Research project 'ReiseZukunft': 'The right project at the right time – a signal for Bavaria's travel sector to look ahead'

In the research project "ReiseZukunft", new competitive ideas and recommended actions are being developed to help travel agencies and tour operators in Bavaria to be well prepared for the future. 'The right project at the right time - a signal for Bavaria's travel sector to look ahead', said Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger when handing over the official funding statement. 

Aiwanger says: 'Travel marketing has been hit very hard by the Corona crisis. Over months, an entire industry has been more or less on ice. So it is so much important to now look courageously to the future. 'There will be a "time after Corona". People's urge to travel has not simply vanished because of the virus. 'People want to travel more again when external circumstances permit them to do so, and they will', says the Bavarian Minister of Tourism with conviction, adding that therefore it is why competitive and innovative travel marketing will be needed in the future too. The project presented today, he says, makes a significant contribution to that. 

Aiwanger goes on: 'The main strength of this research project is it's great practical relevance. This is, first and foremost, a question of added value for the industry. We want to provide medium-sized travel agencies and tour operators in Bavaria with some really concrete help. For example, we aim to give them application-oriented checklists so that they can continue to develop their businesses and cope with the crisis. In handing over this funding statement today, we are taking an optimistic look at the future of the sector.' 

The project "ReiseZukunft" will be pursued at CENTOURIS at the University of Passau. It is due to run for three years and starts in October this year. Altogether, the project is being assisted with a state funding of 591.400 euros as part of the Bavarian Hightech Agenda. Apart from CENTOURIS as a the constracting body, Raiffeisen-Tours RT-Reisen's Communication and Marketing Department GmbH, the Internet Travel Sales Association (VIR) and Kermax GmbH, as one of Germany's largest travel agency outfitters, are also involved in the project. 

Dr. Stefan Mang, managing director of CENTOURIS, adds: 'In the project, together with our practice partners, we will be looking for solutions and instruments, which are promising for the future in travel marketing. The focus here is on possibilities for digitalisation and the integration of technologies in travel marketing. With the aid of prototype applications and accompanying customer preference analyses, the aim is to develop types of amenity that are target-group-specific and innovative business models. The project entails both short-term elements for the phase of Corona, in which things are still heavily restricted, but also elements that relate to sustainability after the pandemic.' 

CENTOURIS is an external funds institute within the University of Passau, which has been carrying on successful application research on innovative topics such as mobility, service excellence and digitalisation for 20 years. Since the institute was founded, there has been a strong focus on tourism research. In projects such as DIGITOUR and DIGIONAL, the institute already assists small and middle-sized enterprises in trade and tourism on topics of  innovative technologies.

Caption: Minister of state Hubert Aiwanger handing over the official funding statement to President Professor Ulrich Bartosch (left), Head of Administration Dr. Achim Dilling (centre), Dr. Stefan Mang (2nd from right) and Professor Dirk Totzek (right). Photo: StMWi/E. Neureuther