Image problem leads to visitor decline in Dresden

Thick, black clouds hang over the old town center of Dresden. It has been raining all morning. Despite the weather one bus after another stops at the Theaterplatz in front of the Semperoper opera house. People get off the bus, take pictures and pose for them. At the Zwinger palace next door - once the orangery of Saxon kings and now a museum displaying art treasures from around the world - the sound of different languages being softly spoken mingles with the gentle splashing sound from the fountain. At first glance everything looks the way it usually does.

But statistics tell a different story. For the first time in five record breaking years, and contrary to the trend in other big German cities, the number of visitors to Dresden has declined. Between January and June this year some 90,000 visitors came to the city, which is a decline of 1.7 percent on the same time the preceding year. Overnight stays decreased by 3.2 percent to 1.8 million. How can this be explained?

Fewer visitors from Russia and Germany itself

The Dresden Marketing Company, presenting the results of the first half year of 2015, names two decisive factors: on the one hand the nearly 30 percent decline in visitors from Russia. This important market is suffering under the financial crisis and political instability in Russia. On the other hand there has been a sharp decline in German visitors to this city on the Elbe River, compared to the preceding year. A press release phrases it diplomatically, stating the "negative presence of Dresden in the media" has to be seen a contributory factor.

This refers to reports in German and international media about the massive demonstrations by the PEGIDA movement, which is short for Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West. From January to March this year its supporters were particularly active, taking to the streets of Dresden's old town center in their thousands to protest against the alleged alienation caused by Islam, the loss of political autonomy and the manipulation by the media. Their hate-filled chants were targeted at refugees and foreigners. And the demonstrations continue. On Monday September 7, 2015 some 4,000 protesters marched, and some say there may have been as many as 10,000 PEGIDA supporters taking to the streets.

The tourist sector counting on damage control

How much have these pictures put Germans or international visitors off coming to Dresden? This can not be measured in concrete numbers, according to the Dresden Marketing Company. They say there are other contributory factors to consider, like the weather or the lack of crowd drawing big events in the first half year. Bettina Bunge, the marketing company's managing director says, however, that they have been told by tour operators that many potential visitors have voiced unease over PEGIDA.

A couple of retirees from the Netherlands, who are strolling through the Dresden Zwinger palace seem unaffected by all this. "We have people like that in Holland too, it's something a democracy must endure," says Carolien Janssen. She adds with a smile: "We love this city. We were last here 20 years ago, and now it is even prettier." Javier Bernal from Mexico, who is actually in town on business and who decided to spontaneously go on a sightseeing tour, is also very relaxed. He has never even heard of PEGIDA, but groups like that, he says, shouldn't put people off visiting Dresden with its exciting history.

Tourists who decided to stay away can not, of course, be asked for their reasons. But perhaps tour operators know more, seeing as they are in contact with people from around the world every day. But the three leading agencies for incoming tourists refused to comment, let alone be named by DW. All they told us is that we should ask the tourist association and the city marketing company to help interpret the numbers. The uncertainty is tangible. They know that Dresden will not easily shake its negative image - recently confirmed by violent racist protests at a refugee shelter in nearby Heidenau.

What's the best strategy?

The first steps taken by the state government were to suspend their expensive international image campaign with the motto: "the Saxon way." The pan-European image drive, begun back in 2013, used TV ads and billboards to illustrate how attractive the German state of Saxony is. "You can't have an advert praising the beauty of the Saxon countryside only to have it followed in the news with pictures of riots at refugee shelters," government spokesperson Christian Hoose tells us. "We intend to adjust the image campaign in order to shift the focus on to Dresden people who actively help others," he adds.

The federal commissioner for tourism Iris Gleicke supports the measures taken by the state government in Saxony, saying the best strategy is to be open and honest about the situation. She adds, though, that it will take more than politicians to improve Saxony's image in the long term: "It depends on how well the city and its people can show the world that PEGIDA does not come close to representing a majority." Several initiatives have already proven this, but they now need to attract more attention.

Solidarity is essential

The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collection), consisting of 14 large museums ranging from the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Gallery) already joined an initiative at the beginning of the year to combat racism. Since then they have been advocating how cosmopolitan Dresden is.

"What signifies Saxony and what made it blossom was it's openness to outside influences," says Hartwig Fischer, the director of the State Art Collection. This is evident in the art collection but also the city's music, architecture and scienctific achievements. He says staying away from Dresden now would send the wrong signal: "now more than ever, does our society with its culture and science need support and solidarity from outside. Otherwise a comparatively small minority will have succeeded in having an immensely negative effect."

A bus with tourists from China has just stopped in front of the Semperoper opera house. By now the cloud-cover has been ripped open allowing the sun to briefly shine on the place. The opera makes its stance clear by flying its political flag on four masts in front of the building. Big letters on white flags clearly state:" human dignity is inviolable" - quoting the first article of the German constitution, but added to it is the appeal: "open your eyes", "open your hearts", "open your doors".