Partner projects
Cross-regional and cross-border tourism cooperation is a challenge for all those involved in the tourism industry. It requires a professional approach as well as a permanent adaptation of the offer to the constantly changing demands of the clientele of the 21st century.
We live in a time of global development, of which tourism is certainly the most affected, with over 900 million travellers a year for whom the world has become their village. The bundling of common assets, which individually have only a limited impact, often proves to be unavoidable if you want to open your offer to a larger market.
The challenge of the tourist advertising community is to expand the offer for the respective existing guests and to jointly open up new markets. The strengths of the partners must become powerful beacons that can position the joint holiday destination on the international market.
It goes without saying that the most significant advantage of supra-regional and cross-border cooperation is the fact that each partner can use the other's pioneering role in this or that market. From the point of view of advertising budgets, the savings are obvious, especially if the actions are 50% subsidised by the EU. A new tourist destination is not just the combination of individual attractions, but rather the commonality that results and is perceived as a whole by the guests.
Interreg - RANDO-M
Cross-border cycling and hiking trails in the German-Belgian Eifel-Ardennes region are to be linked and connected. To this end, the East Belgium Tourist Agency (EBTA), the Eifel Tourismus (ET) GmbH Prüm and the Tourist Federation of the Province of Liège (FTPL) have joined forces in an Interreg project "RANDO-M: Eifel-Ardennes an unlimited adventure area for cycling and walking" within the framework of the Euregio-Meuse-Rhine.
The aim of this cooperation is to raise the profile of cross-border cycle paths and to connect East Belgium to the Eifelsteig via a new long-distance hiking trail.
Belgian guideline hiking trail
In order to further promote the Eifelsteig, which has received several awards as a premium hiking trail and is highly frequented, a connection is to be designed to lead hikers as far as Luxembourg and Wallonia to the Escape-Ardenne hiking trail in the south.
The Belgian guideline hiking trail is to become a counterpart to the Vennbahn cycle path. By the time of the planned opening in the summer of 2021, everything should be prepared, created and signposted. Moreover, partner companies should be found and all general conditions clarified.
Cycle routes with emotions and stories
The internationally renowned Vennbahn Cycle Path is already the cross-border link in the cycle path network of the Eifel-Ardennes region. The success of this project has led to the extension of the railway cycle path from Bütgenbach, Büllingen to Jünkerath to the Kyll cycle path. This has resulted in a high-quality cycle route of around 200 kilometres between the imperial cities of Aachen and Trier, which is the basis for a four to five day tour from north to south through the Eifel and already provides additional overnight stays in the cycle-friendly accomodations.
The Eifel Tourismus GmbH has transferred this approach to the entire network of cycle paths. In addition to the Aachen and Trier route, routes between Roermond and Luxembourg, Düsseldorf and Trier or Cologne and Trier through the Eifel are equally possible. The concept has cross-border potential and will now lead to an upgrade of the entire cycle path network in the Eifel-Ardennes region within the framework of the project.
The linked routes will be positioned using the storytelling method and marketed together with the tourism partners and businesses along the routes.
Further information:
www.interregemr.eu
| Interreg investments |
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| The Interreg V-A Euregio Meuse Rhine (EMR) programme is investing almost 100 million euros in the development of this Interreg area in the period up to 2020. The area stretches from Leuven in the west to the borders of Cologne in the east and extends from Eindhoven to the borders of Luxembourg. More than 5.5 million people live in this cross-border region, which brings together the best of three countries in a truly European society. With this investment of EU funds in the Interreg projects of the regional project partners, the EU is investing directly in the economic development, innovation, territorial development, social inclusion and education in this area. |
Interreg V - Digital Tourism Marketing for the Greater Region
The Interreg V-A project "Digital Tourism Marketing for the Greater Region" was intended to further develop the tourism marketing approach developed in the previous project. Tourism marketing organisations from all parts of the Greater Region had joined forces to actively shape the digital transformation in tourism.
The focus was on the rich natural and cultural heritage of the Greater Region, which was put on a digital stage. The centrepiece for this was a joint content strategy, which was developed from the results of online market research and an analysis of digital user groups. Based on the content strategy, a database was developed whose information is available to guests, individually adapted to their interests.
The project started on 1.1.2016 and ended on 31.12.2021.
The goals of the project:
- To jointly develop a strategically oriented, digital tourism marketing for the greater region
- Develop innovative communication measures and digital services, tailored to the respective user group
- Making partners in the regions fit for sustainable tourism with information and qualification measures
- Inspire residents and visitors to get to know the Greater Region better, as a home or travel destination
- Promote visits between neighbours within the Greater Region
- Making use of the natural and cultural treasures of the region and making them visible
| Interreg investments |
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| The project 'Digital Marketing for the Greater Region' is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the framework of the INTERREG V-A Greater Region programme with 4,851,177.87 €. |
Project partners:
Lead beneficiary:
- Tourismus Zentrale Saarland GmbH
Operational project partners:
- Luxembourg for Tourism
- Comité Régional du Tourisme de Lorraine
- Moselle Attractivité
- Fédération touristique du Luxembourg Belge
- Fédération touristique de la Province de Liège
- East Belgium Tourist Agency
- Rheinland-Pfalz Tourismus GmbH
- Commissariat Général au Tourisme
Strategic project partners:
- Meurthe-et-Moselle Tourisme
- Meuse Tourisme
Further information: www.tourismus-grossregion.eu
Leader South Tourism - Junction node system & management tool
The signposting register for the southern part of the junction node system for hikers was completed in 2017 by the company SVK Kaulen, taking into account the comments of the municipalities and forestry offices, and is now available. The catalogue of services and quantities for the specifications was also developed.
The new route management module for the route planner "Go Ostbelgien" went online in December 2017 and has since undergone a 3-month test phase. It is now possible to geographically locate information in the route network, as polygons, lines or points as required. These are linked to a calendar, which makes it possible to retrieve the information for a specific period of time.
The back office of the route planner was also equipped with a statistical recording as part of the route management module. Now it is possible to determine where and when people walk in the route network.
This is best illustrated by the integrated Heatmap. The revision and redesign of the information boards (at the forest entrances) was planned with the forestry offices as part of the project.
Leader Nord - Touristic development of a homogeneous landscape of experiences in the north of East Belgium
Within the framework of the Leader project " Touristic development of a homogeneous landscape of experiences in the north of East Belgium", a coherent tourist experience in the north of East Belgium is to be conceived and realised. The project, which is directly linked to the tourism model " Tourism Development East Belgium 2025", is divided into two phases:
- Conceptualisation of a landscape of experiences for the northern municipalities (as an integral part of East Belgium).
- Presentation of the landscape in the sense of the developed concept.
The conceptualisation of a landscape of experiences resulted in the all-encompassing, new claim "Welcome to Europe's vibrant garden", which serves as a reference for a brand-compliant promotion of the destination East Belgium. It is the result of the research work of author and dramaturg Dr Christian Mikunda, who conceived the tourism script of our region. His results were presented at a one-day lecture workshop in 2017 and are now an integral part of the EBTA's external communication.
The scenery is presented in two ways. On the one hand via a network of so-called "O-ases", and on the other hand via the creation of qualitative mountain bike routes in the north of East Belgium. The O-ases are places of great attractiveness that are intended to convey special views or moods. The mountain bike network is made up of 3 cross-country routes that are connected to each other and are 120 km long in total. It was implemented according to the latest signposting and safety standards.
The project started in 2017 with a total budget of EUR 178,717.00 and was extended to 2023 in 2021. Along with the extension, additional funds amounting to EUR 105,000.00 were approved.
Leader - Partner project - MTB South
This LEADER project aims to make East Belgium more attractive for tourists by improving the landscape and optimising the tourist offer so that the region can benefit and the quality of life of the population can increase.
The decision to build a mountain bike network was taken in the light of the following factors: the increasing popularity of this leisure activity and the resulting new demands on the infrastructure.
The infrastructure will be open and accessible to everyone, and mountain biking has become widespread in our society. Increasing the tourist attractiveness of the region in the face of increasing competition will have a direct impact on the local economy.
The duration of the project has been set at 2.5 years from spring 2021.
The total sum amounts to EUR 182,650.
The timetable would thus be structured as follows:
2021-2022
- Planning of mountain bike loops
- Scouting of mountain bike loops
- Analysis of the mountain bike loops
2022
- Signposting concept
- Implementation of the signposting concept
- Development of a communication tool
2023
- Visual material of the mountain bike loops
- Implementation of cartographic material for the mountain bike loops
- Integration of the mountain bike loops into a route planner
- Integration of the mountain bike loops into the website of East Belgium
Further information: www.ec.europa.eu
Leader project - Panorama boards - East Belgian panoramic views and natural landscapes
This Leader project, which started in 2019 and will last until 2023, provides for the construction of a total of ten panorama boards in East Belgium. Of these, seven have already been completed. Furthermore, another 8 panorama boards have been realised outside the project.
The project was developed according to a proposal of the ÖKLE group (Commission for Rural Development) Büllingen. The East Belgium Tourist Agency further developed the idea, as other municipalities were also pursuing similar projects. "Our idea was to have a common visual design for the panorama boards in East Belgium. By having a standardised layout in all municipalities, we can promote these boards as a product in their own right," says project manager Andrea Michaelis from the EBTA.
However, the information on the panorama panels is not only available on the panorama boards. Further information is provided online. On the website www.ostbelgien.eu/en/what-to-do/discover/panoramics-boards, the individual panoramic boards can be viewed virtually. A click on the individual panoramic views opens an interactive panoramic photo as well as a map displaying the POIs (Points of Interest). The user can dive deeper and deeper into the topic by further clicks.
The total budget of the Leader project is EUR 108,000, which came about with the support of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the German-speaking Community and funds from the EBTA. The municipalities contribute 1,750 euros per board for the material costs, partly subsidised by the Province of Liège (FTPL)