Fans of Linz

11.05.2007

The English version will be posted shortly.

ExpertInnen aus den Bereichen Kultur und Experts in cultural fields and tourism professionals discussed how Linz should go about getting ready for the Capital of Culture year.

What preparations does the city have to make in order to attract large numbers of tourists to Linz in 2009 and, at the same time, be prepared to successfully host such throngs once they arrive? Linz09 Deputy Artistic Director Ulrich Fuchs, Klaus Sondergeld of Bremen Marketing GmbH, Nicola Egger, manager of the Landgraf Hotel, Gunda Grabner, a professional tourist guide, and Manfred Grubauer, chairman of the Linz Tourism Association, recently got together to discuss this issue.

The combined impact of Linz’s tourism strategies and infrastructural upgrades will be to significantly enhance the city’s attractiveness and to increase the number of inbound tourists. Linz09 Financial Director Walter Putschögl emphasized that an essential part of this package of measures is to provide training for those locals who will be coming into personal contact with tourists: taxi drivers, hotel and restaurant personnel, sales people and official information bureau staffers. A key aspect is shifting the emphasis currently on business tourism to cultural tourism. Since Linz is not a classic tourist destination, as Klaus Sondergeld noted, there’s a need to create attractive occasions that draw guests to Linz. The overall goal for the time leading up to 2009 as well as for the years that follow is that every tourist who stops by ought to leave town as a fan of Linz and thus someone who’s already looking forward to a repeat visit.