On March 24th, the MITO OUTDOOR DATA webinar will take place online. Open to all, it will be an opportunity to review the results of this Franco-Italian project aimed at coordinating cross-border information on long-distance travel. And, as a European actor involved in the development of outdoor sports, ENOS will speak at the introduction of the conference!
MITO: developing Franco-Italian outdoor tourism
The Integrated Models for Outdoor Tourism (MITO) project was launched in 2018 by five Italian and French regions in the ALCOTRA area – a geographical zone stretching from Mont Blanc to the Mediterranean Sea – and will end in April 2022. Financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the project aims to develop a truly global, seasonally adjusted tourism market in this large Franco-Italian region.
Indeed, if some outdoor activities are already developed there, they are often only known at the local level and, for the most part, concentrated on the winter ski market. With its natural, environmental and cultural heritage, this macro-region nevertheless has enormous tourist potential, linked to the development of outdoor sports activities. Structuring the cooperation of the different actors in terms of governance and management of outdoor spaces and activities would allow the ALCOTRA area to position itself as a place of sustainable tourist mobility and, thus, to engage in a sustainable occupation and economic development.
A project divided into three programmes: OUTDOOR OFF, EXPERIENCE OUTDOOR and OUTDOOR DATA
In order to meet this objective effectively, the MITO Project was divided into three programmes. While OUTDOOR OFF aims to consider all types of outdoor activities as genuine tourist products, the EXPERIENCE OUTDOOR programme contributes – through better dissemination of information and management of sports events – to the gradual identification of the ALCOTRA area as an essential outdoor tourist destination.
Finally, OUTDOOR DATA aims to harmonise the tourist offer throughout the region by pooling knowledge, resources and tools relating to outdoor sports activities. The aim is therefore to increase the dissemination of information between public and private players from the five partner regions in relation to the supply and management of these activities, while developing innovative digital tools, necessary for the referencing of tourist sites, such as hiking trails, mountain biking trails, climbing areas, etc.
Through the production of such information, these new services aim to develop, diversify and increase the visibility of the outdoor offer in the Franco-Italian area. In this way, they are a sure way to improve the attractiveness of the area, by meeting the expectations of regular or visiting climbers.
A webinar dedicated to the OUTDOOR DATA project on 24 March: review of the first results on long-distance tourism
In the framework of this last programme, several prospective studies have been carried out since 2018, focusing on long-distance outdoor activities: this was notably the case in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in Piedmont or in the Alpes-Maritimes department. Organised online on 24 March, the MITO OUTDOOR DATA webinar will be an opportunity to review the results of this work and to emphasise the importance of cross-border cooperation in the evolution of the attractiveness of the territory, while shedding light on the prospects for the development of outdoor activities within the ALCOTRA zone.
As a major European outdoor player, ENOS – represented by its secretary, Benjamin Billet – will speak at the beginning of this conference. The network encourages all efforts to develop nature activities within the EU, as long as they are carried out in a sustainable and respectful manner. Promoting a project like MITO seems to be an obvious choice…