Over Tourism
More and more people are traveling more often, further and for shorter periods of time. What impact do our vacation wishes have on the built environment, the social fabric and climate change? And how can we imagine tourism that does not destroy what it thrives on?
Tourism has been continuously intensifying for decades and has become an integral part of our Western lifestyle. It has brought added value, prosperity and cosmopolitanism to even the most remote areas and thus prevented migration. This is the sunny side of tourism. On the downside, there are negative effects such as crowds, major environmental impacts and rising land prices.
Tourist hotspots are suffering from the influx of visitors, while other places are being left behind. Communities are conflicted: on the one hand they benefit from tourism, on the other hand they increasingly notice undesirable side effects. And considering that tourism depends on the climate more than other economic sectors, it is surprising that climate change is often still a marginal issue here. Using clear illustrations, examples and data, the exhibition shows, among other things: the interaction between tourism and economic growth, increasing CO2 emissions or the displacement of the local population through escalating housing and living costs - even since tourist accommodation is increasingly becoming an investment property.
How can we rethink tourism and steer it into more sustainable directions in times of climate crisis, wars, the threat of further pandemics, a shortage of skilled workers and an ongoing energy crisis? What role do spatial planning and architecture play in this? The exhibition highlights central aspects of tourism such as mobility, city tourism, interactions with agriculture, climate change, the privatization of natural beauty and changes in accommodation typologies and examines the question of whether and how tourism development is planned. Above all, the exhibition looks for transformation potential. Many travelers do not like to see themselves as part of the mass tourism phenomenon, and doubts about the climate compatibility of our travel behavior are becoming increasingly louder.
A large number of initiatives have recently emerged that promote a different approach to nature, the local population, the climate, cities and villages or mobility. Local and international examples present groundbreaking solutions. Planning concepts from different countries invite a strategic comparison. Numerous successful examples whet the appetite for a type of vacation that no longer exclusively follows consumption and the growth paradigm. The central question remains: How can we imagine a tourism that no longer destroys what it thrives on?