Online Travel, Entertainment, Leisure, Sports TourNatur

04 September 2023 - 06 September 2023
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About event
The eighth TourNatur, which took place from 3 to 5 September in Düsseldorf, confirmed the results of current hiking studies and research: The interest in hiking and the demand for relevant offers remains consistently high. "With 41,300 visitors (41,100 in 2009), TourNatur completely fulfilled our expectations," stated TourNatur Director Helmut Winkler. "Hiking is the German's favourite recreational pursuit, and TourNatur is the only trade fair in Germany that combines a perfectly fitting selection of destinations, equipment and advice. That's what makes this young trade fair such a success. It is also becoming an increasingly important platform for industry experts. The continuing education programme provided by our partners that meanwhile runs on two days contributes significantly to this," Winkler continued. 275 exhibitors showed their current hiking and trekking equipment and approximately 5,000 hiking-friendly travel destinations at TourNatur 2010. The TourNatur partners also displayed extreme satisfaction with the run of events, the wide range of offerings and the makeup of visitors. Ute Dicks, Managing Director of the German Hiking Association, explained, "The trade fair shows that hiking is a topic for the masses and that all age groups are addressed with offerings. The German Hiking Association and its partners realise that the visitors have enormous interest in various aspects of hiking." Michael Sänger, Editor-in-Chief of Wandermagazin (Hiking Magazine) concurs: "TourNatur is a pedigree theme trade fair with absolutely no divergence loss. That applies equally to visitors and exhibitors. It's great that notably more Bavarian destinations are being presented. The trend in hiking tourism to differentiate in the mounting competition between destinations and trails through identifiable benefits is also easily recognizable. For the second time at TourNatur, the TourParcours stood in the centre of the equipment consulting area. Here independent hiking experts answer all of the visitors' questions regarding equipment. Information on hiking sticks, backpacks, shoes, water repellence and breathability is also available at various stations and on a lecture stage. Organiser Ralf Stefan Beppler noticed that the popularity was noticeably higher than in last years and that the visitors were clearly thrilled about the free advice. "The response to the lectures is also great and we're noticing that there is always a lot of action after the lectures at the corresponding information stands. That is really great – the interplay between the stations and the stage worked brilliantly." There was also a great crowd at the GPS consultation from Garmin, who was represented at TourNatur for the first time. "We were literally overrun and are pleasantly surprised. People were standing out in the aisles waiting for the consultation. We really didn't expect that. The lectures at the "Rastplatz" stage were also jam-packed," Stefan Dischl of Project SD for Garmin, exclaimed happily. Moreover, the visitors were very knowledgeable and showed up with extremely clear questions. Other exhibitors also applauded the high level of competency among the visitors. Sascha van den Broek, Managing Director of Terrific, Hiro sports store in Düsseldorf, was somewhat reserved in his comments regarding visitor frequency at his stand, did attest however to the high level of interest the visitors displayed. Susanne Gonswa, Press Spokesperson and Event Manager for Globetrotter Ausrüstung in Cologne, delivered an all-round positive summary: "There is a lot of action. Already on the first day we had more customers than in the past few years. There are many newcomers to the hiking scene here, so we're well positioned with our selection of beginner's equipment. On Friday there were more elderly people here, and on the weekend we had lots of families at the stand." Happy faces also among the touristic exhibitors. Tina Lang, Managing Director of the Finland organiser fintouring, was able to greet many Finland fans and newly interested people at their stand. "Most of the people who spoke to us know Finland, and many of them were already there," she commented. "A majority of our visitors were winter sports enthusiasts who are interested in cross-country skiing or want to experience activities such as our reindeer safari. The real reindeer at our stand were of course especially popular." Although the majority of hiking destinations represented at TourNatur are in Europe, there were also several exotic destinations. Udaya Lal Shrestha from the National Tourism Foundation Nepal stand explained that, "We had lots of interested people at the stand and some visitors booked right there. Most of them don't yet know very much about hiking and trekking in Nepal, but they are very interested and Nepal is known as a trekking land." Planning the next holiday was not the only topic at TourNatur, however – day tours were also a very popular subject regarding domestic destinations. Kirsten Wobbe from the Sauerland Wanderwerkstatt (hiking workshop) was clearly delighted by the interest shown by the visitors: "The audience is really knowledgeable. Many come very intentionally and speak to us because they have already heard something about Sauerland or the offerings and would like more detailed information. There are also a lot of families here. We are very pleased, just like we were last year." The German Hiking Association designated a total of ten trails as "Quality Trails in Hikeable Germany" during TourNatur. The newly designated trails are: Rheinburgenweg (Rhine Castle Trail), Veldenzwanderweg (Veldenz Hiking Trail), Wiedweg (Wied Trail), Burgenwanderweg (Castle Hiking Trail) and Schlösserwanderweg (Palace Hiking Trail). The recertified trails are: Eggeweg (Egge Trail), Erzweg (Ore Trail), Zeugenbergrunde (Butte Trail), Goldsteig (Gold Steep Road; at 600 km the longest quality trail), Rodalber Felsenwanderweg (Rodalber Cliffs Hiking Trail), and Goldpfad (Golden Trail). In addition a jury from Wandermagazin (Hiking Magazine) selected the Hochrhöner between Bad Salzungen in Thuringia and Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, as well as the Mittelalterpfad (Middle Ages Trail) in Herrstein in Naheland as "Germany's Most Beautiful Hiking Trails". The Wandermagazin Award for Innovative Touristic Services 2010 went to the Mullerthal Trail project in Luxembourg.
Venue
Address: Germany