The project "Sauerland. Inspiration"
What it's all about...
Now that the hiking infrastructure in the Sauerland hiking villages (first quality region Wanderbares Deutschland) is already at a high level, the project Sauerland. Inspiration. - New experience and meeting spaces for the Sauerland Hiking Villages" now aims to further strengthen the villages and businesses on a content level.
On the basis of the project "Ways of life. In Südwestfalen" (WZL) project in 2014/15 for authentic spiritual tourism, the project therefore takes up the increasingly important needs of hikers for reduction, encounters and inspiration as well as people's search for meaning and spiritual experience and develops them in the SauerlandHiking Villages (SWD) and for the Sauerländer Hiking Inns (SWG) and other SMEs.
In addition there are spiritual or powerful places identified that have a special aura (vistas, places at springs, at the edge of the landscape, in chapels, churches and mosques). A meta-story also puts the SWD in a new light and innovative products complement the existing tourist offers. This work is based on a diverse network that is firmly anchored in the region.
The aim is to provide practical support to tourism service providers and local tourism partners - especially in the SME sector - in this process. The main benefit for SMEs is that the year-round offer is strengthened and new visitor groups in an attractive guest segment are tapped into at a low investment cost.
1. project goals
The SMEs and tourism partners in the SWD area are part of an innovative process and network on a trending topic and can reposition and develop themselves with little investment. As a result, at the end of the project
- new offers and products that meet the demand for topics such as reduction, mindfulness, pausing, searching for meaning, encounters, inspiration and a "temporary home"
- which above all provide guests with spaces to experience vastness and silence. The focus is on low-threshold and sensory access.
- via access to "spiritual and powerful" places in their region, which are identified and evaluated in accordance with the quality criteria of the "Paths to Life" network.
- a "meta-story" that highlights the unmistakable "essence" of SWD.
- a new aesthetic, visual language and language
- via initial print and digital products
The SMEs and small villages in the SWD area thus develop an external impact that opens up new visitor groups for them, especially from the affluent guest segment of "active and down-to-earth best agers" and "adult couples".
2. work plan: (milestones/interim goals/activities)
Start: Defining the next steps with representatives of SWD and SWG
Task and schedule
Expert workshops
Module 1: Deepening and expanding existing networks
- Information event on the objectives and approach of the project
- Information event(s) at local level on interim results
- Transfer event at the end of the project
Module 2: Identification of powerful places in nature and villages in the SWD and SWG area
- Expert workshop to develop the next steps with external experts and representatives of SWD, SWG and the Wege zum Leben network (churches, culture, etc.). Selection of the first 5 villages within the SWD in which one or more powerful places are to be identified for a concept for further work at the village level, draft of a data collection form
- Followed by 1-2 workshops with stakeholders from each of the five selected villages, including inspection, documentation of data, special features and stories about the places, initial collection of ideas for development (village level). Descriptions and potential analysis for the first identified locations. Interim report on the experiences in the 7 villages, changes to the procedure if necessary, selection of the next villages
- 1-2 workshops with stakeholders from each of the selected villages, including inspection. Documentation of data, special features and stories for 1 to 3 villages, initial collection of ideas for development (village level). Descriptions and potential analysis for the identified locations. Interim report from the experiences in the villages, changes to the procedure if necessary, selection of the next locations
- etc. up to 35 (5 per hiking village) powerful and spiritual places are identified and evaluated
- Expert workshop on an initial concept for the presentation of the identified places on a map and for the creation of print and digital products (booklets etc.)
- Information events to communicate the results to hosts and tourism professionals in the respective municipalities or in a joint event
Module 3: Development of a meta-story for the SWD
- Introductory event with input from a service provider on the purpose and direction of a meta-story with the SWD (possibly SWG and players from the Wege zum Leben network as guests).
- Expert workshop (external experts, representatives of SWD, SWG and the Wege zum Leben network (churches, culture, etc.) to develop the meta-story. Creation of a requirements profile for the meta-story as a basis for the tendering of the necessary agency services and a concept for the further procedure.
- Expert workshop with the selected service provider to integrate the results and experiences of the work on powerful and spiritual places (see module 2) into the meta-story process
- First draft of the meta-story text
- Expert workshop to coordinate the draft text
Module 4: Development of tourist offers and products
- Expert workshop with external experts and representatives of SWD, SWG and the Wege zum Leben network (churches, culture, etc.). Guidelines for creating offers for local tourism professionals and hosts.
- Workshops on practical implementation at local level. List of new offers and products.
Module 5: Communicating the concept internally and externally:
- Marketing concept, including for the presentation of the identified places on a map and for the creation of print and digital products (booklets etc.).
- Further development of the visual and verbal language for the themes of authentic, spiritually motivated hiking tourism in the region
Module 6: Quality development, enhancement, assurance, seal
- Evaluation of the places, offers and products based on the quality criteria developed as part of the Ways to Life project
- Creation of a quality concept
- Initial considerations regarding the creation of a quality seal
3. durability of the results achieved
The implementation of spiritually motivated hiking tourism in the SWD and SWG has a sustainable impact on the region and combines economic, ecological and social goals: SMEs in the region are made competitive and are therefore also economically successful under the new market conditions. At the same time, one of the core concerns of the project is to bring people together and engage them in conversation under the aspect of "encounters". Among other things, it creates new, unusual opportunities for encounters and communication. The concept promotes intercultural encounters by incorporating the spiritual traditions of all world religions into the design of the offers. The natural resources on site are used without major interventions in the ecological systems and are constantly being revalued. Guests and stakeholders are made aware of their need for protection.