Hansruedi Müller
Prof. em. Dr. Hansruedi Müller University of Bern
Abstract
Peter Keller was a true pioneer of a sustainable Tourism Policy. The Swiss Tour- ism Concept of 1979 he formulated objectives, strategies and measures relevant to the three dimensions society, economy and environment, and he did so, long before sustainability became a buzzword. In his Report on Tourism Policy of the Confederation published in 1996, Peter Keller once again gave a time-signal and reduced the visionary approach of 1979 to the three core areas of tourism policy.
Furthermore, he established "Innotour", an instrument to promote innovation, which to this day is still relevant and undisputed.
Anyone who takes stock of Swiss tourism policy in the last forty years will note how strongly it has been shaped by Peter Keller. Keller creatively implemented his understanding of an integral tourism policy that is focused on strategically necessary incentives for private sector initiatives and which pursues efficiency principles. Three basic principles can be discerned that guided him: future orien- tation, adaptation and pragmatism.
H. Pechlaner, E. Smeral (Eds.), Tourism and Leisure, DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-06660-4_3,
© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2015
1 Introduction
1.1 The Concept of Tourism Policy
Krapf (1961, p. 8) once defined tourism policy as the actions of organised com- munities in the field of tourism to promote its earning power and external objec- tives. Today, tourism policy is defined much more broadly and understood as
"the engagement with public affairs". According to Peter Keller (1994), from the point of view of the players in tourism, tourism policy is about gaining State influence and power for certain objectives. From the point of view of the State, the focus is on safeguarding public interests at stake in the field of tourism. In a democracy, tourism policy adheres to the logic of consensus. (Keller 2005, p.
20)
1.2 Legitimisation of Tourism Policy
x Various circles regret that more and more spheres of life are becoming the object of policy. The magic words are de-politicisation, liberalisation or de- regulation. Nevertheless, there are different reasons that legitimise tourism policy:
x Market failure: a tourism industry geared to individual, short-term profits calls for eco-social framework conditions necessary which focus on the common good. The risk of market failure in terms of public goods, exter- nalities and monopolistic structures needs to be restrained. (cf. Greuter 2000, p. 133)
x Public interest: tourism performs important socio-political tasks (e.g. iden- tity) and commercialises public goods (e.g. culture, environment).
x Significance in terms of regional policy: tourism assumes the role of a lead- ing industry in structurally weak areas and helps to reduce unwanted eco- nomic disparities.
x Transaction costs: tourism, as one of the few economic sectors defined by demand-driven expenditure, requires a large coordinative effort of the rele- vant service package. High transaction costs ensue from the exploitation of potential tourist demand.
x Prisoner’s dilemma: all other states also promote tourism to a significant degree. To stand on the sidelines would mean to put tourism in one’s own country at a competitive disadvantage.
x The list above shows that there are sufficient reasons to promote an inde- pendent tourism policy. In this respect, according to Keller (1999), note should be taken that tourism policy
x is set up as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the form of a strategic implementation platform,
x enforces a combination of bottom-up and top-down initiatives that is as effective as possible,
x focuses on strategically necessary incentives for private sector initiatives, x pursues efficiency principles; in other words, is result-oriented and pro-
motes measures that are close to the market.
As per Keller (1999), tourism policy has two different foci: by seeking to influ- ence framework conditions, tourism policy is an inter-disciplinary policy. Under the conditions of global and imperfect competition, this inter-disciplinary policy that stretches beyond tourism is no longer enough. Independent sectoral policies within the field of tourism are required to remove existing market failures.
Sectoral policy within the ambit of tourism spans enterprises and sectors, and also has an inter-disciplinary function within the tourist sector. The inter- disciplinary nature of tourism policy is thus twofold: outwardly in terms of framework conditions, inwardly within the field of tourism that is close to the market.
1.3 Development of Tourism Policy
Tourism policy in Switzerland can be divided into six development periods:
x Period of tourism laissez-faire - up until roughly the end of the nineteenth century
x Period of organisation of tourism - around the turn of the century x Period of interventionism - from the First World War
x Period of reducing state-imposed interventions and enhanced self-help – from the 1950s
x Period of targeted regulatory and structural policy interventions – from the mid-1960s
x Period of growth-oriented locational policies - from the 1990s.
Peter Keller decisively shaped the last two periods from the early 1970s on- wards.
2 Swiss Tourism Concept as a Pioneer for Sustainable Tourism Development
2.1 The Swiss Tourism Concept 1979
For a long time, the Swiss Tourism Concept of 1979, largely authored by Peter Keller and Jost Krippendorf, constituted the basis for tourism policy in Switzer- land (Advisory Commission for Tourism 1979). The Concept built on a holistic frame of reference and covers the aspects relevant to tourism policy in the socie- tal, economic and environmental domains. Even, at that time, the Concept made the claim for a sustainable development of tourism. The objectives of tourism policy stipulated in the Concept were derived from higher-level objectives.
x Society: (1) promotion of leisure time as a prerequisite for human self- realisation; (2) improvement of people’s physical-mental health; (3) a fairer distribution of income and of free time – improvement of the conditions of life in Switzerland and abroad; (4) promotion of mutual understanding and collaboration between peoples
x Economy: (1) preservation of full employment; (2) increase of economic growth; (3) balancing the balance of payments; (4) achieving the best pos- sible price level stability
x Environment: (1) ensuring a stable ecological equilibrium; (2) a considerate and orderly use of the environment; (3) conservation of harmonious land- scapes – economical use of limited resources
Back then, the overall objective of Swiss tourism policy was described as meet- ing the multi-facetted demand of tourism in the best possible way to benefit people of all social classes within efficient tourist facilities and an intact envi- ronment. In this respect, the interests of the local population have to be respect- ed. (Advisory Commission for Tourism 1979, p. 58) That overall objective is still valid today.
Figure 1: Objectives of Swiss Tourism Policy
Source: Advisory Commission for Tourism (Beratende Kommission für Fremdenverkehr des Bundesrates) 1979: Swiss Tourism Concept, Bern 1979, p. 60f.