The first “Friendship Trail” in Greece!

The first “Friendship Trail” in Greece!

For the first time, a Greek trail signed the “Friendship Trail” agreement between trail #2 of Sifnos Trails and trail 18-1 of Jeju Olle trail (South Korea). In the context of the Friendship Trails programme of the World Trails Network, the Mayor of Sifnos, Mr Andreas Babounis and the President of Jeju Olle Foundation Mrs. Suh Myong, did sign an agreement linking the two trails! The Jeju Olle trail is more than 425 km long and attracts about 2.000.000 hikers a year!

Participation at the Grekland Panorama Fair

Participation at the Grekland Panorama Fair

The Municipality of Sifnos, in colaboration with Paths of Greece, has participated at the Grekland Panorama tourism fair, in Stockholm. Swedish citizens are quite avid hikers, but there is too little available information for them to be able to access trails in Greece. During the fair, we have presented the Sifnos Trails project. Special attention was given to the recently launched Android application about the trails! We received many positive comments about our level of preparation and we believe that many people were convinced that a hiking trip to Sifnos is really worth it!

On a hiking Expo with Sifnos Trails

On a hiking Expo with Sifnos Trails

In the first days of September 2015, we represented Sifnos island on one of the most famous hiking exhibitions worldwide, the Tour Natur Expo, in Dusseldorf, Germany. After the way-marking of 104 km of hiking trails on this beautiful island, the participation to the Exposition is part of the attempt of the Municipality of Sifnos to open up to new markets of hikers. Considering the 40,000 visitors of the Tour Natur, this was quite a move! During the three days of the exhibition, we presented the new website (www.sifnostrails.com), distributed the new leaflet about the trails, and the visitors of our stand had also the opportunity of tasting local specialties! Greece had the largest stand of all the countries out of Germany. The participation of Greece was rather impressive, not only in quantity but especially in quality. Many places from all over the country came to present their trails (smaller or larger islands, mountainous areas of northern and central Greece, Peloponissos etc.). As a result, we realised the need for all of us in Greece who work on the trails to organise and strengthen our communication, in order to make Greece a Worldwide famous hiking destination!

Trail consulting in the Chinese Alps!

Trail consulting in the Chinese Alps!

In August 2015, we were invited by the China Volkssport Association, as trail consultants, in the region of Kanas, Xinjiang, China. Our visit lasted 8 days. During this time, we hiked trails, we rode on horses, we discovered remote areas and we came in contact with the local Mongolian, Kazak and Chinese people. Our study resulted in re-organising the initially planned trails network, focusing this time in including trails that are more natural and that pass through more sights. We also presented the guidelines for infrastructures such as huts, rest areas and of course way-marking. Special attention was given to way-marking, as we shortly trained our Chinese counterparts on the design and implementation of way-marks and signposts. We also provided guidelines for the national and international promotion of the trails, and we believe that very soon, the trails network of Kanas Region will be open to the public to enjoy one of the prettiest areas of China!

International Trails Symposium, Portland, USA

International Trails Symposium, Portland, USA

In May 2015, we participated at the International Trails Symposium, organised by the American Trails, in Portland (OR), USA. The theme of the Symposium was “Solutions for Success” in planning and managing sustainably a Trails project. The project hosted more than 750 participants from all USA States and from many countries around the World. Paths of Greece was invited to the Symposium in order to present the trails that were created in Greece, as well as to make a presentation. The title of our presentation was “Developing hiking trails networks within economic recession: The tools for success”. The outcomes of the Symposium are of great importance, since despite the differences amongst countries, it seems that the problems encountered by those creating trails have many common points. In the numerous presentations that took place, many specific problems were analysed and discussed. Some of the most important ones were the common use of trails from different types of users, as well as the right of access to privately owned lands. The discussions at the end of the presentations were of great importance as well, since they allowed the exchange of opinions and networking. The latter is probably the most important outcome of the Symposium. International networking helps the trail organisations to become stronger. Paths of Greece is a Committee member at the World Trails Network, which is the international platform for networking, exchange of knowledge and co-marketing strategies at an international level.

A Fair presenting the trail organisations as well as waymarking and other products took place during the Symposium.

We would like to thank the American Trails for the excellent opportunity that they gave to all of us to share our passion and to become stronger.

World Trails Conference in South Korea

World Trails Conference in South Korea

In January 2014, we have participated in the 4th World Trails Conference, held in Jeju island in South Korea. The Conference was organised from the World Trail Association, under the auspices of Jeju Olle foundation. Paths of Greece has been invited by the American Trails Association. In the Conference, more than 50 trail organisations from 18 countries exchanged knowledge, experiences, contacts, got connected to the academic world, organised in a universal level and decided to continue working together. We have participated in some very interesting presentations about a variety of subjects such as health and walking, trans-border co-operation, marketing of trails, organisation of local communities, quality labels etc. We have briefly presented Paths of Greece, and the projects that we are working on in Greece. As a case study, we presented Kythera Hiking, the paths of Kythera island project. At the conclusions of the Conference, the World Trails Assoociation Commitee got enlarged, and Paths of Greece is now a board member. Below you will find the map of a freezing walk that we had in the volcanic mount Halla.

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Article in BBC Travel

Article in BBC Travel

The BBC Travel article “The island of Aphrodite’s ancestors”, presents Kythera through an authentic point of view. Through the view of a visitor who lived there a unique experience. The author, Katherine LaGrave, pays special attention to the hiking trails of Kythera. These trails have been organised by Paths of Greece, in collaboration with the Kytherian Foundation for Culture and Development. You can read the article at the following link: http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20131210-the-island-of-aphrodites-ancestors

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