Fair trade show?

Every year in January, I spend a couple of days in Vienna. Not for my own pleasure, but to work at the fair “Ferienmesse Wien”. I present our holiday destination Attergau as good as I can, distributing pamphlets hoping that I inspire the fair visitor for a stay in the Attergau. Thousands of people are visiting the travel exhibition every year and it is part of our marketing strategy, hypothetical spoken... 

Looking back makes me gonna reconsider: is a fair really the right place to attract new guests for my very lovely destination? Truth is that the travel exhibition is next to Dr. Oetker muffins, wine stations and cooking shows not the main attraction any more. Most of the people are looking out for free give aways and competitions. 

Do not get me wrong: Visitors are interested in our destination and keep asking for further information, but they already used to spend a holiday in our destination, have friends there or they grew up in this place and want to gossip. It is a fact that less than 1% is making their holiday decision due to a fair visit.  So going to a fair is the right medium to keep in touch with your returning guests, but get rid of the illusion of new guests coming to your resort. At least in Vienna.

Petra Gangl

Tourismusverband Attergau

Eyes on Attergau!

Eyes on Attergau! 

Frankly, do you know what Attergau is? Let me help you – I give you some choices and you pick the answer you think will apply: 

• It’s a traditional Austrian dish, something to do with venison
• It’s some rare kind of plant that you can find on the mountain
• It’s a tourism association in Upper Austria, between Linz and Salzburg

The right answer is C! Have you guessed? If not, than shame on you and do some geographical research ;) Just kidding…

The Attergau is pretty small, well it was not in the past if you ask our head of local tradition (Heimatverein), but the Attergau lost land. So nowadays little Attergau consists of three villages, one church, thirteen fire brigades, and 200 meters of lakefront. The people are friendly (and yes, we are friendly, because it is our natural behavior), fond of beer, wine sometimes schnapps (there’s a social ulterior motive behind that) and we are proud about our tradition (from time to time I get that feeling the emperor is still living among us and the people don’t mind).

 

By now you may asking yourself why you are reading stuff about Attergau -a place you have never heard and been before (but you should visit us – with the lakes and the beautiful mountains around us, it can be really kitschy…). Well, I can give you a reason to read on. Wellbeing and Health. I’d say that’s a bloody good reason to read on. The EU had the same thought (what a coincidence…) and brought the project group WelDest into the destination Attergau. Well, 14 people from six different countries and no one has a clue what or who the Attergau is. Three days a constantly packed with workshops, so there is hardly time to bring them closer to Attergau. At least I tried with celtic ceremony, yoga in the forest and local dining. I am not sure if I was successful, but the project is already a success in the destination – it is bringing us on the right track!