DAY 2 #DCHH18
Workshops first, then the oasis
Six thematic areas, 18 workshops – Saturday traditionally packed a punch at DCHH.
From 9 AM to 5:30 PM, discussions, debates, drawing, and even crafting took place to guide the numerous questions and complex issues into structured discourse. As an oriental evening at "Le Marrakech," delicacies and show acts enchanted guests like a fairy tale from 1001 Nights. The three consecutive sessions per thematic area were only interrupted by a very diverse and enjoyable lunch dinner and a coffee break in the morning.
Some dealt with the fundamentals of machine learning and the impact of artificial intelligence on tourism management, while others focused on staging a culture of enjoyment or telling stories, on overtourism and the longing for nature. Questions about the ideal workplace were discussed, as were the requirements for a new educational landscape or expectations for association work. Future work models were formulated, and personas were modeled.
Of course, it was also about the GDPR or which data protection measures should have been completed by the previous day, and how the new EU Package Travel Directive would be implemented by July 1, 2018. But also about how DMOs should position themselves in the future and what (new) tasks might fall to them in the course of digitalization.
Following last year's first Magic Round Table reserved exclusively for women, DCHH18 saw the premiere of the first men's roundtable – appropriately accompanied by beer.
Before the oasis lies the desert. World travelers know this, as do Hamburg residents – if one believes Hannes Schmidt in his tip for the 10 best Oriental restaurants in Essen und Trinken magazine.
The view from the shuttle bus window during the ride to Saturday evening's surprise event suggests that he might have exaggerated a bit with the "desert." Groß Borstel in northern Hamburg certainly has its charm, but here in the industrial area along the Tarpenbek, the idea of a wasteland is quite fitting. The bus stops next to a huge construction site in front of a furniture store – and this is where the oasis truly begins!
Because the furniture store "Le Marrakech" also includes the restaurant of the same name. Here, Kirsten Wellencamp and Hans Többen built an oriental oasis on the former railway grounds, right inside a huge production hall. If "Le Marrakech" weren't known far beyond Hamburg for its Oriental Night on Saturday evenings, the iron-clad hall gates would certainly make some people turn back. If they had even found their way here. But blooming globe acacias, olive and lemon trees, Arabian tents, and seating around a grill suggest that there is more to expect.
Inside, one feels almost as if in the old city of Marrakech. The Medina is bathed in a magical light by thousands of colorfully diverse oriental lamps and candles. Taste, smell, touch, hear, see. And eat. An exquisite oriental buffet. Above the potpourri of lavishly diverse oriental dishes hovers the magical, delicious scent of the Orient; Moroccan mint tea steams, rhubarb spritzer is available, Oriental Mama rose lemonade, wine, and many other solid and liquid delicacies.
Oriental sounds caress the ears as the enormous buffet delights the eyes. Anelya enchanted the participants of DestinationCamp 2018 with her belly dance for what felt like hours; hands clapped to the rhythm, hips attempted to imitate Anelya's moves. The unique composition of oriental music and the aesthetic belly dance of the slender woman from Hamburg kept hardly any of the guests in their seats. Everyone crowded into the Medina for a while, despite the mild summer evening.
Then Jolly Mehndi Wali delighted not only the female guests with her aesthetically beautiful and creative henna paintings.
One could have simply leaned back, enjoyed, and indulged in 1001 Nights, had it not been for Kay Krauel, the shell game artist, flea circus tamer with his small, rare predators, "Pulex invisibilis," and magic clown.
And as the taxis drove back from midnight, many had a souvenir from the oasis in their pockets. After all, they were practically sitting in the middle of a furniture and furnishing store...
And here is the cinematic summary of this magical Day 2. The 2018 video documentation on the second day is presented by outdooractive, feratel & neusta, and Klimapatenschaft: