Although firm plans are still in the making, the CEO for the regional tourist office, Linda Salentin, says, “We want to celebrate this birthday together with our partners but also with other guests because the trail is such a great tourism product in our region, and a lot of people can identify with this hiking trail. It’s connecting communities in the area… tourism is emotion.”
The Mullerthal region, in the east of the grand duchy, covers 256 km2, boasts sandstone slabs dating back to the early Jurassic period that scientists say began over 201m years ago. It’s also home to a vast expanse of hiking trails, three main legs of which comprise the Mullerthal Trail with varying degrees of hiking difficulty. Route three, for example, takes visitors past the “Schéissendëmpel” waterfall.
Although and others have mentioned opinion polls citing negative signals when it comes to household consumption faced with higher inflation, Salentin believes the trend of spending time outdoors, which picked up during the pandemic, won’t end anytime soon: “The whole outdoor tourism thing is a real trend at the moment. People want to get close to nature and that experience they get when they’re in nature.”
As Salentin explains, the Mullerthal regional tourist office has dozens of trail , ranging from hotels, campgrounds, restaurants and more. Not only does this allow for ease for tourists to the region, some of whom take almost a full week to enjoy the full Mullerthal Trail, but having a “great network of people working together is a strength in our region and helps us [with] the prices we’re facing,” she explains, citing the recent flooding as an example of that community focus.
The CEO adds that she has to “look positively” into 2023. She anticipates there might be more last-minute bookings, as some visitors might be a bit more concerned about their spending next year.
The tourism office CEO also adds that “people ask more often for regional products. We realised this before covid-19, but [the pandemic] ignited people speaking… also with the whole digitalisation thing, we realised we need to invest in this area.”