On World Tourism Day: "I wouldn't describe tourism as a bringer of peace"

"I wouldn't describe tourism as a bringer of peace," says Harald Pechlaner. "If you look at the protests in many places around the world, you can see that social conflicts can very easily be ignited by tourism. One example is the acute shortage of living space." Pechlaner sees digitalization and the ability to easily rent out private living space for short periods as one reason for this. This clashes with the local demand for apartments. As a consequence, in regions with a high intensity of tourism, employees in the tourism industry would also find it difficult to find affordable housing.

The tourism professor does not see this development as a threat to the industry, but rather as a "gift": "These conflicts force tourism to critically reflect. Tourism must finally take on more responsibility for society and play a leading role in solving the major challenges." Pechlaner fears that global tourism will continue to increase massively. It is therefore not easy for tourism to "free itself from the self-perception of a fair-weather industry and turn travel into something special that can make an important contribution to overcoming crises."

However, more conscious travel could actually contribute to peace in the world, the key being "slower and longer travel". The motto of World Tourism Day "Tourism & Peace" can be fruitful as a vision in this sense: "Tourism can be a leading industry for the implementation of sustainability in the vast majority of areas of society, with the aim of eliminating economic and social inequalities and creating justice. This is a central foundation for peace"