The Rothaarsteig celebrated its 20th birthday last year. The milestone birthday was celebrated with many activities, most of which were digital due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. But it's also worth taking a look back. It's time to take stock of the past year and look ahead, as the recertification as a Wanderbares Deutschland quality trail by the German Hiking Association is on the agenda, among other things.
The Rothaarsteigverein was delighted to receive numerous congratulations on its anniversary in 2021. For example, the association received a congratulatory video from businesses, partners, colleagues and sponsors. Radio and TV stations and various newspapers also paid tribute to the anniversary, while the bloggers from "Bevandert" visited all three Rothaarsteig regions and reported on their experiences in the great outdoors. The Rothaarsteig Association initiated a video contest, which attracted a great deal of attention. The result was a wonderful film with personal moments, edited together from the contributions submitted by Rothaarsteig fans. The result can be seen on the website www.rothaarsteig.de.
All quality businesses have coped well with the crisis
Even though it was the Rothaarsteig's special birthday year, 2021 got off to anything but a good start. The long lockdown until May also affected the quality hotel and restaurant businesses on the Rothaarsteig. "However, we are delighted that all quality businesses on the Rothaarsteig are still open after two years of the pandemic and that we have even been able to attract new businesses. Thanks to very well thought-out hygiene concepts and a great deal of commitment, the businesses have succeeded in providing guests with carefree moments during this difficult time," says Harald Knoche, office manager of the Rothaarsteig Association, happily. Interest in hiking and other outdoor activities was very high in 2021 and also during the lockdown. "After the positive exceptional year of 2020, demand last year remained good in terms of numbers and was even stronger than in the years before the outbreak of the pandemic. However, bad weather and the possibility of traveling outside of Germany put a slight damper on demand," explains Katharina Schwake-Drucks, responsible for marketing and public relations at the Rothaarsteigverein.
No vandalism on the Rothaarsteig
Ranger Ralf Schmidt gives the Rothaarsteig guests a good report card, as there was no vandalism last year. He observed that there were many more hikers of a younger age; many of them were also out and about with a dog. Many nature lovers were interested in the state of the forest, especially the effects of the bark beetle plague. The bark beetle continues to make its presence felt, but the Rothaarsteig Association is proud of the fact that the rangers and trail markers have always found detour and have never had to close the Rothaarsteig. "What's more, there were hardly any complaints about the condition of the paths. Everyone was satisfied," says Harald Knoche happily.
Website well received as a source of information
The Rothaarsteig's online presence is also very popular: The number of hits on the website was particularly good in the classic hiking month of May, which also coincided with the Rothaarsteig's anniversary last year. The most clicked pages were the Rothaarsteig stages.
Great interest in the Rothaarsteig overview map
But the classic information option is also in great demand, as the number of brochure orders has risen sharply. Here too, demand was particularly high in May. Over 50 percent of the brochures were sent out within North Rhine-Westphalia and ordered by women. The Rothaarsteig overview map was in particularly high demand. An analysis of the statistics shows that most people became aware of the Rothaarsteig via friends and family. "We are delighted that there are now many authentic ambassadors who talk about their wonderful time hiking," says Katharina Schwake-Drucks. At least 130 people have hiked the entire Rothaarsteig in 2021. They sent in their stamped Rothaarsteig hiking pass to the Rothaarsteigverein e. V., received a special hiking certificate and the Rothaarsteig pin and took part in a prize draw.
Over 30,000 contributions under the #rothaarsteig
Last year, around 9,000 additional images were uploaded to the social media platform Instagram under the #rothaarsteig, meaning that a total of over 30,000 posts now reflect special places and personal experiences. BeyondCamping magazine analyzed these images and the Google search results for 280 hiking trails in Germany. The Rothaarsteig ended up in an excellent third place.
Opening of a new Rothaarsteig trail
Looking ahead: this year, the Rothaarsteig is due to receive the important recertification as a Wanderbares Deutschland quality trail from the German Hiking Association. In addition, the "Zinser Grenzpfad" around Erndtebrück-Zinse will open a new Rothaarsteig trail. In this context, the brochure on the Rothaarsteig trails will also be republished. In the Brilon area, two new trekking sites are being built near the Rothaarsteig this year. There are also plans to renew all the information boards on the long-distance hiking trail, and there will be an increased focus on one topic: nature recreation.