Walter Hunziker

Walter Hunziker
Born 1899
Zurich, Switzerland
Died 7 Jan 1974
Switzerland
Nationality Swiss
Fields Tourism
Institutions University of St. Gallen
Known for Developing the field of tourism science

Walter Hunziker (1899–1974) was a Swiss professor who founded the Tourism Research Institute at the University of St. Gallen, co-developed the scientific study of tourism, developed the travel savings fund concept, co-founded the Association Internationale d'Experts Scientifiques du Tourisme (AIEST) and the Institut International de Glion. He was a director of the Swiss Tourism Federation, member of Swiss Advisory Committee for Trade Policy, and author.[1]

Science of tourism

Hunziker was an early advocate of the need to apply interdisciplinary scientific analysis to understand the highly diverse nature of tourism, develop a coherent tourism pedagogy, and use that analytical framework and training to resolve problems associated with business management and economic policy. Although Hunziker was an economist by training, he rejected the earlier view of tourism research as a subset solely of economics. Instead, Hunziker viewed tourism more as a cultural phenomenon. As such, he expanded tourism research to integrate aspects of sociology, psychology, history, geography, marketing and law as well as an understanding of how medicine and technology impacts tourism.[2]

In 1941, Hunziker initiated graduate studies in tourism at the University of St. Gallen. Hunziker founded a Tourism Research Institute at the University of St. Gallen in conjunction with that founded by Kurt Krapf at the University of Berne. The Institute is now known as the Institut für Öffentliche Dienstleistungen und Tourismus (Institute for Public Service and Tourism). In 1942, Hunziker collaborated with Krapf (director of the Bern Research Institute of Tourism) to publish the "Outline of the General Teaching of Tourism" (Grundriss der Allgemeinen Fremdenverkehrslehre), which became the standard work for basic research in tourism.[3][4] As part of this text, Hunziker and Krapf developed one of the first broadly accepted definitions of "tourism" (Fremdenverkehr), roughly translated as "Tourism is the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, in so far as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity."[5][6][7] A year later Hunziker published a book on the system of "scientific tourism research" (System und Hauptprobleme einer wissenschaftlichen Fremdenverkehrslehre) in which he tried to establish a "completely new discipline" as a branch of sociology; however, the attempt failed.[8] But Hunziker and Krapf continued to examine tourism not only from an economic perspective, but also from a sociological one. Hunziker did not want tourism to have a negative impact on the cultural values of either the destination or the tourist.[9][10][11] In 1972, Dr. Hunziker defined the essential elements of tourism science as:

Social tourism

In May 1959, at the second Congress of Social Tourism (Austria), Dr. Hunziker proposed the following definition: “Social tourism is a type of tourism practiced by low income groups, and which is rendered possible and facilitated by entirely separate and therefore easily recognizable services”.[12] He viewed tourism as adding value to society by increasing understanding of other cultures and thereby reducing xenophobia and isolationism.[13][14] For these reasons (rather than looking solely at economics), Dr. Hunziker opined that governments should support and encourage social tourism.[15]

Reka

As a pragmatic implementation of social tourism, Walter Hunziker co-developed the concept of the Swiss travel savings fund (Reka), which helps low income families enjoy vacations.[16][17]

Tourism institutes and associations

Institut International de Glion
Glion Institute of Higher Education

In 1951, Drs. Hunziker and Krapf founded the Association Internationale d'Experts Scientifiques du Tourisme (AIEST) in order to re-connect tourism researchers after World War II.[18] In 1962, Hunziker and Frédéric Tissot co-founded the Institut International de Glion.[19] Professor Hunziker was the founding president of the International Organisation of Social Tourism and ran the organization from 1963 until his death in 1974.[20] Consistent with Dr. Hunziker's focus on social tourism, the aim of the OITS is to facilitate "the development of social tourism in the international framework. To this end it is in charge of coordinating the tourist activities of its members, as well as informing them on all matters concerning social tourism, as much on the cultural aspects as on the economic and social consequences." Further, OITS continues to promote Dr. Hunziker's interest in "access to leisure, holidays and tourism for the greatest number of people - youth, families, seniors and disabled people" and "fair and sustainable tourism, ensuring profit for the host populations and respecting the natural and cultural heritage."[21]

Other professional positions

Dr. Walter Hunziker was also Director of the Swiss Federation of Tourism (1937-1945), professor of tourism at the University of St. Gallen (1941-1969), Executive Vice President of the Swiss Federation of Tourism (1946-1964), and a member of the Swiss Advisory Committee for Trade Policy (1946-1964).[22]

Works

Many articles in the Zeitschrift für Fremdenverkehr (Journal of Tourism) and Jahrbuch für Fremdenverkehr (Yearbook of Tourism).

See also

Geschichte der Tourismusforschung (History of Tourism Research)

Notes

  1. Medlik, S. (2003) [1993]. Dictionary of travel, tourism and hospitality (3 ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier). p. 226. ISBN 9780750656504. Retrieved 31 Dec 2010. Hunziker, Walter (1899–1974) Leading Swiss tourism academic, administrator and entrepreneur, Professor of Tourism at the University of St Gallen, head of several national as well as co-founder and President of international organizations.
  2. Dwyer, Larry (2011). The Discovery of Tourism Economics. Tourism Social Science 16. Emerald Group Publishing. pp. 118–119. ISBN 9780857246820. When I entered tourism research, I read the pioneering tourism work by Hunziker and Krapf (1942), The Outline of General Tourism Science. This book was an attempt by Swiss scholars to develop a general theory of tourism. The work was economic based and significantly influenced the tourism economics doctrine in Slovenia. It became clear to me that tourism cannot be perceived by economic instrumentation only and that tourism is not a single discipline or theory, but a multidisciplinary platform of knowledge.
  3. Sørensen, F. (2004), Tourism Experience Innovation Networks, Tourism Experience Innovations and the Role of Geographically Organised Production and Information Innovation Networks, Roskilde University, [W]hile the first serious scientific textbook on tourism was published in 1942 [Hunziker 1942]
  4. Cf. Spode, Hasso (2009): Tourism Research and Theory in German Speaking Countries. In: Dann, G.M.S/Liebman-Parrinello, G. (eds.): The Sociology of Tourism, Bingeley: Emerald, pp. 70ff.
  5. Williams, Stephen (2004). Tourism: The nature and structure of tourism 1. London: Routledge (Taylor & Francis). pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-415-24373-4. Retrieved 31 Dec 2010. Walter Hunziker and Kurt Krapf, in their general theory of tourism published in 1942, attempted to distil the essence of tourism as both a human and economic activity. * * * They defined the subject of tourism as: 'the totality of relationships and phenomena linked with the stay of foreigners in a locality provided they do not exercise a major, permanent or temporary remunerated activity.' * * * The work of Hunziker and Krapf is the base upon which several later definitions were built.
  6. Vanhove, Norbert (2005). The economics of tourism destinations. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 2. ISBN 9780750666374. Retrieved 31 Dec 2010. One of the oldest conceptual definitions of tourism was given by two pioneers of tourism research, Hunziker and Krapf (1942), who defined tourism as 'being a sum of relations and phenomena resulting from travel and stay of non residents, in so far a stay does not lead to permanent residence and is not connected with any permanent or temporary earning activity'.
  7. Perhaps the earliest recognized definition of tourism was provided by the Austrian economist Hermann von Schullard in 1910, who defined it as, "sum total of operators, mainly of an economic nature, which directly relate to the entry, stay and movement of foreigners inside and outside a certain country, city or a region."
  8. Spode op.cit., pp.71ff.
  9. The Effects of Tourism on Socio-Cultural Values (PDF), Paris: UNESCO, 18 Dec 1975, retrieved 31 Dec 2010, We have seen that tourism has a critical impact on the social structures that characterize the traditional economies, and that it tends to replace, rather than boost, those economies. We have also considered the question of whether or not tourism is going to borrow from the old values in order to avoid causing excessive upheavals. In this aspect sociological and economic thought show the greatest weakness, which is paradoxical since in one of their earliest works, Hunziker and Krapf [Grudriss der Allgemeinen Frefdenverkehrslehre (Outline of the general theory of tourism), Zürich, 1942], regarded as the founders of the science of tourism, states that 'without culture, there is no tourism'.
  10. Sharpley, Richard; Telfer, David J. (2002). Tourism and development: concepts and issues. Channel View Publications. pp. 89–90. ISBN 9781873150344. Sixty years ago, Hunziker and Krapf (1942) showed that tourism has an influence on national economies. They demonstrated that, depending on the inwards or outwards direction of tourist flows, tourism can have both a positive and negative impact upon the quantity of national income. Consequently, tourism first brings about the redistribution of national income, dividing the world into tourist-generating and receiving countries, regions and destinations. Second, it also leads to the redistribution of income between sectors and companies within the economy, the latter resulting from the fact that tourism consumption differs from personal consumption.
  11. Przeclawski, Krzysztof (1993). "Tourism as the subject of interdisciplinary research". In Pearce, Douglas G. Tourism research: critiques and challenges. Richard Warren Butler. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 9. ISBN 9780415083195. According to Hunziker, in what is regarded now as one of the classic definitions: 'Tourism is the sum of the relations and phenomena which result from travelling and visiting an area by non-residents providing that it does not entail resettlement or paid work.' [Hunziker, W. (1951) Le Tourisme Social, Berne: Alliance Internationale du Tourisme]
  12. Goeldner, Charles R.; Ritchie, J. R. Brent (2009). Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies (11 ed.). John Wiley and Sons. p. 378. ISBN 9780470440605. Retrieved 9 Jun 2012. W. Hunziker at the Second Congress of Social Tourism held at Vienna and Salzburg in 1959 proposed the following definition: 'Social tourism is a type of tourism practiced by low income groups, and which is rendered possible and facilitated by entirely separate and therefore easily recognizable services.'
  13. Kinderis, Remigijus (May 2010). "Adaptation of Social Tourism as of Alternative Form of Tourism in Europe" (PDF). GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites (Oradea, Romania: University of Oradea) 5 (1): 7–15. ISSN 2065-0817. From scientific position social tourism became a matter of concern in the 6th decade as W. Hunziker (1958) referred to social tourism as to a noble ideal against discrimination and self-integration challenges in the current world. [Citing Hunziker W., (1958), Comments on the finance and investments in social tourism. Tourism Progress, Nr.1.] This opinion was supported by L. Minnaert, R. Maitland ir G. Miller (2006), who stated that social tourism is a tourism with additional moral value, main task of which is to bring mutual benefit both to service provider and service receiver in tourism services' exchange. [Citing Minnaert, L., Maitland, R., Miller, G., (2007), Social Tourism and its Ethical Foundations. Tourism Culture & Communication]
  14. Minnaert, Lynn; Diekmann, Anya; McCabe, Scott (2011). McCabe, Scott; Minnaert, Lynn; Diekmann, Anya, eds. Social Tourism in Europe: Theory and Practice. Aspects of Tourism 52. Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications. p. 20. ISBN 9781845412326. In one of the earliest works on the subject, Hunziker defined social tourism as 'the relationships and phenomena in the field of tourism resulting from participation in travel by economically weak or otherwise disadvantaged elements in society' [Hunzicker, W. (1951) Social Tourism: Its Nature and Problems. Geneva: International Tourists Alliance Scientific Commission]. In 1957, he added a comment regarding the nature of social tourism and defined the concept as 'a particular type of tourism characterised by the participation of people with a low income, providing them with special services, recognised as such' [Hunzicker, W. (1957). Cio che rimarrebe ancora da dire sul turismo sociale, Revue de tourisme 2, pp. 52-57)].
  15. Hunziker, Walter (1961). "Die menschlichen beziehungen in der touristischen Entwicklungshilfe" [Human relations in tourism development aid]. Tourism Review (in German) (MCB UP Ltd) 16 (3): 89–99. doi:10.1108/eb059872.
  16. REKA "The Chairman and Director of the Swiss Tourism Federation, Dr Fritz Ehrensperger and Dr Walter Hunziker, came up with the notion together with the Chairman of the Swiss Trade Union Federation, Robert Bratschi, of creating a travel savings fund."
  17. Hunziker, Walter (1969). "Dreissig Jahre Schweizer Reisekasse" [Thirty years of Swiss Travel Fund]. Tourism Review (in German) (MCB UP Ltd) 24 (2): 56–59. doi:10.1108/eb059958. ISSN 1660-5373.
  18. "International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism (AIEST)". Maastricht, The Netherlands: Hospitality Net BV. AIEST owes its origin to the initiative of the Heads of the two Swiss Tourism Research Institutes founded at the Universities of St.Gallen and Berne in 1941, Walter Hunziker and Kurt Krapf. After the end of the Second World War both felt the need to make known the fruits of their scientific work to a wider circle of colleagues, and to resume the broken threads of international scientific relations in tourism, in order to develop them as well as the scientific work related to tourism itself.
  19. Academic Catalog, 2012-2014 (PDF), Clarens, Switzerland: Glion Institute of Higher Education, February 2012, Two pioneers of the Swiss tourism industry, Walter Hunziker and Frédéric Tissot, materialized their vision and opened “Glion” in the early 60’s. They chose the exceptional location of the “Grand Hôtel Bellevue”, which was one of the most exclusive hotels of the area. The breathtaking views on the Lake Léman, the Riviera and the Alps gave the school a unique cachet. More importantly, the location was particularly well suited for a Hospitality Management School. Thus Glion (previously called “Centre International de Glion”) opened in 1962
  20. "OITS Chronology". Brussels, Belgium: Organisation Internationale du Tourisme Social. 1963 – 1974, Prof. Hunziker, Founding President, REKA – Switzerland
  21. "What is the OITS?". OITS. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  22. "Information about Person "Hunziker, Walter"" [Swiss Diplomatic Documents]. Diplomatische Dokumente der Schweiz (in German). Bern, Switzerland: Swiss Academy for Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved 31 Dec 2010.

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