1. Dear Hannes, Komma5Sinne is a magazine and a platform which tells stories about beautiful, precious things in Styria and about Styrian flavours. Can you briefly tell us something about the concept and vision of 5Komma5Sinne?

5komma5sinne was created to bring Styria closer to our readers in a very emotional and authentic way. With our blog and the accompanying magazine, we bring people, companies and places to the fore, many of which lie dormant in the background and are therefore not yet so well known. With komma5, we also deliberately give ourselves space and creativity for example, for economic, scientific or current topics. The fact that we are always on site with our team means that we are also able to create a strong network of individual people, companies and ideas. In this way, we present Styria to our readers with a special diversity and beauty.

2. Visual worlds and stories have become extremely important in our visually orientated society. Why do you think that is the case? And how do you think will we tell these stories in the future?

I believe that images and stories have the power to emotionalise very strongly – and we humans are created for emotions. Hence, in the future, too, a lot of stories will be told with visual support in order to create as much atmosphere as possible for all kinds of topics. The only difference between the past and the future will be the type of visualisation – cave painting in the past, digital in the future.

3. What does investing in the future basically mean to you?Can you give us some examples?

Investing in the future means, first and foremost, giving something back to the next generation. Whether it’s the environment, the economy or passing on values such as mindfulness towards our surroundings or our senses – hopefully one day our “youngsters” will benefit, who will then do the same for the next generation to come.

4. Enjoying food with all our senses is something timeless, but our tastes are constantly changing. When we look at Styria and its tourist and culinary treasures, it is very much about values, tradition and authenticity. Will these things continue to determine the tourism stories of Styria in the future – where do you think the journey will take us?

Definitely – that is also a major concern for us at 5komma5sinne. Austria, and Styria in particular, is very traditional. The dialect, the traditional costumes, Styrian pumpkin seed oil and the beautiful nature – to name just a few examples. And as long as we uphold these virtues, this will naturally also have an impact on tourism, as it gives guests many good reasons to visit us. There is something here that is not available anywhere else. And don’t forget, in addition to seeing, tasting and hearing, there is also feeling and smelling! It’s not easy to consciously use all of your senses.

5. AI-based images, virtual reality, metaverse – all of these things are still in their very early stages and are set to turn all of our lives upside down in the next 20 years. In your opinion, to what extent will technical innovations determine Styria’s tourism offering in the future and to what extent your way of storytelling?

Very much! And that’s a good thing, as long as such things are controllable and we don’t forget reality. But you can’t stop certain things anyway, including technological progress. You have to try to bring out the good things, i.e. the big advantages, and work with them. I therefore think that working with AI and the like can be very relaxed. Nevertheless, I am convinced that emotional and authentic content will always remain and have its justification. We create the best emotions ourselves with a lot of heart and feeling – we also like to take support from the animal kingdom and the marvellous natural world. Our senses are more sensitive than we think!

6. You are professional storytellers at 5Komma5Sinne. How important is it to teach future tourism and culinary experts the importance of good storytelling and high-quality images? And what should this training look like?

This is particularly important in tourism, but we mustn’t forget the economy – most companies have built up almost all marketing channels. Unfortunately, many lack emotional and authentic content. I always say that we bring the longed-for water to your professional irrigation system. This also sets us apart from marketing agencies, which we are not. We are the perfect “add on” to any agency. We produce targeted content for guests, end customers, business customers, employees and shareholders. We always come back to the topic of emotions. After all, tourism is nothing more than “selling” our region to guests and showing them why it’s so special here. And that, in turn, works best through feelings and emotions. Broken down, this applies to the whole of Styria with its adventure regions, but also to small guesthouses or local products. If you want to get others excited about something, the best way to do this is on an emotional level. And in my opinion, this can only be achieved with a lot of practice. So, join us out on the doorstep in beautiful Styria and get to know people and their stories, talk to them about it and experience the feelings for yourself – this is the only way to pass them on as unfiltered as possible. That’s why it’s so important for us to visit each business in person before we write about it – or tell a good story.

7. What advice would you give to young people on how they should approach their career planning and how they can manage to look positively into the future and master it in order to tell their own great story at some point?

To be honest, I always find it difficult to give advice, especially to young people. I find it particularly valuable when you can start out in life or professional life completely free and as unconditionally as possible.

I only want to speak about myself. After a wonderful half century on our planet – and I’m very grateful for that – I can say that life is good, and you have a lot in your own hands, especially when it comes to your attitude! Of course, there are always ups and downs professionally, but there are also so many opportunities and possibilities in our world. I have consciously changed my career very often and yes, it was a special risk every time – sometimes financially, whether I was up to the tasks, sometimes with start-ups, with corporations, etc. – and it was always a special adventure for me, where I was able to grow personally, get to know new companions or completely different industries and gather an incredible number of impressions. As the type of person I am, I need the change, it makes me feel good, sharpens my senses – perhaps because I also like being out in nature and that’s where you can also see the changes within the seasons…although if you look closely, a tree…even a rock face doesn’t look the same every day!

Especially with the great training at your school, you can take so many different paths in your job. As I said, I’ve learnt a lot from trying out different things depending on the phase of my life. I’ve also learnt that any fear of failure or uncertainty is absolutely unfounded, in fact it’s actually a hindrance!

Have fun living and experiencing life!