For Georg Steiner, the outgoing director of tourism in Linz, Christmas is a celebration of peace, joy, but also cooperation. The joint efforts of the tourism association and the Linzer City Ring in terms of advertising are intended to be a sign of the latter – these are becoming tangible with the first joint magazine that is now available.
Joint advertising measures
There is a total circulation of 400,000 copies, the content of the copies of the tourism association (300,000 copies) and the city rings (100,000 copies) are largely identical. The layout is also similar, the identity of the two organizations could be preserved, is Steiner convinced. The copies of the tourism association are distributed in Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Vienna and the Bavarian region, those of the city ring primarily in central Linz. In addition, online activities are planned.
The costs for the project were higher than originally planned due to paper price increases and the like, says Steiner. The production and distribution costs alone would amount to around 500,000 euros.
“Set impulses for Upper Austria and Linz”
City-Ring chairman Matthias Wied-Baumgartner was also satisfied with the cooperation and the result in the form of the magazines. These would show what is happening in Linz during Advent. “We hope that we can give an impetus to Upper Austria and especially to Linz.”
Forecasts about the Christmas business are difficult, in recent years it has suffered greatly from the Corona crisis, including lockdowns and online competition. The hope is that this year will be different despite the price increases. “The footfall in the city center is good, but the desire to buy is not yet where it should be,” is Wied-Baumgartner’s experience.
Steiner interjected into the discussion that from a tourism perspective, the climate ticket offers a great opportunity for mobilization for the Christmas season. The past few months in Linz have gone well in terms of tourism, the number of overnight stays is back to the pre-Corona level.
“No Light Pollution”
Both Steiner and Wied-Baumgartner are open to the idea that has been rolled out in city politics to replace the previous Christmas lighting with year-round effect lighting, they see a lot of potential in it. “The redesign is overdue. We’re a Unesco City of Media Arts, and that shouldn’t just be limited to the AEC. That also includes the lighting concept in the city center,” says Steiner. In view of today’s LED options, there can be no talk of light pollution, he says.
Incidentally, the City-Ring is already taking a first step in terms of Christmas lighting this year, according to Managing Director Ursula-Fürstberger-Matthey. The plan is to decorate 15 light poles on the country road with fir garlands and solar lamps for Christmas. With the aim of showing that you can achieve a lot with small measures and create a more attractive environment.
By the way, it is still unclear how the joint magazine project will continue in the future, it is practically certain that there will be a sequel to the Planet Linz Days. In addition to the tourism association and the City Ring, partners here included the hotspots hosts and the Altstadt association are new. The format took place for the first time this October, the claim behind it – under the motto “The good is so close” – to make special places and special people visible in the city.
Source: Nachrichten
