The industry gathering “Tourism Dialogue 2026: City | Countryside – Shaping the Future Together” once again drew considerable interest. Around 130 participants gathered on March 23 at the Reinhard Ernst Museum (mre) in Wiesbaden to discuss current trends and market developments following a presentation and panel discussion on the topic “Visiting WIESBADEN RHEINGAU: Who is our guest of tomorrow?”, exchange ideas, and take advantage of the opportunity to network.

Accordingly, the focus on tailoring offerings to specific target groups was a central theme in both the panel discussion and the workshops. These efforts are also an integral part of the Tourism Strategy 2026+ developed to date by Wiesbaden Congress & Marketing GmbH, which is set to be updated shortly—as is the tourism strategy of Rheingau-Taunus Kultur und Tourismus GmbH. This will take into account the strategic integration of the WIESBADEN RHEINGAU destination marketing as well as the suggestions from the tourism dialogue. 

Market researcher and tourism consultant Leonie Scherer from dwif (German Economic Institute for Tourism at the University of Munich) kicked off the event with her keynote address.

Her key points include: 

• Our target group focuses not only on traditional overnight guests from the city break and business travel sectors, but also on two often underestimated groups: day visitors and locals.

• Day visitors travel for leisure and venture outside their usual surroundings—for example, for a stroll through the city or an excursion.

• Day visitors are of great importance to the destination: they contribute over 50 percent to total tourism value added.

• At the same time, this segment is particularly sensitive to current developments such as inflation and consumer caution. Day trips are more likely to be canceled than long-term vacations.

• Locals also play an important role: They are the face of a destination and significantly shape how it is perceived.

“What will tomorrow’s ideal guest look like?”: This question was also discussed in a panel discussion by Dr. Oliver Kornhoff, director of the Reinhard Ernst Museum; Professor Gergely Szolnoki of Geisenheim University, who authored the study “Wine Tourism in the Rheingau”; Diana Nägler (“Nägler’s Fine Lounge Hotel”); Fabian Lauer (Head of Economic Policy at the Wiesbaden Chamber of Commerce and Industry), and Claudia Braun (Hessen Agency HA).

The panelists agreed that a clearly defined target group is the foundation for effective marketing and tailored offerings: It helps to allocate limited resources in a targeted manner, sharpen profiles with greater authenticity and distinctiveness, and at the same time keep different needs in mind without excluding other guest groups.