What is the state of Karlsruhe’s tourism? Managing director of the Karlsruher tourism GmbH Pascal Rastetter gives in the Podcastgespräch of the free voters and FOR Karlsruhe municipal council group in Karlsruhes marketing strategies.
According to Pascal Rastetter, Karlsruhe is a good mix of overnight tourists and day tourists. Culture, shopping and sightseeing can Karlsruhe.
However, the issue of “attractive city centers” has changed. The Corona era, but also digitization, has left its mark and provides the challenge of designing a city center so that people do not prefer to experience culture or shopping digitally from home, but enjoy being out and about in the city. The next few years will probably be bridging years. Nevertheless, the focus must be on revitalizing the downtown area.
City Councilor Petra Lorenz speaks from experience as an entrepreneur when she reports that many visitors to the city center are day-trippers who often talk enthusiastically about the variety of stores in Karlsruhe: “Visitors who come from out of town often see the city with completely different eyes – and usually more positively, too.”
One idea of the Free Voters and FOR Karlsruhe city council group was bicycle cabs for the city center – an easy means of transportation for the last mile without having to get on the subway or take a long walk. This idea has already been implemented in many other cities, such as Freiburg and Stuttgart. Especially as a bicycle city, this would be a charming new alternative for downtown Karlsruhe.
According to Pascal Rastetter, it is important that Karlsruhe does not compare itself with cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Munich: “I think you always have to know your profile: What should the city stand for? And you should orient yourself to that. Karlsruhe has a cultural landscape, is a city of short distances. There is so much to experience here and so much beauty. The flair that we have here is something that you can’t spread in such a large city. We have to focus on our strengths.”
You can hear this and other topics in the 30th podcast episode of the city council group Freie Wähler and FÜR Karlsruhe.
