as a vacation and retreat location where work can be done anywhere in peace and quiet if necessary (Best Workation Experience in the Alps). Although many of these points have been practiced in Kitzbühel for decades, the focus is now to be placed even more consistently on the individual areas. Five focus groups are currently working on the tangible and visible implementation, each of which will present up to three projects in July that are to be premiered this year. One could experience first ideas already in the previous year in our city, so for instance "KITZ Kulinarik meets Piemont" in the autumn or "PURA VIDA" in, July and August. The joint project between young restaurateurs and retailers to revitalize Kitzbühel's city center will again take place every Thursday this summer.
Everything that emerges from this new image of the future of Kitzbühel Tourism serves one purpose: to make Kitzbühel even more attractive as a place to live (My preferred Place for Being) - for guests as well as for locals, second-homers and employees.
You can find all information about Destination Kitzbühel at www.kitzbuehel.com
Presserückfragen: Mag. (FH) Anna Lena Obermoser, MA
a.obermoser@kitzbuehel.com | presse.kitzbuehel.com | +43 5356 66660-16
