The Lech Trail to become a European Quality Trail

Reutte, Breitenwang, Ehenbichl, Höfen, Lechaschau, Musau, Pflach, Pinswang, Vils, Wängle , Weißenbach

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TVB Naturparkregion Reutte,

Untermarkt 34, A-6600 Reutte
Tel. +43(5672)62336
Fax +43(5672)62336 40
E-Mail info@reutte.com

The Lech Trail to become a European Quality Trail

The European Hiking and Ramblers’ Association is developing quality criteria for European hiking trails using the Lech Trail as a model.

STUTTGART. On the 15th January, within the framework of the CMT Stuttgart (Europe’s largest Trade Fair for caravaning, motoring and tourism), the European Ramblers’ Association (ERA) issued an invitation to the first joint ‚quality workshop’. The objective of this initiative is the development of a European Seal of Quality for hiking trails and a corresponding means of testing them. For this purpose the ERA established a control group consisting of hiking experts from Denmark, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Austria and the Czech Republic.

The development of the Seal of Quality can be seen as a pilot project for a long distance trails. Among several applicants, the experts chose the cross-border Lech Trail for the model project. This long distance trail, 120 kilometres in length, begins in the headwaters of the Lech river in the borough of Lech am Arlberg, includes the Nature Park Region of Lechtal-Reutte and comes to an end at the Lech waterfall in Füssen. The opening of the Lech trail is planned in the autumn of 2011.

Michael Kohler, managing director of the Tourism Association Lechtal, sees in the cooperation with the ERA a huge opportunity for the Nature Park Region. „The certification of the Lech Trail is a quality incentive for tourism in the Lech area. We are on display for the whole of the European hiking trail market“, declares Kohler. Stefan Fredlmeier, managing director of Füssen Tourism and Marketing adds: „The European certification is not only an important measure in the frame of our quality management. This is also an opportunity for us to agree transnationally on joint quality criteria and to get this across to the visitor uniformly and transparently.“

The initiative „Quality Trail Germany“ of the German ‚Wanderverband’ – the ‚umbrella’ organization of the rambler associations in Germany - serves as a role model for the European Seal of Quality. Ute Dicks, managing director of the German ,Wanderverband’, explains: „The German criteria for the assessment of the quality of the trail should be further developed for European standards. The biggest challenge will be to utilize these optimized criteria for lowlands and low mountain ranges and apply them to the Alps and the Pyrenees.“ Lis Nielsen, Danish President of the ERA, confirms: „We want to develop for the whole of Europe a uniform, easy to utilize certification system for supreme hiking enjoyment. We will be introducing this system to all 50 member organizations from 28 European states at our annual assembly in October 2011.“

The Lech Trail is a joint project of the tourism associations Lech Zürs Tourism, Warth Schröcken Tourism, Tourism Association Lechtal, the Tourism Association Nature Park Region Reutte and Füssen Tourism and Marketing. The coordination of the project is being organized by the Regional Development Association Ausserfern. This project is supported by the European Fund for regional development.