Fabian Weber, Carina Fanninger, Christiane Brandenburg, Alexandra Jiricka-PĂŒrrer, Christina Czachs and Wiebke Unbehaun
INTRODUCTION
Climate change has diverse impact on tourism, on both the supply and demand sides. Various authors (cf. Götz et al., 2012; MĂŒller & Weber, 2008; Pröbstl-Haider, Haider, Wirth, & Beardmore, 2015) assume that, given the increase in heat days, tropical nights, and heat waves, more residents of large cities will seek refreshment in higher-altitude rural tourism destinations during the summer. This phenomenon is referred to as a revival of Sommerfrische, a common form of upper-class travel during the summer performed by urban residents in Austria in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
As consequences of climate change, increases in heat waves, and hot summers in European cities are expected. In the city of Vienna, for example, days with temperatures above 30°C have already increased from nine days a year in 1961â1990 to 15 days a year in 1981â2010 (ZAMG, 2016). By 2040, on average every fourth day in summer could be a heat day (Kromp-Kolb, Formayer, & Clementschitsch, 2007).
Several studies (such as Chladek, 2005; Fleischhacker & Formayer, 2007; Serquet & Rebetez, 2011) see this development as an advantage for tourism in rural mountain destinations close to urban agglomerations. They might become more attractive for tourists who seek relaxation and refreshment away from urban heat. While a wide range of scientific articles exists on the impact of climate change on winter tourism, much less literature is available on the impact of hot summers on Alpine tourism and on how urban residents adapt to summer heat.
Given that the new potential for summer tourism in rural mountain areas can be derived from the adaptation of urban residents to an increasing number of heat days and tropical nights, the question arises as to whether the traditional concept of Sommerfrische can be revived. This requires a more thorough understanding of how people conceptualize Sommerfrische in order to discuss whether the term might need to be redefined with the objective of using it as a successful climate change adaptation strategy in tourism.
Against this background, this chapter aims to examine the understanding and perceptions of the term Sommerfrische today. The chapter is based on the research project REFRESH (ACRP 8th Call), the aim of which was to evaluate whether and how residents of large agglomerations adapt to urban heat in their recreation and travel behavior. Further questions include the role of Sommerfrische as one possible adaptation strategy and how nearby mountainous regions may respond to this demand by creating sustainable tourism offers and travel options. This chapter focuses on the historical and recent use of Sommerfrische as a way to adapt to hot summers in large European cities under conditions of climate change and the respective associations of the term of Sommerfrische.
The results should allow first, to determine the associations connected with the term Sommerfrische and provide initial insights into its potential as a strategy of adaptation to urban heat for rural mountain destinations, and secondly, to build a basis for future quantitative research that aims to examine the actual and intended travel behavior of city dwellers in hot summers. In this chapter, evaluating how the term Sommerfrische is perceived is based on an extensive literature review and two focus-group discussions.
The structure of the chapter is as follows. First, an extensive literary review analyzes the different definitions and historical development of the term Sommerfrische. In this section, the impact of climate change on travel behavior is also examined. The second section explains the methodology of the focus-group discussions and the most relevant results from these sessions. Finally, the results are discussed and conclusions drawn, including suggestions for further research.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The concept and prospects of Sommerfrische were defined and analyzed on the basis of the existing literature, and the impact of climate and climate change on travel behavior in the Alps in summer was also analyzed. This literature analysis served the purpose of informing the guidelines of focus-group discussions with two types of stakeholders. These focus groups aimed at investigating in greater depth the current perceptions, importance and possible attributes, and preferences associated with such travel.
The Term Sommerfrische (Summer Freshness)
Kabak, Wacha, and Wochinger (cited in Schmidt-Lauber, 2014) carried out an analysis of travel guides and lexicons in researching the term Sommerfrische. In the Grimm brothersâ German dictionary of 1905, Sommerfrische was described as a âholiday for town-dwellers in the countryside during the summer (âŠ) also the location thereofâ (Grimm, 1526 cited in Schmidt-Lauber, 2014, p. 65) and in the Brockhausâ Konversations-Lexikon from 1898 as âhealth resortsâ (literally, âclimatic resortsâ). The travel guides of the period also use the idea of a medicinal, healthy purpose to such travel to describe Sommerfrische. Kos (1995) defines Sommerfrische similarly as a âtranquil sequence of largely interchangeable amenitiesâ and the ability to remain somewhere, in contrast to journeys involving continuous changes of location. For Kos (1995), the idea behind âSommerfrischeâ is one of âthe slowing down of life, of continuous presence rather than manically zipping through nature and landscapeâ and as âa time for oneself rather than a time for travelâ (Ko...
