Less mass, more class: Heidelberg is decelerating tourism flows sustainably

Anyone who has ever been to Germany’s oldest university town knows how strongly emotions can fluctuate back and forth with just a single, short visit here. On the one hand, great delight over fairytale-like, medieval buildings in the picturesque old town. On the other hand, the crowds get on their feet pretty quickly right there.

In 2019 Heidelberg counted around 15 million guests, three million more than there were 12 million in 2015 – compared to around three million in 2000. “And they all come to the old town,” says Mathias Schiemer, head of city marketing since 2015. Because Heidelberg, with 160,000 inhabitants, is not a big city in itself. With such crowds of tourists, which mainly concentrate on the summer months, the locals need good nerves – and so do the guests. Because the attractions that attract tourists, especially from overseas, to the Neckar below the Odenwald are all located in the manageable historical city center. “All of this is framed by a mountain with Baden-Württemberg’s most visited castle on top and a river. Unfortunately, there is a high probability that there will be space problems, ”says Schiemer.

Tourist traffic is largely banned from the old town

But that is exactly what, adds Heidelberg’s head of city marketing, is now set to change – and sustainably in a double sense. Because the old town should not only be relieved of the crowds, but also the city in general from the high volume of traffic. In addition, new environmentally friendly sustainability concepts would benefit both the health of the guests and the tourism industry outside of the old town, says Schiemer in an interview with FOCUS Online.

The principle of “more, more, more” in terms of tourists and returns has long since reached its limits in Heidelberg, he says and admits: “Mistakes were made in the past.” The city can still have 15 million guests per year he is currently lifting and building a congress center for 100 million euros. That in turn will make it necessary to increase the bed capacity from 7,000 to 10,000. But the tourist flows are now to be redirected piece by piece. So that everyone, tourists and residents, find more space and less noise.

Arrangements with bus companies

A central pillar of this new concept is the ban on coaches and mobile homes from the old town area. They clog the streets, often park wildly and thus disturb the already badly strained idyll. In addition, new Park & ​​Ride conditions are to be created. In this way, the planners hope to additionally relieve the old town of cars.

The city of Heidelberg was based on the Salzburg concept, explains Schiemer: “We could have built a parking lot for up to 60 buses. But we left it at 40. ”A little less, so the new motto, is now much more in Heidelberg.

In addition, the concept is not implemented clandestinely, but rather the large bus tour operators are specifically involved and informed in advance of parking bans in the city center. In this way, a breach of the new parking rules should be avoided from the outset. In addition, parking violations are now more closely monitored, which the bus tour operators would also be informed in advance. “The organizers have to register in advance and apply for an entry code for the bus parking lot.” From there, the old town can be easily reached on foot. The parking ban in the old town also applies to mobile homes. In the meantime, a separate parking lot has been created for them in the south of the city at Harbigweg 1-3 – on an area of ​​5000 square meters.

Green environment as an outlet for the old town

Another pillar that is supposed to relieve and slow down the historic old town is the integration of the surrounding area into Heidelberg’s tourism concept. And there are several approaches to this.

The most important one concerns the lush green spaces. “70 percent of the surrounding area consists of forests and meadows. This potential is now actively integrated into the tourist offer – including the Odenwald. Namely by expanding the e-bike offers and making greater use of the S-Bahn connections, ”said Schiemer.

And under exactly this aspect, a cooperation with Mannheim, only 20 kilometers away, has emerged. As a common tourist region between the romantic and the modern, the duo is advertised with the motto “Two cities, one experience”. Various tours tailored to various topics such as architecture, art, cuisine or families can be booked as a package.

“River boat guests not welcome”

A little more difficult to steer are the streams of guests who slosh to Heidelberg day after day on the numerous river boats. But they too should be more interested in the green belt around Heidelberg.

However, it is precisely this clientele that occasionally causes displeasure among restaurateurs. “It happens every now and then that customers just get up and leave, only if the food hasn’t arrived five minutes after ordering,” reports Schiemer. Fast food is particularly popular with US tourists, the largest overseas tour group. Some restaurateurs are annoyed and let the customers know that “river boat guests are not welcome”. In the past, there had been too inflationary emphasis on fast food offers, which of course promoted such consumer behavior. That is why restaurateurs are now being given targeted support wherever possible, the traditional local kitchen prefer and get their food from producers in the region.

Night mayor should arbitrate between guests, pubs and residents

Even the 40,000 students, which are extremely important for Heidelberg and make up a quarter of the population, are directly involved in tourism concepts. In a university town, bars, in particular, have to stay open for a long time, ”the town marketing boss knows, because they are an integral part of student life that the town does not want to do without.

On the other hand, so that the residents do not have to forego their well-deserved rest, which is repeatedly strained by students and young guests from all over the world, the city has now hired a “Nightmayor” – a “night mayor”. According to Schiemer, his job is to “mediate between guests, pubs and residents. So that the “Nightmayor” doesn’t turn into a “Nightmare” in the end, a nightmare.

The targeted sustainable integration of green spaces in tourism concepts is already being implemented successfully in various other cities such as Freiburg, Weimar and Bremen. However, these cities do not have the same high concentration of historical buildings as Heidelberg, which is mainly due to the fact that the city was spared attacks during World War II. The European headquarters of the US Army was here for 70 years, “a curse and a blessing at the same time,” said Schiemer. But he is certain that everyone in Heidelberg will benefit from the new focal points.

EU Commissioner – Certificate for Easier Travel is due to come at the end of June