Gentle Tourism in the National Park

Diploma thesis at the Johannes Kepler University Linz Linz The working hypothesis underlying this study was: An increased commitment of the National Park Administration to soft tourism in the region increases the acceptance of this large-scale protected area among the local population. The comparison with other studies shows an agreement with this hypothesis. The empirical study in the NP Gesäuse region shows the following picture: The activities of Nationalpark Gesäuse GmbH are perceived by everyone and pursued with more or less strong interest. Nevertheless, these activities are understood less as self-benefit but rather as an offer for guests. It is considered positive that this offer exists, but particularly innovative projects (e.g. willow dome, NP pavilion) provoke very different reactions among the population. It is interesting that typing is hardly possible. Even within the individual areas (politics, tourism, agriculture, etc.) there are very mixed views. Representatives from politics are the most positive towards the NP and soft tourism in the region, with the opinion prevailing here that the commitment could or should be strengthened (cf. quote Dr. Scherzinger, above). The representatives of nature conservation have the greatest scepticism towards soft tourism in the NP. Although they consider the activities in environmental education to be very useful, an increase in the frequency of visitors means further interventions and disturbances in nature. It is striking that the individual representatives from the field of tourism but also from the field of agriculture take very different positions. This divergence appears to be due to the different involvement of the individual representatives in the activities of the Gesäuse NP. A further subdivision results in the topographical conditions. The Buchau saddle (between St. Gallen and Weng) is a natural barrier along which the spirits divide. It may also be due to the spatial distance to the NP infrastructure facilities that the municipalities of St. Gallen and Landl make their decisions on their own and the identification with the NP region is low. From an economic point of view, the individual municipalities are still in competition with each other. The NP can function as a link if it is also involved in the social environment.