While planning for our Black forest trip in Germany, we came to know about the Konus guest card. Every traveller who books a hotel or guest house in those 148 holiday locations around black forest range will receive a Konus guest card which gives them access to any local transportation over train, tram and buses at free of charge during their stay.

How far can one go with this card?

Black forest is a large forested mountain range in the south west of Germany that spans 6,009 square km. This region is well connected via 9 different linked public transportation systems covering 11,000 km². After check-in to our hotel we travelled around 426 km using public transport during our 2 night 3 days trip covering German towns Hausach, Triberg, Freiburger to Basel in Switzerland. This trip would cost a couple € 131.6 without the Konus guest card.

Why is the government funding such expenses?

Just imagine how much stress it removes from the head during planning a trip to a foreign country, when one doesn't have to worry about local transportation fare and tickets. I was really curious to know why the government is bearing such huge expenses? Usually the government's objective is to earn from tourism, they spend a lot to promote a destination and attract more tourists. After experiencing the scenic beauty of the region, we were certain about its true merit to attract travellers around the world. It doesn’t really need such an expensive promotion to be funded by the government.

Another aspect we found on the brochure is environmental conservation and sustainability. By providing free local transportation cards, the government is encouraging the travellers to park their car and use green energy fueled local transportation to reduce pollution and carbon footprint of the region to preserve the natural beauty.

Source of fund

A genuine and responsible initiative can’t sustain longer without establishing a solid model for funding. After a bit of research, I found, a fixed part from the tourist tax charged on every guest night is paid to the local transport authority to co-finance the public transport system. So tourists don’t have the option to skip that tax even if they don’t wish to avail the local public transport system and use their own car instead. Hence, visitors prefer to use sustainable cost-free local transportation option as it is prepaid through taxes.

Potential

I think we all realize it well today, without a conscious effort towards sustainability we can’t leave a beautiful world to our kids that we are enjoying and taking for granted. The question is whether a similar model can be adopted by other tourist destinations throughout the world. I personally feel so, though an economist with a background in planning and developing destinations might be the right person to evaluate. I have visited a lot of hilly forests in India before, and believe that starting a few eco-friendly transportation options as a pilot project won't cost a fortune and can be possibly funded by the local tourism taxes. Though the local government and entrepreneurs have to work closely to establish a transparent and sustainable model, the tourist needs to develop the mindset to bear the extra taxes for a sustainable future.

I am very optimistic, hope you are as well!