Zell am See-Kaprun invite to an 'unconference' at the castle

Anyone who has ever been in the audience of a large conference, congress, or seminar, maybe even for several days in a row, knows that phenomenon only too well: there are set schedules to be followed, hours of talks and lots of useless information to be listened to. And the only topic you are really interested in is usually placed right at the bottom of the agenda. By the time it is brought up, your concentration, patience, and the good mood you started off in are all gone for good. This problem of one-sided and monotonous events is to be found in all industries - even in tourism.

Zell am See and Kaprun have therefore decided to try out a new, totally innovative approach: the holiday region offers international tourism experts and interested private individuals the so-called 'castlecamp', a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions on the developments, trends, and problems in tourism. The event is held at Kaprun Castle from which it also takes its name. The basic principle: every participant in the 'castlecamp' is asked to take an active part in that exchange of ideas - in the form of giving a talk or presentation, or by helping to prepare one.

It was Rainer Edlinger, the man in charge of the field of new media in the marketing of Zell am See-Kaprun, who started off the idea of the 'castlecamps' here: 'For many years now I have attended congresses and conferences - and their way of doing it was always identical. I was getting less and less useful information from them.' He says that is why he started looking for something more 'substantial' and eventually struck gold with the idea of the 'barcamps'. The first of these brainstorming sessions based on an idea of Web2.0 founder Tim O'Reilly was held in Palo Alto in California in 2005. Only a year later another one took place on Austrian soil, in Vienna. However, this kind of event is still not very common.

On 13th and 14th September the first 'camp' in Zell am See-Kaprun is to deal with the topic of (e-)tourism. Once again the region is proving its feeling for the topics of the future and presenting itself as a trailblazer in matters of communication and interactivity: there is no set schedule, the participants themselves decide on the topics they want to discuss. This is what makes this event so interesting for the experts of the industry.

Anyone can take part in this camp. You just have to sign up on the Internet at www.castlecamp.at where you can also see the proposed topics of this 'unconference' (as these 'camps' are also called) at Kaprun Castle and who has already registered to take part. Among others, the list of proposed topics currently shows discussions on blogging in tourism, the legal grounds for hotel assessments, the effects of demographic change on tourism, and the usability of hotel websites.

As is the good custom with 'barcamps', the participants will be asked to report on the experiences they have made and the insight they have gained after the meeting. This is usually done by blogs, photo sharing, social bookmarking or wikis. The final party at Karun Castle will also be mentioned there surely. And of course, it will be the participants of the event themselves who organize it.

There is more information on the 'castlecamp' of Zell am See-Kaprun and many other interesting topics at www.castlecamp.at or www.zellamsee-kaprun.com on the Internet.

Contact within the region
Guest Service Zell am See-Kaprun
Phone +43 (0)6542 - 770 0
welcome(at)zellamsee-kaprun.com
http://www.zellamsee-kaprun.com

Press contact
knoefler-journalist . media + communications GmbH
Mr. Benjamin Knöfler
Phone +49 (0)6028 - 80729 0
zellkaprun(at)kj-media.com
http://www.knoefler-journalist.com

Information summary
The holiday region of Zell am See-Kaprun with its 14,000 beds and two million overnight stays per year is one of the most important holiday destinations in Austria. The beautiful flora and fauna in the Alpine panorama and Lake Zell guarantee relaxation and well-being. Golfing, hiking, and bathing are at the focus for the summer time programme, but visitors can choose from more than 40 other activities as well. During the cold season, fun on skis and boards make sure that there is no dull moment. Skiers can comfortably reach the 136 kilometres of slopes covered with powder snow by one of the 56 lifts. Snowboarders enjoy the perfect conditions of the Snowpark on the 2,600-metre-high glacier plateau. Even in the summer you can swish down the slopes here. And family-friendliness is a top priority in Zell am See and Kaprun. For this reason, the region has already received various awards.

This release was published on openPR.