Digital theme trails

Austria's hiking trails: Innovation through digital themed trails

With around 64,000 kilometers of well-maintained hiking and mountain trails, Austria is one of the leaders in hiking tourism. Every year, Austrian hiking regions record over 35 million overnight stays due to hiking guests. The great interest in hiking is particularly evident in German-speaking countries: Over 2 million enthusiastic hikers regularly exchange information about tours, regions and experiences on Facebook.

A significant proportion of these hikers are occasional hikers - nature lovers who prefer to hike on routes in the valleys and low mountain ranges rather than in high alpine terrain. From here, they enjoy impressive views of the majestic Alpine landscape. In order to offer precisely this target group an even more attractive hiking experience, there has been increased investment in the presentation of hiking trails close to the valley in recent years - until now mostly via traditional signposts and information boards.

The "Digital themed trails" project: shaping the future of hiking

The innovative "Digital themed trails" project is setting new standards in Alpine hiking tourism. The aim is to upgrade hiking trails in the valley area with state-of-the-art digital technology and create a future-proof experience - in the midst of the fantastic landscape of the Upper Inn Valley and with strong partners at your side.

Project goals at a glance:

• Adaptation to the wishes and needs of modern hikers
• Reduction of the large number of analog signs ("forest of signs")
• Increase the topicality and relevance of themed trails
• Making the content more flexible depending on the target group
• Implementation of the requirements of the Tyrolean hiking and mountain trail concept
• Promotion of hiking tourism, especially for children and young people

Scientific focus:

• Research into the use of technology while hiking
• Derivation of success factors for digital systems in hiking tourism
• Definition of critical errors ("no-go's") in digital hiking solutions

Project process and work packages:

• Project management
• Best practice analysis of successful digital hiking solutions
• Technical design of the digital themed trail concept
• Technical planning with a focus on usability and information design
• Implementation of the digital infrastructure
• Development and preparation of target group-oriented content
• Test phases and optimization in iterative loops
• Network development and dissemination of project results

Funding body: Province of Tyrol - Department of Economic Affairs (Programme: Digitalization Lighthouse Projects)

Project partner:

• Tourismusverband TirolWest (project management: Simone Zangerl)
• Imst-Gurgltal tourism association
• Paznaun Tourism Association