Sightseeing Action-Research

Description

The group was divided into five small groups. The task of the groups was to interview tourists in several sightseeing attractions in Berlin. The given questions were quite general, but the last question was about the environmental aspect of tourism, also referred to climate change. Before the start, the participants were given some basic information about the environmental and social issues of tourism. Afterwards there was a session where the results of the interviews were analysed and the method was evaluated.

Aim of the method

This method is a good way to give people chance to get to know each other. If people are the first time in Berlin, they mostly want to do sightseeing anyway – this method gives a chance for that and combines it with senseful aspects.

Age: The method should be targeted to 15+ year old people, who have the capacity to work individually. Big groups should be divided into smaller groups of about 4 – 6 people.

Variations

The assignment and the questions can be varied according to the topic. The interviewed people don’t have to be strangers but for example a big group can interview each other.

Evaluation of the method

Advantages

Advantages of the method were, that the given questions were so simple that they show easily the results of the query. Such excercise is also a good way to take theory into practice: The participants were given information about tourism in Berlin and the results of the query more or less correlated with the given information.

The instructions given for the task were very precise and easy to follow. The evaluation part gave a lot of space to reflect and process the assignment. The conversation lead to topics such politics, greenwashing and monetary system, which show tourism also in a universal scale. The analysis of the interviews gave some actual results.

Disadvantages, limits, dangers, difficulties, improvements

The questions could be formulated more precisely to avoid the danger of interpreting them falsely. Also some of the given questions were too similar. First and the second question were almost the same thus the interviewed persons already answered the question that was about to come. It would have been good to add a question to ask from where the interviewed persons had arrived to Berlin, because it would have given a context to the environmental issues of travelling. The evaluation part gave too much space to go off-topic with the conversation thus some more moderation could have been needed.

One of the dangers is that if there are shy people in the group, the assignment will be challenging. Shy people might feel uncomfortable about the excercise.

Holocaust memorial. There are lots of tourists every day.

Interviewing Belgian tourists at Brandenburger Tor

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Attachment

Opening Input: Field research on Tourism, climate change and sustainability

• Berlin is one of the most favorite touristical spots in Europe.

• Tourists and Congress-Delegates spent more than 182 Million Person-nights in Berlin in 2011. 76% of them where daytrips.

• The average time of the hotel-visitors in Berlin was 2,3 days in 2011.

• The gross volume of the tourism-industry in Berlin in 2011 was more than 10 Billions of Euros, with growth-rates of up to 10% per year.

• More than 40% of the hotel-guests came from foreign countries. Biggest group from UK, followed by USA and Italy. Each Tourist and Congress-Visitor spends more than 200€ per day in average in Berlin.

• Ten Million visitors spent in 2011 22 Millions Nights in Hotels in the town. In the last ten years the tourist-numbers have been more than doubled. Berlin is Europe’s number three in Town-Tourism after London and Paris.

• Hotel prices in Berlin are very cheap – nearly half of the average hotel-prices in London.

• The Berlin Airports reached 2012 the 25 millions passenger-mark, even with the old airports running over and above their maximum capacity.

• Traffic is one of the most important reasons for climate change. One fifth is caused by traffic in Germany.

• In comparison the bus is the most climate-friendly way of motorized traveling. Number two is the railway, with a big distance followed by the car and then the plane, that is ten times more climate-destructive than the Bus. If you consider the other toxical dangers like fine dust pollution, the car and the plane are as well the most destructive ways of traveling.

The Questions are:

• Do tourists think about that problems?

• Do day make decisions regarding that issue?

• What are tourists expecting from their trips to Berlin and do they reach it?

We want to
get further information about that. It’s your task to go to some touristical spots and ask the people in short interviews.

1. Why did you come to Berlin?

2. What do you want to do here?

3. How long are you staying?

4. Are you on a round-trip?

5. Which transportation did you use to get here?

6. Did you think about environmental questions concerning your trip?

=> If you like, you can use a audio-recorder and/or a photo-camera additionally.

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 Example of a questionaire:

Tourism and Climate Change Questionary

Group X – Reichstag & Holocaust Memorial

Are you on a round-trip?

Which transportation did you use to get here?

Did you think about environmental questions concerning your trip? Which?

Why did you come to Berlin?

What do you want to do here?

How long are you staying?

Are you on a round-trip?

Which transportation did you use to get here?

Did you think about environmental questions concerning your trip? Which?

EVALUATION:

1. Analyse your questionnaire-results in the small groups.

2. Play us a typical interview scene in your small group. If you made Photos or Audio you can use them as well.

3. In the round:

Who was your feeling doing that interview at the touristical sites?

How was your group-work going?

What do you think about the results?

Did something interesting came up for you?