DAY 2 #DCHH18
First the workshops, then the oasis
Six thematic areas, 18 workshops—Saturdays at the DCHH are traditionally packed with activities.
From 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., participants discussed, debated, painted, and even did crafts in an effort to channel the numerous questions and complex issues into structured lines of discourse. During the Oriental evening at “Le Marrakech,” delicacies and performances enchanted the guests, just like in a fairy tale from *One Thousand and One Nights*. The three consecutive sessions per topic area were interrupted only by another very varied and enjoyable lunch-dinner and a morning coffee break.
Some focused on the fundamentals of machine learning and the impact of artificial intelligence on tourism management, while others addressed the promotion of a culture of enjoyment or storytelling, as well as overtourism and a longing for nature. Questions about the ideal workplace were discussed just as much as the requirements for a new educational landscape or expectations for association work. Work models of the future were formulated, and personas were modeled.
Of course, the discussion also covered the GDPR —specifically, which data protection measures should have been completed by the previous day—and how the new EU Package Travel Directive was to be implemented by July 1, 2018. But it also addressed how the DMO should position itself in the future and what (new) responsibilities it might assume in the wake of digitalization.
Following last year’s first Magic Round Table, which was reserved exclusively for women, the first men’s roundtable made its debut at DCHH18—complete with beer, as is customary.
Beyond the oasis lies the desert. That's how world travelers know it, but so do the people of Hamburg—if you believe Hannes Schmidt in his list of the 10 best Middle Eastern restaurants in the magazine *Essen und Trinken*.
The view from the shuttle bus window on the way to Saturday night’s surprise event suggests that he may have gone a bit overboard with the “desert wasteland” analogy. Groß Borstel in northern Hamburg certainly has its charm, but here in the industrial park along the Tarpenbek, the image of a wasteland does come to mind. The bus stops next to a huge construction site in front of a furniture store—and this is where the oasis actually begins!
That’s because the “Le Marrakech” furniture store also includes a restaurant of the same name. Here, Kirsten Wellencamp and Hans Többen have created an oriental oasis on the former railroad grounds, right in the middle of a huge manufacturing hall. If “Le Marrakech” weren’t known far beyond Hamburg for its Oriental Nights on Saturday evenings, the iron-studded hall gates would surely cause more than a few people to turn back. That is, if they had even found their way here in the first place. But blooming globe acacias, olive and lemon trees, Arabian tents, and seating around a grill hint that there’s more to come.
Once inside, you almost feel like you’re in the old town of Marrakech. The medina is bathed in a magical light by thousands of colorful and varied oriental lamps and candles. Taste, smell, touch, hear, see. And eat. An oriental buffet at its finest. Hovering over the potpourri of lavishly diverse Oriental dishes is the magical, delicious scent of the Orient; Moroccan mint tea steams, rhubarb spritzer is available, as well as Oriental Mama rose lemonade, wine, and many other solid and liquid delicacies.
Oriental sounds caress the ears just as the enormous buffet delights the eyes. Anelya enchants the participants of DestinationCamp 2018 with her belly dance —it feels like—for hours on end; hands clap to the beat, and hips try to mimic Anelya’s moves, albeit tentatively. The unique blend of oriental music and the graceful belly dance performed by the slender woman from Hamburg keeps nearly every guest on their feet. Despite the balmy summer evening, everyone crowds into the medina for a while.
Jolly Mehndi Wali delights not only the female guests with her aesthetically beautiful and creative henna designs.
You could have just sat back, enjoyed yourself, and lost yourself in *One Thousand and One Nights*—if it hadn’t been for Kay Krauel, the shell game operator, flea circus trainer with his tiny predators of the rare species *Pulex invisibilis*, and magic clown.
And when the taxis started heading back at midnight, quite a few people had a souvenir from the oasis in their pockets. After all, you were practically sitting right in the middle of a furniture and home furnishings store...
And here is the video recap of this magical Day 2. The 2018 video documentary is presented on the second day by outdooractive, feratel & neusta, and Klimapatenschaft: