Despite the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on our daily lives, a rather positive upside is that many people decided more than ever before to take advantage of nature and outdoors activities. The enthusiasm for hiking peaked at an all-time high in 2020.
Growing number of hikers
Recent statistics show that the number of hikers doubled in 2020, compared to the year before, on some of Luxembourg’s signposted hiking paths. One of the country’s most iconic walks, the Mullerthal Trail that leads through magnificent scenery with spectacular rock formations, was visited by over 160,000 hikers is 2020, which is almost 15,000 more than in 2019. The number of hikers on Escapardenne, a 158-km trail crossing the Belgian and Luxembourg Ardennes, increased by around 25%.
Increasing hiking information search
The strong interest in hiking in Luxembourg can also be seen in terms search queries on the internet. The national Geoportail reports that the number of page views in its section devoted to hiking paths doubled in 2020. The traffic also increased considerably on pages for paths labelled as “Quality Trails”, for example the Mullerthal Trail (+21%), Escapardenne (+161%) or the Naturwanderpark DeLux (+130%).
The website Visit Luxembourg reports a similar trend, with an increase of 75.5% in page views on its pages on hiking in 2020.
Following this growing interest in hiking in Luxembourg, and in order to meet the requirements of hikers, uniform standards regarding signage and markings will be put in place in the future.
Photo: © ORT Éislek - Dan Castiglia