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Tourism turbulence: Hoteliers demand more attention for the Southwest Palatinate!
Two hoteliers from Dahn report on tourism development in Southwest Palatinate and their experiences in hotel operations.
Tourism turbulence: Hoteliers demand more attention for the Southwest Palatinate!
The development of tourism in Southwest Palatinate is the focus of a current conversation with the hoteliers Manfred Maus and Alois Ruppert. Both are critical of the region's role as a tourism destination. Loud rheinpfalz.de South West Palatinate is not a real tourism region, which points to the challenges that the local sector has to overcome.
Alois Ruppert, who started out as a trained plastics technician, has significantly expanded his hotel, the Felsenland Resort in Dahn, over the last 20 years. After selling his single-family home, he invested 500,000 German marks in equity and developed his 1997 bed and breakfast with 21 rooms into a hotel with 72 rooms and an impressive wellness area of 3,600 m². The hotel receives around 30,000 guests annually, which means an occupancy rate of around 85 percent. This proves the positive development that according to bnn.de recently accompanied by an increase in sales of around 10 percent in recent years.
Challenges and visions
Ruppert, who runs the hotel together with his wife Margit and 70 employees, is also directly involved in the operational process. He carries out some of the construction work himself and has integrated creative design elements into the hotel that are reminiscent of artists such as Gaudi and Hundertwasser. The management as a company under civil law means that he is liable for the hotel with his private assets.
The Felsenland Resort offers a variety of amenities and attracts a diverse range of guests, including hikers, cyclists and wellness enthusiasts. The mix of visitors remains impressive, with an average stay of 3.6 days. Six months ago, Ruppert celebrated the opening of the new lobby with a large event that included 500 guests, dancers and fireworks.
Maus and Ruppert's views shed light on the need to improve the perception of the region as an attractive destination for tourists. The path to establishing Southwest Palatinate as a major tourism region remains a challenge that may require some innovative approaches. While Ruppert has a positive influence with his personal commitment and financial investments, the entire region remains faced with major tasks.