Strategi: A great place to live is a great place to visit

The dream of more and better tourism

In a time, where the world is turned upside down, we need more than ever to set the course for the future. That is the reason why we launch this strategy for tourism in the Aarhus region now. We need to stand together and make targeted initiatives, which not only brings us faster through the crisis but also gives us a head start for the future after the crisis.

The strategy is our plan for tourism in a world, where we travel again and where we bounce back.

A great place is more a rebuilding strategy than a crisis strategy. We are convinced that we need to restart the visitor economy and revisit our approach to development of tourism and destination at the other side of the pandemic. Tourism is on the way into a new era.

A great place is an ambition to improve tourism in balance with nature and culture and the approx. 824,000 citizens in the Aarhus region. A good place to stay, is a good place to visit and a strong visitor economy also makes the Aarhus region a better place to live.

A great place focuses attention on the new rules and values ensuring the transformation of tourism in the Aarhus region into a new era. An era, where tourism takes a broader responsibility for the place and society in which it is a part.

The mission of VisitAarhus is to develop tourism and promote the Aarhus region as a sustainable destination for holiday and business tourism as well as contribute to creating value locally, regionally, and nationally.

Video - Pia, A great place to live is a great place to visit

VisitAarhus

Our top priorities

Our top priorities – thing we must succeed with:

Rebuilding
We must rebuild tourism after the pandemic. As a destination management organisation we must contribute to re-establish what has been lost in the tourism and experience industry and we must help companies and business areas through the long-term structural changes resulting from the crisis.

Leadership based on sustainability
We will prioritise our resources and competencies to ensure sustainable tourism and we will unfold the potential of the visitor economy to contribute to a sustainable urban life and nature experiences. We will take on leadership by sustainable development of tourism both financially, socially and environmentally.

Local support and participation
At its core, tourism is the meeting between people and the experience of culture and communities. The Aarhus region has strong communities and a strong tradition for participation and voluntariness. We must make use of this to exploit the full potential of tourism and we must ensure long-term public support for tourism.

A broader conversation on tourism
You must earn the role of being a destination management organisation. As an organisation, we have a high visibility, and we are clear on our values, competencies, and value creation. With this strategy, we invite more than 400 tourism companies, eight municipalities and more than 2,100 volunteers to collaborate. We also reach out to those we do not know yet. With tourism as a means rather than a goal, tourism will be relevant for more and we assume a new role to strengthen, push and inspire the development across.

Tourism is on its way into a new era

Paying attention to the major changes in our surroundings, the task right now is to make a clever and fast transition of products and value offers. We do that with an intense focus on tendencies affecting tourism. Among other:

VisitDjursland

Changed consumption and travel patterns

VisitAarhus

Deglobalisation

VisitAarhus

Digitisation

Bo Nørgaard, Silkeborg Kommune

Situational and interest-guided consumption

Time for shifting gear to green tourism

Jesper Maagaard

Using the pandemic as a starting point, we have a great opportunity to push the green transition. The work to rebuild tourism starts an important and necessary conversation on what and how to rebuild. VisitAarhus is committed to base this rebuilding process on a ’Build Back Better’ mindset to come out stronger and more sustainable on the other side.

The work with sustainability and growth includes difficult choices, but it also holds a huge potential, which is basically about finding the balance between on the one side the positive effects of tourism on growth, and on the other side employment and environmental and social considerations as well as prioritisations.

Tourism can and must contribute broader to the sustainable development of society beyond the classic goals for economic growth in terms of overnight stays and revenues.

We will work with climate-related, social, and economic sustainability as a prerequisite for a balanced growth in tourism instead of just talking about higher growth.

The world largest limestone mines, Mønsted Kalkgruber, by Viborg

Mads Gregersen

Tourism takes place in our local community every single day – at the museum around the corner, in your summer house, in our culture house, at the local restaurant at the harbour outside your workplace. Tourism affects our everyday life and contributes positively to a strong and varied local life with cultural offers, shops, restaurants and grocery shops. It is decisive that tourism takes place in a dialogue and is balanced in relation to the local community if citizens should continue to support tourism.

Tourism is not a goal but a means to create results on several parameters: as a basis for employment, settlements, physical development, infrastructure, attraction of talents, quality of life and investments.

This is how we will create value with tourism

Tourism in the Aarhus region must contribute to create growth and results both financially, socially and environmentally. We will strengthen and develop tourism through three tracks:

Balanced growth
Local pride and community
Greener tourism

The continued growth in tourism in the Aarhus region holds a great potential for the local economy and employment.

The ambition is to strengthen and secure the tourism industry as the foundation for a balanced economic development in the region.

This development can only succeed with our new destination geography and the strong and committed collaboration between all relevant stakeholders.

Photopop

Read more (Balanced growth page 18)

In the short run, VisitAarhus and our collaborators will rebuild the tourism and experience economy in the Aarhus region. It is our top priority to rebuild tourism. The efforts must prepare the tourism business to recapture markets, create visibility and accessibility in pace with the reopening of society and build a long-term sustainable business:

Tourism must get back on the growth track with ambitious goals for attracting meetings and conferences as well as a higher number of overnight stays and tourism revenue
International guests will visit the Aarhus region again
Tourist businesses must be strengthened in a time of crisis through innovation, business development and new partnerships
The accessibility to the Aarhus region must be restored

In the longer run, VisitAarhus will focus on creating a balanced, continued sustainable development in the tourism and experience industry to the benefit of the entire Aarhus region:

Guests must spend more money
The capacity must be increased, developed and used better
Tourism must be strengthened in the entire Aarhus region and attract as well as yield interest on investments in a broader business development perspective

In continuation of A great place, VisitAarhus will initiate more specific initiatives to achieve a balanced growth in tourism.
See the action plan

Thorsten Iversen, NorthSide

Read more (Local pride and community page 21)

The Aarhus region IS a great place to live and visit. In 2020 and 2021, Aarhus has been appointed the second most happy city by the UN.

The active co-ownership, co-decision and commitment of the local citizens are decisive for the attractiveness of a destination. Tourism frames and supports stories about places and contributes to creating identity among both local citizens and guests.

We believe that tourism has a great potential for contributing to local pride, which rubs off on visitors.

In the short run, focus is on creating positive meetings between guests and local citizens in the Aarhus region and on inviting visitors into the community tourism also creates. It is our top priority to ensure local support and participation:

More conversations about tourism
Voluntariness and active local involvement
Feeling welcome in the community

In the long run, focus is on creating a broader collaboration on developing attractive places and local communities as well as increasing guest satisfaction: 

Sustainable places
Guest satisfaction must be increased

In continuation of A great place, VisitAarhus will initiate more specific initiatives to achieve local pride and community.
See the action plan

Tourism stakeholders in the Aarhus region must take a joint responsibility for strengthening of the positive contribution of tourism to a sustainable future and to reducing the negative climate footprint.

It is a top priority that we as a destination management organisation take on a leading role in promoting green transition in tourism. We do this in close collaboration with tourist businesses and municipalities in the Aarhus region and by taking part in relevant national and international networks and collaborations. 

Jonas Furstone

See more

Strategy: A Great Place

Action Plan

Strategy A Great Place

A GREAT PLACE
TO LIVE IS
A GREAT PLACE
TO VISIT

Share your moments with us:

About us

Corporate

Groups

Touristinformation

Strategy A Great Place

A GREAT PLACETO LIVE ISA GREAT PLACETO VISIT

Share your moments with us:

About us

Corporate

Groups

Touristinformation

A GREAT PLACE
TO LIVE IS
A GREAT PLACE
TO VISIT