Last week, aconium employees took part in the e-bike paradise project, aconium employees visited the LEADER region of Südburgenland Plus in south-eastern Austria. The aim was to learn about the integration of e-bike routes into the tourism region and to gain insights for the expansion of the e-bike region “Harz.Braunschweig.Land Ostfalen.” region.
A total of 28 representatives from the German LEADER regions Grünes Band in the district of Helmstedt, Westharz, Osterode am Harz, Harz, Rund um den Huy and Nordharz as well as the ILE region Elm Schunter took part in the visit. LEADER stands for “Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l’Économie Rurale” (Link between Actions for the Development of the Rural Economy) and is an EU program for the promotion of rural areas.
E-bike region Südburgenland
As a rural region with unspoiled nature, southern Burgenland shows remarkable similarities with the Vorharz/Harz regions, and not just in terms of topography. Interest in the successful tourist brand “Erlebnisparadies Südburgenland” was correspondingly high. The potential of the e-bike was recognized here early on. And indeed, the e-bike has now developed from a “rollator” to a “high-tech fun machine”, explained Martin Ochsenhofer, co-founder of the Austrian e-bike paradise.
When implementing the e-bike in Southern Burgenland, the landscape, climate and the many businesses go hand in hand with offers in the areas of cuisine, hotels, sport and culture. Thomas Wachter, Chairman of Erlebnisparadies Südburgenland: “We have set ourselves the goal of making these offers accessible to our guests as experiences. Among other things, through attractive pleasure routes that the businesses can access by e-bike.” The participants experienced what this looks like in practice on site. Among other things, they visited a pasta factory, catering establishments and a pumpkin oil mill.
Exchange of experience
LEADER regional manager Michael Schmidt: “What we are experiencing here is really the idea of LEADER in action: One region is doing something good and the others are not only allowed to look at it, but even copy it” – true to the LEADER credo: working together instead of against each other. A return visit planned for March 2020 will explore which ideas and concepts can be transferred from Germany to Austria.