Quality Standards and Measures Required To Improve the State of the Tourism Industry In the East German Federal States Final Report Executive Summary Research Assignment Z 6 – 10.08.06.1.17 Submitted by: The Prof. Dr. Albrecht Steinecke, Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dieter Quack & Dipl.-Geogr. Peter Herrmann Study Group Paderborn/Goslar/Trier November 2004 Research project commissioned by the German Federal Office of Construction and Regional Planning, Bonn conducted by: The Prof. Dr. Albrecht Steinecke, Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dieter Quack & Dipl.-Geogr. Peter Herrmann Study Group with the collaboration of Aline Albers, M.A. Dipl.-Geogr. Matthias Beier Dipl.-Geogr. Daniel Demler Dipl.-Geogr. Miriam Dubois Dipl.-Geogr. Nicole Wittersheim Research Assignment Z 6 – 10.08.06.1.17 _________________________________________________________________________________ Preface In May 2004, within the scope of the "Aufbau Ost" ("Rebuilding of East Germany“) project coordinated by the German Federal Office of Construction and Regional Planning (BBR), the undersigned were asked to conduct a research project on the "Quality Standards and Meas- ures Required to Improve the State of the Tourism Industry in the East German Federal States (Z6 – 10.08.06.1.17)“. The project focused on the following questions: 1. Which mutual interactions between the factors that determine how tourism develops led to the current situation? 2. Taking particular account of price/performance ratios, which quality standards are relevant to which target groups, both at present and in the future? 3. What measures, or packages of measures, are taking effect in which regions, and for which target groups? From the very start, the client and contractor were in agreement that a complex project of this nature could only be successfully conducted on the basis of ongoing, trustful feedback be- tween all the project partners. The authors would therefore like to express their particular gratitude to Dr. Maretzke (BBR Bonn) and Mr. Mattern (Federal Ministry of Transport, Build- ing and Housing (BMVBW), Berlin) for their trust and constructive participation in the project's success. Paderborn/Goslar/Trier, November 2004 Prof. Dr. Albrecht Steinecke Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dieter Quack Dipl.-Geogr. Peter Herrmann __________________________________________________________________________________________ Arbeitsgemeinschaft Prof. Dr. Albrecht Steinecke; Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dieter Quack & Dipl.-Geogr. Peter Herrmann Geheimrat-Ebert-Straße 8 D-38640 Goslar Research Assignment Z 6 – 10.08.06.1.17 1 _________________________________________________________________________________ 1 Assignment All over the world, tourism is considered to be a growth market that has great significance for regional development. In some East German regions, tourism has now become one of the most important branches of the economy. Within the framework of this project, an investiga- tion was conducted into the connections between general underlying conditions, the devel- opment of tourism thus far, and the standards of quality that are required in the future. Deficiencies in the supply and marketing of East German destinations have already been identified, which represent possible starting points for measures that could lead to improve- ments in the following areas: - service quality (hospitality, cleanliness, safety, food), - infrastructure facilities oriented to specific target groups, - strengthening of "green" (sustainable) tourism, - price/performance ratios in hotel and restaurant facilities. However, in order to design measures for improving standards that are specific to certain target groups and regions, it is essential that a systematic analysis be performed of the con- nections between the general underlying conditions, the development of tourism thus far, and the standards of quality that are required at present and in the future. Against this backdrop, the following key questions emerge within the research context: - Which mutual interactions between the factors that determine how tourism develops (natural/geographical circumstances, trends in demand, measures undertaken by public authorities and/or the business community) led to the current situation? - Taking particular account of price/performance ratios, which quality standards are relevant for which target groups, both at present and in the future? - What measures, or packages of measures, are taking effect in which regions, and for which target groups (development thus far, current situation and future poten- tial)? 2 Methodical Approach In order to analyze this complex relationship of cause and effect, a sample-based approach was chosen, in which four regions are used as case studies. The key criteria for selection were derived from the project assignment itself: specifically, an East-West comparison and a comparison between a successful and a less successful market approach. In order to repro- duce general trends in German tourism (growth on the coast, launch of new regions), two different natural/cultural environments were considered. In order to minimise the influence of additional factors, care was taken in making the selection to ensure that the destinations re- semble each other in as many aspects as possible. The following regions were selected as case studies: __________________________________________________________________________________________ Arbeitsgemeinschaft Prof. Dr. Albrecht Steinecke; Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dieter Quack & Dipl.-Geogr. Peter Herrmann Geheimrat-Ebert-Straße 8 D-38640 Goslar Research Assignment Z 6 – 10.08.06.1.17 2 _________________________________________________________________________________ - the Baltic Sea (Schleswig-Holstein) tourist region, as an example of a coastal region in one of the pre-reunification West German federal states, which has noted a me- dium-term decline in numbers of overnight stays, - the Mecklenburg Baltic Sea coastal tourist region (Mecklenburg-Western Pomera- nia), as an example of a coastal region in former East Germany, which can look back on a successful growth in demand in the 1990s, - the Saarland tourist region, as an example of a former industrial region in pre- reunification West Germany, which is successfully exploiting its potential, - the Niederlausitz (Brandenburg) tourist region, as an example of a former industrial region in the former East Germany, which has so far posted sluggish occupancy rates. The degree to which the significance of tourism varies from region to region is clearly shown in an initial examination of tourist frequency (overnight stays per inhabitant). Tourist Frequency for the Regions under Examination (2003) 20 18.1 15 10.0 10 4.0 5 1.9 1.3 Overnight stays per inhabitant 0 Niederlausitz Saarland FRG Balt. Sea SH Balt. Sea Meck. Source: authors' own calculations based on data from the SAARLAND STATISTI- CAL OFFICE, the Brandenburg State Office for Data Processing and Statistics, the STATISTICAL OFFICE FOR HAMBURG AND SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, and the MECKLENBURG-WESTERN POMERANIA STATISTICAL OFFICE, 2004 Specifically, the analysis was conducted in the following stages: - Analysis of quantitative trends (supply and demand) in the selected regions based on type of accommodation, occupancy rates, number of overnight stays, visitor arri- vals and origin, and tourist frequency (overnight stays per inhabitant). - Analysis of the market approach taken by the regional tourist organisations through a systematic evaluation of brochures, catalogues and Internet homepages. - Evaluation of other sources of information: range of development/promotional activi- ties, DEHOGA classification in the hotel sector, tourism concepts, policy guidelines, etc. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Prof. Dr. Albrecht Steinecke, Prof. Dr. Heinz-Dieter Quack & Dipl.-Geogr. Peter Herrmann Geheimrat-Ebert-Straße 8 D-38640 Goslar Research Assignment Z 6 – 10.08.06.1.17 3 _________________________________________________________________________________ - Expert interviews: using a semi-structured questionnaire, one-on-one interviews were conducted with 20 experts in the regions to discuss a range of topics. - Expert workshop: at a joint workshop, the interviewed experts elaborated numerous proposals for measures, which, within the scope of the research assignment, would seem to be suited to strengthening the competitive position of the East German tour- ist regions. - The extent to which the results of the analysis of the regions considered here are transferable to other tourist regions in the former East German states was investi- gated through a comparison of characteristic features using meaningful indicators. Moving beyond the rankings calculated from this, the regions were subsequently subjected to a cluster analysis, in order to define groups of tourist regions with simi- lar structural features that were as homogenous as possible. 3 Summary of Results • Development of Tourism in the Regions – Figures, Facts, Data The statistical data clearly illustrates how the significance of tourism in the regions varies. The last few years have seen some very diverse trends. In Saarland, the negative impact of the healthcare reforms on health spa tourism was largely compensated for by other seg- ments in subsequent years. In small tourist regions such as Niederlausitz, it is possible to see just how strongly development depends on individual businesses and market segments (camping) and how sensitively demand can react to exogenous factors (catastrophic floods). Over the last few years, Niederlausitz has been one of the few East German