Bernd Seiser

European City Tourism Organisations: How City Tourism Organisations in Europe Prepare Themselves for Rough Times in Saturated Markets Bernd Seiser

City Tourism Organisations are nowadays facing more difficult conditions than ever before. Guest surveys and statistics have shown that tourist behaviour has changed dramatically in recent years. On the other hand, chain hotels pop up in the East and West numerously and start feeling the cold wind of stagnation. Several strategies were chosen to come up with these trends. Some CTOs tend to rely on their own, but most of them want to cooperate with other CTOs, considered as competitors before. Pathfinder cities founded European Cities Tourism (ECT), with the initial goal of strengthening their position towards the European institutions. But protecting the interests of more than onehundred cities - small and big ones, classical tourism hot spots and newly re-emerged cities in all directions and with different target groups - is very hard. ECT is expanding its acitivities, but how will it evolve? Up to now, CTOs and hotel chains have co-existed without collaborating or standing in each others way, but future developments suggest closer cooperation. This book discusses the current situation of hotel chains and CTOs, focusing on the attitude of the last-named towards necessary changes.