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ÖVP politician Franz Hörl has triggered a debate with sensational demands.
Jean Claude RaemyEditor Economics
Franz Hörl (66) is not known for his sensitive choice of words. The Austrian ÖVP politician is the chairman of the cable car association and himself a hotelier in the Zillertal. Now he has stirred up some dust in the debate about the electricity consumption of the cable cars and about the sense of skiing in the green winter.
Hörl pointed out that according to the Federal Environment Agency, cable cars account for only 0.33 percent of the total energy requirement in Austria. The arrival and departure of guests in the holiday areas is ecologically the “only weak point”.
In order to compare how little environmentally harmful ski holidays are compared to other types of travel, he called for “facts and data” from the flight and cruise industry, which is also high in emissions. Guests should be able to see “how green the holiday is in the Austrian summer and winter season.”
Hörl even went so far as to demand a special tax for advertising “particularly environmentally harmful forms of vacation” such as air travel or cruises. In an interview with the Austria Press Agency (APA), he even thought aloud about an advertising ban for these types of holidays.
Shot over the target
Hörl received a lot of criticism for these statements. Among other things, Walter Säckl (64), Secretary General of the Austrian Travel Association, says: “The fact that a tourism spokesman, who should actually represent all of Austria’s tourism, can be carried away to such statements is more than questionable.”
Its counterpart in Switzerland is Walter Kunz (61), Managing Director of the Swiss Travel Association (SRV). This hits the same horn: “Mr. Hörl only wants to distract the debate from himself.”
According to Kunz, the travel industry is aware that traveling is harmful to the climate. You have to face this challenge. “Instead of issuing bans or passing the buck to each other, it makes more sense to create decision-making aids for consumers.” Which, however, ties in with one of Hörl’s demands: consumers should be able to see how much CO₂ their trip emits. Based on this, informed holiday decisions can be made.
“Klimalink” ensures comparability
A tool for this comparability will soon be available. The “KlimaLink” association wants to make one available. The association was founded in October 2022. In addition to the SRV, the 22 founding members also include Hotelplan and DER Touristik, the parent company of the Kuoni brand.
The goal is to digitally provide emission data based on a uniform CO₂e calculation standard. The “e” stands for “equivalent” and means that in addition to carbon dioxide, other gases such as methane or nitrous oxide are also taken into account. This data is regularly developed and updated. According to Kunz, in the future travelers will be able to identify their ecological travel footprint and use it to make travel decisions.
Kunz explains that it cannot be assumed that people will no longer travel to Australia simply because of the CO₂ emissions. “Perhaps, based on the information, we can then travel a little less, but more consciously.”