It is Spring 2020, the first “Corona year”. We, two friends named Edith and Maria, are sitting on the riverbank in Salzburg and watching the Salzach flow by. With the old town as a backdrop, we talk about traveling – as we often do. We experienced our first long trip together in our early 20s: we spent three exciting months in London. This “work-and-travel adventure” in the urban jungle shaped us and was to have a major impact on our lives.

Travel in transition: How can we give something back?

Since then, we have both traveled a lot around the world – sometimes on “normal” vacations, sometimes longer-term trips lasting several months. We also visit countries again and again where the population is worse off than in our wealthy homeland. There we come into contact with poverty and inequality – much more obviously than in Austria. We ask ourselves how we, as privileged tourists, can make a good contribution locally. Make a positive impact, a gift to our hosts, if you will.

This question is on our minds again on this sunny afternoon. Little by little we see a flash of opportunity. This time of upheaval offers us the opportunity to make a contribution to the tourism of the future. To help shape a positive development. Because in our view, travel must not only become more ecologically compatible, but also more social and holistic.

Travel is an enormous privilege. We are convinced that those who enjoy this privilege have great potential and the will to improve the world they travel to a little bit. The question that concerns us now is: how can we encourage people to do something good in their vacation destination?

Good things take time: the multifaceted innovation process

If we want to seriously pursue the idea and want to use our own resources, as well as the time and knowledge of other people, we need money. We apply for funding from the Vienna Research Promotion Agency FFG – and receive approval for our idea. Let’s get started!

In order to understand the challenge in depth, we dive headfirst into an intensive process that we design using the innovation method “Design Thinking”.

In the following months (er, years! If we had known that…) we speak to scientists from sociology, poverty and transformation research. We lead focus discussions with experts from tourism and social professions. In workshops with interdisciplinary groups, we develop countless ideas for possible solutions. We bring students from the psychology department on board to examine the topic of willingness to donate in more detail. And we repeatedly question the target group: tourists in Salzburg. In total, around 80 locals and 60 travelers were involved in the process.

When our three measures were finally decided, we look for partners and sponsors who wanted to support the project. We are lucky: Beyond the Postcard is well received by many people and we find wonderful supporters!

And here we are. 😊