A real landslide is taking over the Ardennes region! The holiday-makers are looking for new routes to enjoy pleasant walks in the heart of nature. “Where to go with children? How to discover the most beautiful panoramas? Do you know any hiking trail along a river? …” Given the interest, Ardennes-Etape created “OUI, GO! ”, a blog about the most beautiful hiking trails in the Ardennes region.
The hiking trails: the number 1 reason for a stay in the Ardennes region.
The number 1 asset of the Ardennes region is its numerous hiking trails. Accoding to the latest surveys carried out by Ardennes-Etape as well as the analysis of the holiday-makers’ requests, tourists come to the Ardennes region to soak up the nature, have a walk and breathe some fresh air.
It is nothing new for tourist offices in Wallonia that have been investing in maps, guides and apps for many years. Our objective is to help holiday-makers pick a walk that suits their profile best.
As many needs as there are holiday-makers
It is not easy to satisfy everybody. Each holiday maker looks for a walk that suits him best: pushchair friendly, dogs allowed, short, intense, well-known, away from the crowd, right from the doorstep of a holiday cottage, unpaved, etc. Everybody must then find something to their liking.
Testing before recommending
Ardennes-Etape is a website that helps holiday-makers find a holiday home in the Ardennes region. On the phone, the Ardennes-Etape staff helps tourists find their holiday cottage and activities in the region. Ardennes-Etape also publishes a free tourist guide every year with more than 140 activities at a reduced price.
The team wished to go further and invited the staff members to try walks themselves and select the best routes possible. What is the result of all this? “Oui, Go!”, a blog about walks in the Ardennes solely tested and approved by the Ardennes-Etape staff.
What you have to do as an expert
“It was quite complicated to advise the holiday-makers about a location if we did not know it ourselves. All the Ardennes-Etape team members live in the region. But it does not mean we know everything from the Fourons-region in the north to the town of Bouillon in the south. Far from it. ”, explains Axelle Sauté, Customer Service Manager at Ardennes-Etape.
“Every two months, we organise a whole week dedicated to walks or bicycle rides. 6 to 8 staff members have the opportunity to discover new routes with a house owner or an expert. We are also working with Martin Dellicour as well as our own photographs for photos and videos showing the beauty of the Ardennes region! ”, explains Flore Boniver, the project manager.
Hiking trails from the doorstep of your holiday cottage
Contrary to other inspiring initiatives, Oui, Go! seeks to propose hiking trails right from the doorstep of holiday cottages. “Our holiday-makers do not wish to take their car before starting to walk. Each village, each region offers several routes that may be enjoyed right away”, adds Axelle Sauté.
An ode to the Ardennes
Professional photos, inspiring videos and quotes, pieces of advice, etc. Oui, Go! is indeed much more than just a collection of hiking trails. “We start from our own experience: How to go pluck mushrooms? How many kilometres can we walk with a young child? How to make children feel like walking? How to teach them to respect nature? Everything is inspired by our own experience. ”, explains Flore.
A promising launch
The blog was officially launched on 18th September 2018 and is already a success. There are many holiday-makers and Ardennes-Etape partners who have already shown interest:
“We are very enthusiast about the blog and we will sure use it! ”
“Great idea, excellent initiative! ”
How nice it is to scroll through this blog with superb photos for each theme, small sentences that inspire you to visit the Ardennes and well-thought-out themes… It does make you feel like discovering our beautiful Ardennes region… ”
Our objective is to reach 25 hiking trails by 2019
Oui, Go! is a young project. By December 2018, 25 hiking trails will be available on the website. In 2019, Ardennes-Etape wishes to intensify its partnerships and share even more hiking trails.
You may already discover our first routes: Hautes Fagnes, Durbuy, discovering beavers, mushrooms,… There are already several themes.
More info: https://fr.ardennes-etape.be/blog/
Ardennes-Etape is the online holiday rental specialist in the Ardennes. The holiday-makers staying in one of our 1600 holiday homes benefit from the best services: a contact centre open 7 days a week, an Ardennes-Pass tourist guide with more than 148 activities at a reduced price, an easy to use website for online bookings, extra tourist information, etc.
Press contact : Marie Laoureux – 080 / 29.24.00
