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Have you ever heard of social tourism in Germany?

Have you ever heard of social tourism in Germany?
Author: Helen Miriam Baier
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Have you ever heard of social tourism in Germany?

I have never thought of not going on holiday, have you? Once my holiday is over, I already start thinking about where to go next. I have always thought this is normal, as everyone I know does the same. Of course, financial resources are not unlimited, but I've always tried to save up to get away for a while.

Likewise the literature states that tourism has developed into an activity which almost all members of society can enjoy. But here, the emphasis lies on almost. There is still a minority which cannot participate in tourism, namely those who are economically and socially disadvantaged. These may be the elderly, the unemployed or the disabled.

Especially those people who are excluded from participation in tourism could in fact benefit from it the most. It could bring normality to the lives of families with financial problems or disabled children because they would be able to do what other families do as well. Going on holiday is also seen as an escape from everyday problems families face, which can lead to a feeling of freedom. Furthermore, holidays can positively affect the relationship of both children and parents. Children are happier and proud to spend time with their parents and consequently behave better and therefore parents are more relaxed. Finally, holidays can contribute positively to physical and mental well-being which can help to overcome psychological or physiological illnesses or problems

Besides these overall family related benefits, there can also be social benefits (improvement of social capital). This means holidays help to develop and maintain characters and personalities that are good for the rest of society as well because they adjust and integrate better. Holidays can also improve the overall attitude as well as employment opportunities which further leads to a reduction in costs for health care.

The concept of social tourism is exactly about this. There are several organisations and charities all over the world which support on the one hand the participation in travel by economically weak or otherwise disadvantaged people in society (visitor-related social tourism) and on the other hand they support the host community by sending tourists and thus improving tourism there (host-related social tourism).

In Germany for example there are two very popular and successful projects. One is called "Calypso". Calypso was a programme of the European Commission which took place from 2009 to 2011. Its aim was to improve the local economy and the labour market as well as to decrease tourism seasonality and finally to support the target groups. Calypso supported tourism in the off-peak season by offering holidays at reasonable prices which otherwise the target groups (senior citizens, young adults from 18 to 30, people with disabilities and families with low incomes) could not afford. Normally, tourism related incomes in the off-peak season decrease dramatically but because of Calypso, new jobs were created and the local economy was improved. Even though, the programme ended in 2011, Calypso is still trying to support and develop social tourism.

The other organisation is called "NatKo". NatKo (Nationale Koordinationsstelle Tourismus für alle - National Coordination Office Tourism for All) was established in 1999 with the aim of supporting "Tourism for All" in Germany. In order to do this, NatKo works with many other tourism organisations, to ensure that all target groups are provided with good services.

Apart from the above mentioned organisations, Germany is also a member of the International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO), supports a project called "Happy Tourist" which helps to train hotel staff correctly in order to have happy and satisfied tourists, and finally the "Deutsche Bahn" (German Railway) has established a contact hotline for disabled people and "DB" keeps developing the interior fitting of trains in order to meet everyone's needs.

Especially in the context of the demographic change in Germany, this topic has become very important because the number of elderly people will increase significantly (the number of 60 year old people will double). This will further lead to an increase in people with mobility and activity, which emphasis the meaning of fully accessible tourism.

All in all, it can be said, that social tourism is a very important topic in contemporary society, not only in Germany but also in all other countries. If Germany continues to further develop social tourism, it could mean an even greater improvement in equality for all but right now, it is still dependent on financial support and funds.



Europäische Kommission - Unternehmen und Industrie, 2011. Calypso. [pdf]
Available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/files/docs/calypso/leaflets/2011/calypso-2011-a5_de.pdf [Accessed: 31 March 2012].

McCabe, S., 2009. Who needs a holiday? Evaluating social tourism. Annals of Tourism Reserach, 36(4), pp. 667-688.

Smith, V. and Hughes, H., 1999. Disadvantaged Families and the Meaning of the Holiday. International Journal of Tourism Research, 1, pp. 123-133.