Boom '70

Starting June 5, 2025, the Touriseum at the Remise of Trauttmansdorff Castle will showcase an exhibition about the rapid tourism boom of the 1970s. 

While the spa and summer resorts in southern Tyrol experienced their first tourism peak around 1900, tourism only reached the remote mountain villages and high valleys of South Tyrol with the spread of individual transportation in the 1950s. German guests, in particular, discovered these remote regions. For the rural population, who still lived under modest conditions, this offered a welcome new source of income. It was mostly the farmers' wives who rented out the family's private rooms to vacationers, laying the foundation for a rapid tourism boom. Between 1970 and 1980, the number of overnight stays doubled from ten to twenty million – modern mass tourism was born. At a breathtaking pace, the living environment and everyday life of the South Tyrolean population changed, and while many couldn't get enough of it, others felt overwhelmed by the developments. 

The new special exhibition at the Touriseum invites visitors to relive this exciting time of change through the memories of contemporary witnesses. At six themed islands, they report on the clash of opposing worlds: industry versus tourism, poverty versus modernity, church versus bikini – as well as the needs of the guests, which often contrasted with those of the children. The stories provide insight into the decisions that led to the promotion of tourism in rural areas, the first encounters with guests that opened up a new role as hosts for women, and the friendly relationships with people from big cities that offered farming families a "window to the world." 

And they also report on the challenges brought by the tourism boom: 

At the same time, they address the challenges of the tourism boom: the loss of privacy, the influence of new lifestyles, rapid construction activity, and exploitative working conditions. 

The interview excerpts come from over 70 conversations conducted in 2024 and 2025 as part of the research project "Tourism in South Tyrol 1961 to 1983" for the Touriseum. The comprehensive results will be published in the fall of 2025 in a publication that delves deeper into the exhibition's theme. 

In addition to the narrative voices, selected historical objects from the 1970s illustrate this period of upheaval in the exhibition – from tourist advertising posters to personal memorabilia to quirky everyday items from the world of private room rentals, such as a portable plastic bidet. 

Through the exciting perspective of the actors, the exhibition shows how the developments of the 1970s shaped South Tyrol into the tourism destination it is today, and at the same time invites reflection on the present and future of tourism in South Tyrol.

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