The European Ramblers’ Association (ERA) has had 8 years of experience with the Leading Quality Trails – Best of Europe label for long-distance hiking routes. Inspired by the Deutscher Wanderverband’s example, ERA decided to launch a new label for regions that specialize in hiking.

A region in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg applied to run a pilot project to conduct a practical study of the project’s feasibility. The 2018 General Assembly held in Echternach approved the project and its timetable. However, the study phase was disrupted by the Covid pandemic, and it was not possible to present the results until 2021.
The ‘Office Régional du Tourisme Éislek’ completed the project in several phases. Initially, an inventory was made of the routes that could be included in the Tourist Office’s offer. Members of the Region WG assessed some of these routes, and the audit results were useful for the continuation of the project. At the same time, the catalog of applicable criteria was drawn up in collaboration with other European representatives and reviewed in light of the work carried out.
The catalog is a result of concrete work and has been translated into three official languages. A second audit was carried out to check the quality of services set out in the criteria, and it was found to be entirely satisfactory. In the summer of 2022, ERA’s Board approved the WG’s report, which allowed it to be officially presented at the annual Helsingør (DK) congress.

The ERA is now responsible for promoting the new label across Europe, particularly to the tourism industry. The Member Organisations of ERA can play a significant role in this process by utilizing their knowledge of their territories and the tourism industry. The criteria for the label can be found on ERA’s website.

---