Peter Keller: A Pioneer of a Sustainable Tourism Policy

Abstract

Peter Keller was a true pioneer of a sustainable Tourism Policy. The Swiss Tourism Concept of 1979 he formulated objectives, strategies and measures relevant to the three dimensions society, economy and environment, and he did so, long before sustainability became a buzzword. In his Report on Tourism Policy of the Confederation published in 1996, Peter Keller once again gave a time-signal and reduced the visionary approach of 1979 to the three core areas of tourism policy. Furthermore, he established "Innotour", an instrument to promote innovation, which to this day is still relevant and undisputed.

Anyone who takes stock of Swiss tourism policy in the last forty years will note how strongly it has been shaped by Peter Keller. Keller creatively implemented his understanding of an integral tourism policy that is focused on strategically necessary incentives for private sector initiatives and which pursues efficiency principles. Three basic principles can be discerned that guided him: future orientation, adaptation and pragmatism.