Final press release: TourNatur firmly established in the hiking scene

In its sixth year the Düsseldorf Hiking and Trekking Fair TourNatur has proven that the German hiking scene can no longer be imagined without it. Explaining the reasons Helmut Winkler, Director of TourNatur, said: “With its unique hiking tourism ranges, sale of gear and the outstanding consulting possibilities TourNatur has become a firm fixture on the German hiking market,” and added “visitors come here to gather selective information. Additionally, various trade events held during the fair are the reason why hiking experts and tour operators increasingly appreciate TourNatur as a sectoral meeting point.”

This view was also shared by the partners of the trade fair company. Underscoring the importance of TourNatur for German hikers, Ute Dicks, General Manager of the German Hiking Association (Deutscher Wanderverband), said: “With its ranges this year’s TourNatur has also lived up to its benchmark as the No. 1 market place. Quality governs hiking and this approach is convincing for guests.” Michael Sänger, Editor-in-Chief of Wandermagazin, said it was exciting to witness “how against the background of the three fair days more and more top-level talks of leading hiking tourism operators, expert bodies and leadership circles for country and destination tourism had developed and/or were deliberately scheduled to coincide with TourNatur.” Moreover, advice for visitors was becoming ever more important next to information. Altogether the fair attracted 33,000 visitors who gathered information on approx. 5,000 hiking destinations from 275 exhibitors, shopped for equipment and sought advice or listened to lectures.

The Nordic Walking Union (NWU) also focused on a mixture of talks, information on its own activities, consulting, product information and health checks. As Bernd Schäufle, Chairman of NWU, put it, this range produced a great echo among visitors and the Union was highly satisfied. He added that the health theme had gone down well as had information on tour portals and GPS-based hiking. GPS expert Thomas Froitzheim answered visitors’ questions revolving around digital hiking and navigation. Predominantly older visitors to the fair used the opportunity to ask such questions at their leisure as: “How does this work to start with? Which equipment do I need? Which cards work on the devices and are the tours transfered to the GPS devices?” These were the most frequently asked questions by “beginners” Froitzheim explained. Experienced users were more interested in detailed issues such as the handling of these complex devices and looked for tips for the upcoming tours.

The mood was excellent in the two exhibition halls: tour operators as well as equipment exhibitors were very satisfied with the outcome of the fair and visitors’ interest. Stefan Fredlmeier, General Manager at Frankenwald Tourismus, spoke of very well-informed and selective visitors. He added that hiking had also been adopted by younger target groups now and that these younger guests could be addressed best with quality products like the “Frankenweg”. Leticia Gonzáles Chacón of Turismo de Canarias also praised the visitor profile since many visitors to her stand had demonstrated profound knowledge of the islands and knew exactly what they wanted. According to Sascha van den Broek, General Manager at Terrific, Hiro Sporthandel from Düsseldorf visitors to the equipment segment also came well-informed and with a propensity to buy. Susanne Gonswa, Press Spokeswoman at Globetrotter Equipment, subscribed to this and explained: “We focus on advice and quality and this goes down very well by our customers. The interest in GPS devices is very high but many only want to obtain information first, which is surely also due to the price. In contrast to this apparel and books sell very well.” Hiking book author Manuel Andrack, who was attending TourNatur for the third time now, stated that TourNatur had become even more attractive for visitors thanks to its wider ranges especially in the tourism segment. Next to the known destinations there were some new ones to be discovered, not yet so much in focus, and this was what the diversity and attraction of this fair was all about.

As part of TourNatur the German Hiking Association awards twelve hiking paths with the quality seal “Qualitätsweg Wanderbares Deutschland”. These paths include: Alemannenweg, Nibelungensteig and Diemelsteig in Hessia, Europäischer Wasserscheideweg, Erzweg as well as Spessartwege 1 and 2 in Bavaria, Hermannsweg, Medebacher Bergweg and Uplandsteig in North Rhine-Westphalia, Seensteig in Baden-Württemberg and the Goethe hiking path in Thuringia. In addition to this a jury of the “Wandermagazin” declared the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg (Lower Saxony and Sachsen Anhalt) in the Route category and the Virne-Burgweg (Rhineland Palatinate, Eifel) in the (day-)tour category “German’s most beautiful hiking paths”. Stefan Fredlmeier, General Manager of Frankenwald Tourismus, received the “Wandermagazin Award 2008” for being the best hiking tourism provider.

The next TourNatur will run from 4 to 6 September 2009.

Press Contact:
Andrea Eppert, Claudia Hackbeil
Tel.: +49(0)211/45 60-997 / -994
Fax: +49(0)211/45 60-8548
Mail: EppertA@messe-duesseldorf.de
HackbeilC@messe-duesseldorf.de

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