Dr. Cornelia Dlabaja presented her priorities and research methods for the next five years at her inaugural lecture on February 22, 2024. State Secretary for Tourism Susanne Kraus-Winkler, Head of the Tourism Section at the Federal Ministry Ulrike Rauch-Keschmann, Tourism Spokesperson for the Green Party Hans Arsenovic, Clemens Költringer from the Vienna Tourist Board and numerous tourism experts, practice partners, students and colleagues from TU Wien and the University of Vienna accepted the invitation.
Since August 2023, Dr. Cornelia Dlabaja has been an endowed professor for sustainable urban and tourism development, which is funded by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. The endowed professorship aims to establish a research program for sustainable and resilient location and tourism development that provides scientifically sound support for the implementation of the Visitor Economy Strategy of the Vienna Tourist Board.
In the course of the presentation, she presented her range of methods, which come from sociology, architecture and spatial planning, cultural studies and European ethnology as well as artistic research. Based on her research on Venice, she discussed findings and learnings on the transformation of regions that are confronted with the challenges and consequences of climate change and overtourism, as well as insights from her many years of expertise in the field of urban and housing research in Vienna
Methods and research focal points
“How can we design and organize urban development and city tourism based on the needs of residents? What strategies can we develop in times of multiple crises? How do we want to live together?” The sociologist and cultural scientist has been working on these questions for several years and will continue to do so for the next five years.
Cornelia Dlabaja explains her main areas of research: “As an endowed professor, I work on socially relevant issues for location development based on the challenges of sustainable tourism and urban development. I analyze from multiple perspectives and act as a knowledge hub between research and practice. I also want to connect actors in tourism and urban research and planning from different fields. As a result, I will use scientifically sound basic research and applied research to provide findings for practice and scientifically support the process of the Visitor Economy Strategy of the Vienna Tourist Board.“
Practical implementation
As part of her professorship, she will analyze sustainable approaches to urban development and urban tourism on a local, regional and international level. She is already in the process of implementing her first activities. The first Learning Journey with local stakeholders will start in May. This will involve walking around Michaelaplatz, Schwedenplatz, Albertinaplatz and Heldenplatz and analyzing their climate resilience and social cohesion. Workshops, stakeholder-centred research and the image of Vienna as a tourist destination will also be analyzed. The research focuses on sustainable tourism and urban development, examining current challenges from a multi-perspective and stakeholder-centred approach and making the results accessible to researchers, practitioners and decision-makers. The findings are made available to a broad public through public events and publications.
State Secretary for Tourism Susanne Kraus-Winkler is already delighted with the new findings of the endowed professorship: “Without basic research, it will not be possible to develop tourism in the future with the level of professionalism that is required.”