HLW Kufstein brings a breath of fresh air to resilient tourism

On 25. June 2025, class 4D from the Higher Vocational School for Economic Professions (HLW) in Kufstein, together with their teacher Peter Wachter and Esther Jennings from Euregio Inntal, visited the FH Kufstein Tirol. The aim of the visit was to gain an in-depth insight into the Interreg project Resilient Tourism. The class already had a keen interest in sustainability and digitalization—topics that also play a central role in the research project and sparked great interest.

After an introduction to the project goals, partner organizations, and activities to date, the focus was on one central question: What does resilience mean in tourism—and how can it be measured? Answers were provided by the online dashboard of the Resilience Index, a digital analysis tool for assessing the resilience of tourist regions.

INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD RALLY WITH AHA MOMENTS

In small groups, the students set out to explore the online dashboard in an interactive rally. Using concrete data, they answered ten in-depth questions in a playful yet substantive manner. As an additional incentive, the group with the most correct answers received a voucher for an ice cream parlor.

Creativity was then called for: building on the insights gained previously, each group selected two tourism associations from the project regions of Salzburg, Tyrol, and Upper Bavaria. Using the dashboard data, they designed an informative flipchart illustrating key figures, strengths, and challenges for each region. The resulting work was then assessed by the other groups, and the group with the most convincing flipchart also won an ice cream voucher.

FRESH INPUT FROM THE NEXT GENERATION

At the end of the visit, the students filled out a structured feedback questionnaire on the online dashboard. Their honest and detailed feedback provided the project team with valuable insights that will help them further develop the tool in terms of user-friendliness, comprehensibility, and relevance.

The students were actively involved and benefited from a combination of expert input, interactive exercises, and creative work. This clearly demonstrated that the topic of resilience in tourism is not only highly relevant, but also motivates young people to actively contribute their ideas and help shape the future. The visit was a resounding success—both for the school class and for the project team.

Links:

• Resilient Tourism | Research Project
• Resilience Index | Website
• Higher educational institution for economic professions | Website