Research and Teaching Unit "Economic Geography"

The emphasis in research and teaching is on the nexus between economy and geography. Using diverse theoretical approaches, models and methods, regional economic structures and processes are captured and interpreted. A special focus lies on applied and future oriented questions. This is reflected in the close interconnection of research and teaching and the fact that advanced courses are integrated in research projects as much as possible. Research projects are often realized in cooperation with companies.

The tourism economy is of high significance in research and teaching. Based on the analysis of individual market segments and/or of tourism destinations (e.g. status quo analysis or strengths and weaknesses analysis) future oriented strategies for the management and design of tourism products are developed.

Special attention is paid to questions of how actors perceive demand and supply. The perceived impacts of climate change both by tourists and entrepreneurs are discussed. This allows integrating current research results in the teaching.

In research as well as in teaching, the application of methods is essential. Therefore, empirical social science methods, statistical data evaluation, geographical information systems (GIS) and computer simulations are applied.

Specific research and teaching regions are Germany, France including the overseas territories (e.g. La Reunion, Guadeloupe), USA, Canada and New Zealand.

For more detailed information please visit the German website.