This thesis analyzes which one of the two Federal States mentioned has better tourist resources and which one fails in bailing the whole tourist potential. First of all some general facts about the German tourism will be presented to frame the overall picture. The theoretical part gives a definition of the expression “destination” and explains the tasks of a destination management which will then give the basis to achieve better understanding of the concrete discussion later on. At this point Steinecke’s remarks to this topic will be put a special attention to. Going on with a description of the natural location conditions of the two mentioned tourist destinations will make the incentives obvious to come to visit the Northern part of Germany.
In detail the location and the population will be described and similarly the local importance of tourism will be made clear by presenting the numbers of visitors. Furthermore the fundamental knowledge will be applied to discuss the current operational state. Therefore the infrastructure, arranged events, the special offers for a family, an active or a wellness vacation will be presented and compared. In addition to that the important tourist websites will be shed light on to eventually result in an overall argumentation presented in a SWOT-analysis. Afterwards it will be made clear that on a certain level a competition is realistic and good and that the two destinations have understood that there are levels where they should rather act like partners instead of offenders. Finally this assignment will give suggestions to improve the current operational state and then be concluded.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Subject and Objectives
1.2 Approach
2. Fundamentals
2.1 The German Tourism – General facts
2.2 What is a “destination”? Definitions and Explanations
2.3 Destination management – Definitions and Explanations
2.3.1 Dr. Albrecht Steinecke’s bricks for a successful destination management
2.3.2 Applying Steinecke’s explanation of destination management to MV and SH
3. The destination Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
3.1 Location
3.2 Landscape
3.3 Population
4. The destination Schleswig-Holstein
4.1 Location
4.2 Landscape
4.3 Population
5. The comparison
5.1 The number of visitors
5.1.1 The number of visitors of MV
5.1.2 The number of visitors of SH
5.1.3 The number of visitors – A comparison
5.2 The Infrastructure
5.2.1 The infrastructure of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
5.2.2 Infrastructure of Schleswig-Holstein
5.2.3 Infrastructure – A comparison
5.3 An update through events
5.3.1 What is an “event”? – Definition and explanation
5.3.2 Events in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
5.3.3 Events in Schleswig-Holstein
5.3.4 Events – A comparison
5.4 Experience orientation by animation
5.4.1 Examples for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
5.4.2 Examples for Schleswig-Holstein
5.5 Family vacation
5.5.1 Family vacation in MV
5.5.2 Family vacation in SH
5.5.3 Family vacation – A comparison
5.6 Active vacation
5.6.1 Active vacation in MV
5.6.2 Active vacation in SH
5.6.3 Active vacation – A comparison
5.7 The focus on “Wellness”
5.7.1 Wellness in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
5.7.2 MV promoting wellness on the internet
5.7.3 Wellness in Schleswig-Holstein
5.7.4 SH promoting wellness on the internet
5.7.5 Wellness – A comparison
5.8 The internet as the new media – structure and evaluation of the important tourist websites
5.8.1 General facts
5.8.2 The analysis
5.8.3 The tourist websites of MV
5.8.4 The tourist websites of SH
5.8.5 The tourist websites – A comparison
6. The SWOT-analysis
6.1 What is a “SWOT-analysis”? A definition
6.2 The SWOT-analysis of the destination MV
6.2.1 Strengths
6.2.2 Weaknesses
6.2.3 Opportunities
6.2.4 Threats
6.3 The SWOT-analysis of the destination SH
6.3.1 Strengths
6.3.2 Weaknesses
6.3.3 Opportunities
6.3.4 Threats
7. The latest cooperation in the tourism sector
8. Suggestions for improvement
9. Conclusion
List of Abbreviations
List of Tables and Figures
List of References
Eidesstattliche Erklärung
Danksagung
1. Introduction
1.1 Subject and Objectives
Competition fills every level of life. It starts with fighting over a toy as a toddler and ends with the death competing against life.
Competition in the world market is important for achieving improvement and innovation. Things only progress, if they are forced to change. As a matter of fact products are re-invented, if they don’t sell and services get more customer-friendly, if they don’t convince.
A market wouldn’t exist, if there wasn’t any competition. The variety of products and services grows out of different suppliers giving similar offers. The motivation to be better than the competitor gives optimal conditions for the customer.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein are such competitors trying to attract a similar target group for a similar product.
That’s why this assignment will apply fundamental tourism knowledge to find out who has more strengths or weaknesses to succeed or fail - Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or its neighbour state Schleswig-Holstein.
The fact that tourism becomes more and more important in the world market is undisputable. Especially locations that succeed in preserving its natural spots are attractive for the tourism industry. Consequently the main income of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein is no longer only based on agriculture but tourism.
Their location at the coast and the beautiful landscape give a promising scenery for a relaxing vacation. Within the last years the two destinations tried to adjust to the increasing demand by improving the tourist infrastructure.
The problem that will be made obvious is that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein are two very similar Federal states engaging themselves in the same market for the same target group.
But despite the fact that they promote the same incentives like the sea, an intact nature and the Northern tradition, the task is to find out about the differences in enticing potential tourists and where those differences result in.
Bordering each other, being situated at the Baltic Sea and both booking an important increase in the meaning of the local tourism industry within the last years give the ideal platform for a competition.
The marketing campaign “MV tut gut” was meant to communicate the strengths and potentials of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. But whether it really manages to be better than Schleswig-Holstein will be made obvious.
The questions this thesis is trying to answer are:
- What is a “destination” and what is “destination management”?
- What are decisive arguments for an attractive tourist destination?
- Why are Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein attractive to the tourists?
- Which one of the two Federal states has the greater tourist potential and which one succeeds in exhausting and promoting it?
1.2 Approach
This thesis analyzes which one of the two Federal States mentioned has better tourist resources and which one fails in bailing the whole tourist potential.
First of all some general facts about the German tourism will be presented to frame the overall picture.
The theoretical part gives a definition of the expression “destination” and explains the tasks of a destination management which will then give the basis to achieve a better understanding of the concrete discussion later on. At this point Steinecke’s remarks to this topic will be put a special attention to.
Going on with a description of the natural location conditions of the two mentioned tourist destinations will make the incentives obvious to come to visit the Northern part of Germany.
In detail the location and the population will be described and similarly the local importance of tourism will be made clear by presenting the numbers of visitors.
Furthermore the fundamental knowledge will be applied to discuss the current operational state.
Therefore the infrastructure, arranged events, the special offers for a family, an active or a wellness vacation will be presented and compared. In addition to that the important tourist websites will be shed light on to eventually result in an overall argumentation presented in a SWOT-analysis.
Afterwards it will be made clear that on a certain level a competition is realistic and good and that the two destinations have understood that there are levels where they should rather act like partners instead of offenders.
Finally this assignment will give suggestions to improve the current operational state and then be concluded.
2. Fundamentals
2.1 The German Tourism – General facts
The Germans are the front-runners in travelling. In 2005 30.4 percent of the German people preferred staying in their own country than travelling to Spain (13.4 percent), Italy (7.7 percent) or Turkey (6.6 percent). Furthermore they spend more money during their holidays than ever – when in 1995 an average of 721 Euro was spent, in 2005 it was 833.[1]
In particular relaxation, recovery and enjoying the nature have constantly been the most favourite holiday motives for years now.[2]
Regarding these facts especially the German tourism industry should be alert and respond to the positive trend which will not stay forever, if it is not cared for.
In 2004 a new peak level was achieved with the incoming tourism and 45.4 million foreign guests (+ 8.8 %) staying overnight. Especially the increase of visitors from the USA, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and China is reflected in the growing trend.[3]
In 1997 Günter Rexrodt concretely named the potentials and weaknesses of the destination Germany:
… regional variety and strong offers in the sectors nature, health, culture and history are the basis for draining off potentials in growth and occupation of the German tourism economy.
Those potentials need to be strengthened. …
A positive development in the position of Germany as a competitor to foreign countries can be enhanced with measures like more offers for target oriented trips, the extension of the infrastructure, the improvement of service oriented mentality as well as the intensification and coordination of marketing activities.
He went on analyzing why people avoided spending their holidays in Germany and preferred travelling to other countries.
The number of international offers of attraction tourist destinations is increasing. With bargain offers for Mallorca or Turkey for Germany it is hard or rather impossible to compete not at last because of the weather. Not only for inlanders, Germany is relatively expensive due to the low prices of airlines and tour operators. Chances for Germany are placed in the quality of the products and services and its national and international presentation. The price-performance ratio must be reasonable. The necessary conditions therefore are customer oriented packages and consciousness for the “customer is king”-principle.[4]
As mentioned before these are words from 1997. But reading looking at the situation now, it hasn’t changed a lot.
Ryanair, Air Berlin or Easy Jet – these are only some names of no-frills airlines offering trips to interesting places in Europe like Paris, Vienna, Madrid for a small amount of money. This option is not only attractive, but a strong competing factor for the German tourism - principally giving the opportunity to go farther away to well-known cultural places for less money than if someone chooses on staying in the home country.
But as Günter Rexrodt also mentioned Germany has potentials in the quality of its products and services, its nature and cultural resources and its good image.
This assignment will proveand describe the potentials on the concrete examples of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein.
2.2 What is a “destination”? Definitions and Explanations
Destination \Des`ti*na"tion\, n. [L. destinatio determination:
cf. F. destination destination.]
1. The act of destining or appointing.
2. Purpose for which anything is destined; predetermined end,
object, or use; ultimate design.
3. The place set for the end of a journey, or to which
something is sent; place or point aimed at.
Syn: Appointment; design; purpose; intention; destiny; lot;
fate; end.[5]
Looking up the word “destination” in the dictionary the description is rational and not very precise. The destination meant in tourism is therefore “The place set for the end of a journey,…”. Undeniably it is the place where the journey ends. Travelling somewhere leads to the destination.
But in tourism this explanation is not enough anymore. A destination is not only some place. As a matter of fact this circumstance must be regarded objectively – for a nature fan a destination can be a deserted area with no hotel or anyone else but him around, but for the average family a destination can rather be a place where everyone can go swimming in the ocean, build sand castles, have other families around and enjoy the facilities of a four-star-hotel.
Nowadays the tourism industry is trying to respond to all the wishes of the potential customer and all the definitions of a destination. Therefore the travellers are divided into certain target groups and the offers are trimmed to please the individual wishes.
The word destination comes from “destiny”, consequently this fact can not be ignored by the traveller or by the destination manager. People on their vacation want to find the place they were meant to be, they want to feel comfortable 24/ 7, for the time of the vacation and even afterwards they want to know that this was predetermined and not regret a bad choice.
For the destination manager the task is to know what the guest expects before the customer even puts it in words. The package shall be complete. The wishes must be corresponded to and the destination shall be put in the brightest light draining off its whole potential.
Another more suitable definition was formulated by Harald Pechlaner in an essay about tourism organisations and destinations published in the book “competition of the destinations” by Fontanari and Scherhag:
Destinations are tourist target areas which offer the guest those products he considers important for his stay.[6] …
Accordingly destinations are spatial defined competition units understood as products or product bundles which are considered determined for the guest’s stay.[7]
Consequently a destination can be analyzed, if the available product bundles that are relevant for the guest are described.
Further on the topic destination management will be analyzed in detail and more theoretically.
2.3 Destination management – Definitions and Explanations
As the author has already mentioned before the fact that claims and expectations continuously rise in tourism is the result of the modern times. Nowadays it is not enough to have the potential to attract the visitor to come to a certain place.
Only a well thought-out promotion campaign and the perfect management of a specific area can eventually reach and attract a big audience and make it become a destination.
Plenty of places are worth to be seen on this planet. The strategy must include the sorting out of unique components which convince the guests and define a destination.
The individuality will lead to the differentiation from the competitor and result in a better position on the market.[8]
Once a destination gives enough incentives for spending a vacation there the process must not stop. Giving perspectives and creating further inducements to enjoy the stay and come back again shall be the duties of a successful destination management.
Destination management is contemporary. The market changes, the competition gets tighter and tourism is more important to some places than ever. Consequently professionals as well as amateurs have been thinking about definitions and the right steps to finally manage a destination.
Especially Austrian assignments can be found on this topic. For example Joachim Renner who won the „Österreichischer Tourismus-Forschungspreis 2003/4“ for his assignment on destination management wrote:
Destination management is the company oriented and market-driven management and controlling of tourist destinations. These shall please all needs and claims - spatial and with regard to the contents - of a market or a target group. This new way of presenting regions and the leadership of tourist organisations shall be an answer of a changing market situation.
The changing market situation is caused by the more travel experienced customer, the global displacement competition as well as the missing global thinking of certain regions. It is necessary to create thinner and economical structures which are flexible enough to respond to changes. [9]
The destination management company Msp-Dortmund brings its own and more commercial interpretation of the concrete tasks and duties on the spot:
Msp GmbH:
“Destination Management is a complex communication process between tourists, the service provider and destination managers.
For the guest a destination is the location of his vacation experience with all its facets whether it is the accommodation or the feeling of success after climbing a mountain. For the service provider the destination is the place of cooperation where his own offers must completely melt together with others. For the destination manager the destination is the experience of a world of brands which must be organized as a product unity from the in- and outside, permanently renewed and formed.
The most important of all three sides is the guest’s one. This is why the production of brands and experience is the central task. Destination management is still always more than only the realization of a concept and more than the management of a region. …
After all, the main goal is to strengthen ones own identity and creativity in the management process, to install a brand in the people’s heads, to “provoke” innovations on the spot, to secure quality and to create efficient enterprising unities.
Only if you stay authentic and reliable you will get a place in the guest’s brand repertoire –as a solid dimension in the guest’s emotional world.”[10]
Demonstrating the complex process resulting from the different views and the handling of a destination by the guest, the service provider and the destination manager this example is predestined for reflecting the various tasks.
2.3.1 Dr. Albrecht Steinecke’s bricks for a successful destination management
A more theoretical explanation of destination management comes from Dr. Albrecht Steinecke (professor at the University of Paderborn) who defines the bricks of a successful regional production as follows:
- the spectacular as the ideal
- a clear theme (a clear profile)
- a continuous management (an overall work of art)
- a well-known director (PR role model)
- a number of multifunctional offers (freedom of choice)
- a privileged access (new privileges)
Apart from that he names the instruments of the production of a destination:
- information brokering by new media
- experience orientation by animation
- an update through events
- achieving aesthetics through design
- an increase in attractiveness through Merchandising
Following these management principles will – according to Steinecke - lead to success.[11]
Further on in this assignment the author will try to apply these theoretical elements to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein.
2.3.2 Applying Steinecke’s explanation of destination management to MV and SH
After what has been found out up to this point, it is now possible to apply Steinecke’s former mentioned theoretical approach to the concrete destinations of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein.
Applying it to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
- The spectacular as the ideal – Becoming spectacular by defining the differences to the competitor like having the longest coastline, the biggest German island, the greatest growth potential in the wellness sector, etc.
- A clear theme (a clear profile) is the “nature”-theme which leads through all campaigns to attract visitors. The untouched and intact countryside is promoted to be the main reason to spend a vacation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
- A continuous management (an overall work of art). Not losing track of this red line is supported by the web designers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (MV-Web), the brochures of the hotels, the creation of package tours broaching the issue of wellness or arranging active vacation. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is promoted to be healthy and curing.
- A well-known director (a promoter). Looking for a well-known promoter of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, one finds the German Chancellor Angela Merkel having her electoral district located here and proving initiative by inviting the President of the United States of America George W. Bush to Stralsund. Albrecht Dürer is another promoter who – as a world-famous artist – drew Greifswald for it was his hometown. But the destination is “directed” by the work of the MV tourism board and the decisions of the local politicians.
- A number of multifunctional offers (freedom of choice). In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania a tourist can enjoy the longest Baltic coastline of Germany, experience history while exploring the old Hanseatic cities like Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund or Greifswald or use the offer of indoor facilities like the famous aquarium in Stralsund or a guided tour through the beautiful castle of Schwerin.
- A privileged access. There are places for privileged people like the oldest coastal resort Heiligendamm which will (including the beach which was open for public until now) probably become accessible for the hotel guests only and not for the tourist anymore. But apart from the high society places Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania grants access to all nature-fans which cherish the beauty of rare green places, which enjoy a silent day in the woods giving the best to protect the countryside and not destroy it.
The instruments of creating a destination:
- Information brokering by new media which is present by using the internet for example to spread details about the destination Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
- Experience orientation by animation while offering special package tours that lead the way to the experience like following Störtebecker’s tracks
- An update through events – events like the Hanse Sail attract people from all over Europe and the concrete offer is different every year
- Achieving aesthetics through design –Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has different logos which recur continuously talking about local tourism
illustration not visible in this excerpt
Figure 1: Logos of the MV tourism taken from http://www.urlaubinmv.de
- An increase in attractiveness through Merchandising – a variety of local products is sold and carries the intended message of health, beauty and pleasure like local food and beverages (i.g. beer from Vielank) or wellness products from the Baltic Sea.
Applying it to Schleswig-Holstein
- The spectacular as the ideal – being spectacular and therefore competitive means standing out from the crowd. Schleswig-Holstein is unique and attractive for it is the only German Federal state with access to both - the North Sea and the Baltic Sea-, as well as a direct access to Denmark.
- A clear theme (a clear profile) – in this case it concentrates on the beautiful Federal state between the seas. Access to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea is advertised and in between the visitor can find a landscape that is not only intact, but manifold.
- A continuous management (an overall work of art) is guaranteed by the Schleswig-Holstein tourism board. Through various websites and catalogues the different target groups are convinced of what makes it worth to travel to Schleswig-Holstein. Especially the work of the federal government must be pointed out as being exemplary.
- A well-known director (a promoter). Not only the works of Theodor Storm have created the direct connection to Schleswig-Holstein, but also the Nobel Prize winner Günter Grass. These are two examples for world-famous people that directly and indirectly promote the region. But also in this case the director can be also named mentioning the Schleswig-Holstein tourism board and the political decision makers.
- A number of multifunctional offers (freedom of choice). In Schleswig-Holstein everything is possible: exploring the tides at the North Sea or enjoying a more gentle breeze at the Baltic Sea, discover the past by visiting the Viking Village Haithabu or check on one’s science knowledge in the modern Phänomenta.
- A privileged access. Schleswig-Holstein grants access to all people that enjoy nature, are interested in culture, love to celebrate and have an understanding for the typical Northern character.
The instruments of creating a destination:
- Information brokering by new media – Schleswig-Holstein uses the internet to distribute certain information
- Experience orientation by animation – depending on the desired experience, everything is possible. Different mottos like “garden tracks between the seas” or “family: more vacation is not possible” shed light on all the activities that can be experienced
- An update through events – on the one hand traditional events like the “Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival” attract former visitors as well as a new audience and create an interesting mixture. On the other hand one-time events like the State Horticultural Show attract people among others that come for only that reason and otherwise may have never booked a vacation in Schleswig-Holstein.
- Achieving aesthetics through design – a visual highlight is the campaign of the Schleswig-Holstein tourism board which combines keywords like “discover” or “enjoy” with a “*” and in the following inform about different mottos like “discovering culture” or “enjoying gourmet food”.
illustration not visible in this excerpt
Figure 2: Pictures of the campaigns of the sh-tourism board taken from www.sh-tourismus.de
- An increase in attractiveness through Merchandising – apart from local specialties like the famous Niederegger Marzipan from Lübeck, merchandising is done by printing shirts with the logos from Flensburg, Kiel, etc. to accomplish identification with the destination which lasts longer than the time of the vacation.
3. The destination Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
A main overview of the location Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein is necessary to understand why they are popular tourist destinations. The author will afterwards filter the strengths and weaknesses to oppose one another.
3.1 Location
The German Federal state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania borders the Baltic Sea in the North, Schleswig-Holstein in the West, Lower Saxony in the Southwest, Brandenburg in the South and Poland in the East.
illustration not visible in this excerpt
Figure 3: The location of MV within Germany taken from www.asb.de/content/ asb_brd/83000i.htm
3.2 Landscape
Its coastline is about 1,700 km long which means that it has the longest coastline of all Federal states of Germany. The major part belongs to the Pomeranian Bodden.
The biggest islands of this Northern Federal state are Rugia, Usedom, Poel and Hiddensee and its most important peninsula is Fischland-Darß-Zingst.
Müritz and the Schweriner See are the biggest lakes and belong to the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte. The landscape in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania reaches from flat to hilly. The highest elevations are the Helpter hills (179 m), the Ruhner hills (176.6 m), the Stubbenkammer on Rugia (161 m) and the Brohmer hills (153 m).
3.3 Population
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the Federal state with the lowest density of inhabitants. The Hanseatic city of Rostock (198,993 inhabitants) is the only city and therefore the biggest high level centre of the state. Other high level centres are Stralsund and Greifswald (together 111,516 inhabitants), the capital Schwerin (97,110 inhabitants) and Neubrandenburg (68,451 inhabitants). All the other towns have less than 50,000 inhabitants. The most important towns therefrom are Wismar and Güstrow.[12]
4. The destination Schleswig-Holstein
After screening the location of its neighbour Federal state, it has to be the next step to mediate a picture of Schleswig-Holstein.
4.1 Location
Schleswig-Holstein is the northern Federal state of Germany. The capital is Kiel. Being the second smallest Federal state after the Saarland, it has a size of 15,761.4 km². It is bordering on Denmark in the North and Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony in the South.
illustration not visible in this excerpt
Figure 4: The location of SH within Germany taken from www.asb.de/content/ asb_brd/70000i.htm
4.2 Landscape
Geographically it represents the Southern part of the peninsula Jüttland with the Nordic Sea in the West and the Baltic Sea in the East. Its coastline counts 3.2 % of the whole European coastline.
From West to East the landscape forms up to the “Marsch”, the “Geest” and the Eastern hilly land. The biggest river is Eider and the highest hill is the Bungsberg (168 m).
The East coast divides the landscapes with bays and fjords into “Angeln”, “Schwansen”, “Dänischer Wohld” and peninsula Wagrien.
The border between the two parts Schleswig and Holstein exists historically and politically for more than 1,000 years and is marked by the rivers Eider and Levensau.
The duchy Lauenburg and the Hanseatic city of Lübeck were traded for Altona and Wandsbeck in 1937.
The national park Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer is the biggest of Middle Europe. Within the last 80 years a total of 189 nature reserves and 275 reserves of landscape were determined by the land government. In addition to that there are 5 nature parks - nevertheless without access to the sea.[13]
Fehmarn is the only island located in the Baltic Sea that belongs to Schleswig-Holstein and with a size of 185.4 km² it is the second largest island of Germany. Among many other islands of Schleswig-Holstein Sylt, Amrum and Föhr are situated in the North Sea.[14]
4.3 Population
Schleswig-Holstein counts 2.82 million inhabitants and has with 179 inhabitants/ km² the sixth smallest density of population in the whole German Republic, whereas the density of population is not shared equally. In the area around Hamburg like in Pinneberg and Stormarn the density is much bigger than in Südschleswig or the district of Dithmarschen.
Because of the remote geographical position and the weakly developing economy, it has the smallest part of foreigners of the West German Federal states.
Minorities of Denish and Frisian people live here.[15]
5. The comparison
5.1 The number of visitors
5.1.1 The number of visitors of MV
An assignment from 2004 reflects the results of interviews that have been done with tourists in the summer of 2003 by the tourism organisation of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The European Institute for Tourism Ltd. at the University of Trier has found out that in summer 2003 Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was the most popular destination in Germany. Therefore Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein were only the second and third most popular Federal states. At this point German tourists rather travelled to the north-eastern Federal state than to France, Greece or Denmark.
The visitors of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania name “experiencing nature”, “enjoy the silence” and “swimming and basking” as the main criteria for choosing on a vacation there. In fact, the 1,700 km coastline, 25,000 km of watercourses and more than 2000 lakes make this location Middle Europe’s biggest water sports region.
According to the DEHOGA (“Deutscher Hotel- und Gaststättenverband”) Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania counts more than 50 percent four and five star hotels whereas nationwide it is only 26 percent.
Apart from that because of the low emissions and the good breezes coming from the sea it has the cleanest air compared to entire Germany.
More than 80 percent of the 425 public swimming baths have gotten good and very good marks because of cleanness.
Analysing the typical tourist of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania he prefers staying in hotels, vacation rentals or summer residences in each case to a forth. Averaged the tourist spends an amount of a little bit more than 50 Euro a day for the vacation. In the year 2003 the guests stayed for an average of 11 days.
The travel analysis implemented by the Deutsche Zentrale Für Tourismus (DZT) arrives at the conclusion that Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are the most visited culture destinations within Germany.[16]
5.1.2 The number of visitors of SH
According to the official statistic of accommodation Schleswig-Holstein welcomed 4.5 Million guests with 20 Million overnight stays in commercial businesses of accommodation (of more than 8 beds) in the year 2004. Furthermore 0.4 Million guests stayed 2.2 Million nights on campgrounds.
In another survey of the German Economic Institute for Tourism Research at Munich University the amount of guests which stayed in private accommodation of less than 9 beds (12.7 Million), by relatives or friends (21.4 Million), in their own holiday flat (5.9 Million) or which are long-time campers (9.1 Million) had been added and made a result of around 72 Million overnight stays in Schleswig-Holstein for the year 2004. The daytrips to and within Schleswig-Holstein are not included with a number of 100 Million.
In comparison to all German destinations Schleswig-Holstein had a market share of 4.3 percent which makes it third place of the most popular national destinations.
In addition to that it achieves the 7th place in an international and national comparison with the winner Spain (13.7 %), followed by Italy (7.3 %), Bavaria (6.7 %), Austria (6.5 %), Turkey (6.4 %) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (5.3 %).
Schleswig-Holstein has the second highest tourism intensity of all German Federal states with 7,833 overnight stays per 1,000 inhabitants and is followed by Bavaria with 5,927. Only Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is ahead with an amount of 14,134 overnight stays. The federal average counts 4,106 overnight stays per 1,000 inhabitants.
With 2.8 Billion Euro earned by overnight stays and 1.7 Billion Euro by daytrips, the tourism has contributed 4.7 percent to the whole people’s income of Schleswig-Holstein in 2004.
In the tourism sector of the Northern Federal state 80,000 people are directly occupied and 50,000 indirectly.[17]
5.1.3 The number of visitors – A comparison
Although they are very close the numbers still prove the statement that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania lies ahead with its visitor arrivals and seems to be more attractive. The competition is tight and further on in this assignment the author will try to find reasons for the ongoing trend.
But having a closer look on the destination Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the number of visitors needs to be considered carefully for the following reasons.
In an essay by the Friedrich Ebert foundation from 1995 the tourism in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was described and analysed by comparing it to the situation in other German Federal states.
It was mentioned that a clear top of tourism activity can be referred to the summer months which indicates the kind of tourism concentrating on swimming and water sport offers. That leads to the need of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to concentrate on the enlargement of the season and the creation of facilities and incentives for tourists to come in the spring, fall and winter as well. One reason is to secure the working places that are not dependent on the season. The example of the culture and hiking tourism that has established in Saxony and ensures an almost equal share of tourists during the year is exemplary.
In the year 1994 a change became obvious according to the number of beds in commercial accommodations of the north eastern Federal state which have decreased (from 80 in 1991 to 60 in 1994) and can be interpreted with the statement that family hotels became more common. In comparison to that in Schleswig-Holstein an average number of 45 beds per accommodation were counted.
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[1] Verbandszeitung Tourismusverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e.V., March 2006, „Reiseanalysen 2005“
[2] Sanfter Tourismus, Edition 3, Kirstges
[3] http://www.destatis.de/download/d/tour/itb_05.pdf, state of 06/28/06
[4] Tourismus-Chance für den Standort Deutschland, Günter Rexrodt “Tourismus ‘Made in Germany’”, [translation by the author]
[5] http://dict.die.net/destination/, state 02/08/06
[6] Wettbewerb der Destinationen, Harald Pechlaner „Tourismusorganisationen und Destinationen im Verbund“, page 27, [translation by the author]
[7] Wettbewerb der Destinationen, Harald Pechlaner „Tourismusorganisationen und Destinationen im Verbund“, page 30, comparing also Bieger 1997, Pechlaner/ Weiermair 1999a, , [translation by the author]
[8] “Gemachter oder gelebter Tourismus – Destinationsmanagement und Tourismuspolitik”, „Zukunftsorientierte Tourismuspolitik in Deutschland“ Edgar Kreilkamp, page 63
[9] tourism.wu-wien.ac.at/oegaf/memo/artikel/da2004_3_6.htm, state 04/28/06, [translation by the author]
[10] http://www.msp-dortmund.de/Tourismusberatung/destinationsmanagement.php, state 12/10/05, [translation by the author]
[11] “Gemachter oder gelebter Tourismus – Destinationsmanagement und Tourismuspolitik”, page 71 „Inszenierung tradtioneller Tourismusdestinationen“ Albrecht Steinecke, [translation by the author]
[12] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, state 08/16/06
[13] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein, state 02/07/06
[14] “Nordseeküste Schleswig-Holstein”, Claudia Banck, page 74f.
[15] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein, state 02/07/06
[16] www.deutsches-kuestenland.de/de/netzwerk/Downloads/PM01_2004_TMV_DatenFakten.pdf, state 12/02/05
[17] http://landesregierung.schleswig-holstein.de/coremedia/generator/Aktueller_20Bestand/MWV/Information/Tourismus/Tourismus_20in_20Zahlen.html, state 01/08/06
- Citar trabajo
- Claudia Schmidt (Autor), 2006, MV tut besser? - A comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the tourist destinations Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/61061
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