More and more people are discovering the joy of biking. The cantons of Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schwyz and Uri are working together on "Mountainbike Zentralschweiz", a project of the new regional policy, to ensure that this joy can be experienced sustainably. "Only together can we become one of the most attractive bike regions in Switzerland," says Product Manager Thomy Vetterli. He and Dominik Hug from Swiss Cycling invited people to the workshop in order to strengthen this sense of togetherness and to provide the project with broad-based support.

Thomy Vetterli did not hide the fact at the project presentation that other cantons are already further ahead. The diverse landscape from the lake to the eternal snow is there, but the infrastructure and offers for a unique mountain bike region are still missing. The positive outcome of the vote in September on anchoring cycle paths in the Federal Constitution, which places the cantons under obligation, opens up new opportunities. The votes from the group quickly showed that the project enjoys a high level of acceptance and that the MTB guides are willing to help shape and collaborate.

Creating attractive mountain bike offers

As a guest speaker, Beat Wälti from Lucerne Tourism presented the new Lucerne-Lake Lucerne guest portal, which has been online since mid-October. In particular, he highlighted the opportunities that the portal opens up in the mountain bike sector - from the bundling of bike hotels to downloadable MTB routes and guide overviews. Finally, Dominik Hug spoke about the training and professional recognition of MTB guides.

In the subsequent working groups, the participants thought about how they could network and present themselves on a platform. The aim was to build attractive offers that would make Central Switzerland popular with mountain bikers from all over the country. The spark was quickly ignited: some people spontaneously agreed to continue the working group in order to strengthen the role of the guides. Thomy Vetterli summarized the tourism goal: "To promote mountain biking sustainably and in the long term in order to increase and secure added value."

www.mtbzentralschweiz.ch