Interview: Preservation of culture key to Salzburg's success as tourism destination

The Austrian city of Salzburg is trying to maintain its status as a top tourist destination, with efforts to preserve the traditional culture in its Old Town city center and to deepen cooperation with China, said Mayor Heinz Schaden.

Various scenic spots of the historical city center are attractive to tourists, including the birthplace of the world-famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the lingering legacy of the well-known film Sound of Music shot in the city, said Schaden in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Clean environment of the city, including drinkable water from the taps and the pristine lakes, also continues to appeal to visitors, said the mayor.

The number of overnight stays exceeds 2 million a year with a rising tendency, said Schaden, noting a particular boost in the number of Chinese visitors.

However, there is no conflict between the large numbers of visitors and preservation of the cultural heritages, even though during peak times it could become crowded in narrow streets and on squares, said the mayor.

The city has laws protecting the Old Town and a considerable amount of funding goes to the preservation of the buildings located there, some of which need constant maintenance.

These efforts to maintain both the "hardware dimension," or buildings, along with the "software dimension," such as traditions, customs, music and folk dances, are under way, said Schaden.

The city has also positioned itself as a "city of knowledge," with over 500 institutions and three universities for a relatively small city, according to the mayor.

Much research is conducted, he said, and the knowledge-based approach is a plan for the future which all parties in the council have agreed upon unanimously.

The mayor also noted the strong cooperation between his city and China, in particular with China's eastern coastal city of Shanghai, which is the sister city of Salzburg. This partnership has increased mutual understanding between the two cities and deepened friendship, he said.

The cooperation is also based on culture and administration, with exchange delegations from Shanghai-based universities, corporations and people often visiting Salzburg to see how it is administered.

The mayor said he intends to travel to Shanghai at some point before summer this year, where he hopes to "renew this commitment."

As the fourth-largest city in Austria, Salzburg ranked second in terms of the number of tourists. Endi