4th Tourism Day Saalfelden Leogang

The evening was opened by Hannes Riedlsperger, TVB Chairman Saalfelden, Kornel Grundner, TVB Chairman Deputy Leogang and Marco Pointner, Managing Director of Saalfelden Leogang Tourismik, according to the motto “Contrast to the future”. 
 
“Away from traditional seasonal thinking”, has been the motto of the Saalfelden Leogang Tourismik in recent years with the aim of becoming a year-round destination. With the constantly growing offer, the goal has already been achieved. But that’s not all, the region is not standing still, but is constantly developing, especially qualitatively and with a lot of ingenuity, and is now one of Austria’s most important tourist destinations. This result is only possible because the different service partners in the region pull together. The Leoganger Bergbahnen will be open continuously in 2022 for the first time in autumn until the start of the ski season and guarantee skiing, biking and hiking experiences on almost 365 days. Also the hosts of the region offer recreation and enjoyment in all seasons. After the further development of Saalfelden Leogang’s appearance to the outside, the last two years it was necessary to further strengthen the brand from within.

Continuous product development in the areas of hiking, biking, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and culture as well as year-round marketing activities are among the most important measures that make Saalfelden Leogang a successful year-round destination. Through targeted brand positioning and strengthening of the off-seasons, overnight stays could be increased to around one million per year – almost 50 percent are already accounted for in the summer and winter seasons. For Saalfelden Leogang Tourism, however, the overnight figures are not the metric on which the focus is placed in the measurement of success. Saalfelden Leogang has set itself the goal of becoming the most value-added alpine destination in Salzburg. This goal is also being pursued with particularly great strides. It is precisely the investments of the leading companies in the region that focus on qualitative improvements.

The fact that the region is on the right track is confirmed, among other things, by the large destination study of the HV as well as other awards that the tourism association was able to receive in recent years! 
“In addition to continuous development, a clear positioning is extremely important. That’s why, in an extensive workshop at the end of 2021, we again questioned our values and goals and sharpened our brand. In doing so, we do not lose sight of our goal of increasing value creation throughout the region, strengthening regional economic cycles and thus creating a high-quality living space in Saalfelden Leogang,” says Marco Pointner, Managing Director of Saalfelden Leogang Tourismik.
 

Afterwards, Peter Fetz, 10th generation hotelier of the Hirschen Hotel in Bregenzerwald, was welcomed on stage. Since 2017, he has been running the unique Kunsthotel in Schwarzenberg together with his sister Pia Fetz and hotel director Verena Lasser. The Bregenzerwald stands for gentle tourism and in particular the town of Schwarzenberg for a unique architectural style, which the Hotel Hirschen perfectly reflects – quite according to the motto “You don’t have to reinvent yourself to be special”. Fetz explained the exciting journey from the village tavern to the four-star hotel. The hotel is intended to be a place of interaction for moving conversations, interesting encounters and beautiful memories. So are concerts, readings, art exhibitions, etc. offered. A strong focus is also placed on the topic of cooking. Fetz added: “Good cooking is the pin-point of the future.” For example, he has learned to trust his intuition with confidence and creativity during the coronavirus crisis. International cuisine was used to satisfy the wanderlust of the guests. But it is not only art and cuisine that determine the success of the hotel, it is the staff that make the Hirschen a hotel with character.

A lecture by Klaus-Dieter Koch, founder of Brand Trust, rounded off the evening successfully. He is the founder of Brand Trust (2003) and an experienced brand strategy consultant, focused on the topic of brand as a management tool. Koch has been advising corporations and companies for more than 25 years. He is also the author of “Reiz ist Geil – In 7 Steps to an Attractive Brand” as well as “What Makes Brands Irresistible – 101 Ways to Desirability” and editor of the book “No. 1. Brands”. About 10 years ago, Brand Trust developed the brand strategy for the Saalfelden Leogang Touristik and to this day it is constantly sharpened. Koch set the tourism day under the motto “Contrast to the future”. A guest craves quality rather than quantity. Too many service partners are similar, it is necessary to stand out in order to survive in the market. Koch recommends “courage to be different.” Under this motto, he also presented the development of the Saalfelden Leogang region over the last 10 years from a relatively unknown holiday destination to a benchmark region for many competitors and thus confirmed the courage and commitment of many stakeholders in recent years.

After the exciting talks, the participants were invited to regional delicacies and refreshments and had the opportunity to end the successful tourism day with talks with the speakers.