Conference Agenda

We are an art collective in VIenna, with 13 people from 8 countries. Whoosh tells new stories about Vienna. I would like to present as part of your panel: We create social-dining events, connecting visitors with locals in traditional cafes, with a menu of questions to ask each other. We have had people from 79 countries so far, and try to re-create the salon atmosphere in the cafes 100 years ago.

We also create social-dining with former refugees at the magdas Hotel, with a big Syrian buffet, and hotel guests and Viennese meeting new Viennese from all over the world.

I am a DJ and have played many nights in magdas, playing the music of the former refugees' homelands, where they show us how to dance to their music.

Whoosh is best known for alternative tours, which are also interesting to locals. like Feminism for Men, Invisible Smart City, Smells like Wien Spirit, Why Vienna is the best City in the World to live, Vienna Ugly, Food Safari, and every district in one day. For the last six years, we make Vienna Walking Week, which is 16 tours in 8 days, all of them new, for just €50, creating #tourismForLocals.

Our work has been written about in New York Times, Guardian, Die Zeit and on BBC.

I would like to make a midnight tour of the city on Friday night of your conference, to celebrate how friendly and lively and safe our city is after dark.

Best

Eugene Quinn

tel 0680 1254354

The changing population structures require cities to create inclusive and meaningful experiences for their older adult residents. Tourism needs to evolve beyond youth and kinesis into an ethical social enterprise that protects elderly travelers' dignity, autonomy, and well-being. This study explores how caring cities serve as a foundation for age-friendly tourism by emphasizing principles of hospitality and justice alongside intergenerational solidarity. The analysis presented in this paper applies Joan Tronto’s political ethics of care to argue that true urban tourism inclusivity requires embedding care as a justice practice throughout city infrastructure and governance systems beyond basic accessibility measures. The five phases of care defined by Tronto which include caring about, taking care of, caregiving, care receiving, and caring with establish an effective framework to rethink urban tourism. Cities need to recognize elderly travelers' needs (caring about) followed by institutional commitment to address those needs (taking care of). The design of public areas and tourism facilities must cater to elder accessibility needs (caregiving) with an emphasis on older adults playing active roles in shaping their experiences (care receiving). The ultimate essential step of caring with highlights community responsibility through shared creation of urban tourism which positions elderly participants at the core of decision-making processes. Digital accessibility (gerontechnology) stands as a moral obligation to prevent older adults from being excluded from urban experiences because of technological barriers. Cities can transform tourism into an experience of inclusion instead of exclusion by developing age-friendly infrastructure along with accessible transportation options and an inclusive cultural environment. The study argues that age-friendly tourism represents a city’s moral dedication to justice and care rather than simply being a policy issue. By integrating Tronto’s ethics of care into urban tourism, cities can shift from looking at elderly travelers as logistical concerns to acknowledging them as integral to the social and moral fabric of the city. A sincere caring city entrenches care into its tourism philosophy, making inclusion, dignity, and participation fundamental to the urban experience.