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Wittstock (dpa / bb) - Hiking is enjoying growing popularity in Brandenburg during the Corona crisis - especially in lockdown.

Tourism associations want to use the boost to make their regions even more attractive for active vacationers.

"Even before the corona pandemic, interest in hiking in the lowlands had increased continuously," said Birgit Kunkel, spokeswoman for Brandenburg Tourism Marketing (TMB).

Because of Corona, the topic seems to have gotten another boost.

The online interest in information on hiking tours is growing.

The number of hits on the TMB hiking site increased significantly in 2020 compared to 2019, said Kunkel. According to the spokeswoman, they have been at the top of all hits for several weeks now with the beginning of spring. Concrete figures on hiking tourists were initially not available. According to the information, there are 92.3 million day trips to and in Brandenburg every year.

In Brandenburg you will come across a network of over 2000 kilometers of hiking trails that are particularly relevant for tourism.

And more should be developed or advertised.

"Since the topic is booming and the pressure to use it is increasing due to the pandemic, many local actors are devoting themselves to these tasks," said Kunkel.

The Stechlin-Ruppiner Land nature park, for example, has taken great care of signposting, information boards and the improvement of the paths in order to guide visitors in the interests of nature conservation.

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"We can either whine about the lockdown or do something," said Günter Lutz, member of the board of the Prignitz tourism association and one of four hiking trail managers in the city of Wittstock (Ostprignitz-Ruppin district). The over 90 kilometers of routes in the city, but also in the surrounding region - including the Rheinsberg lake landscape - are advertised and expanded in hiking videos.

To do this, Lutz hiked the approximately 15-kilometer “Seven Mountains Tour” around Sewekow near the border with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. His colleague Jürgen Paul created a hiking trail concept four years ago. "Here Wittstock also serves as a model for the entire Prignitz," said Lutz. The Prignitz is actually less known as a hiking region because of its flat landscape, but should be further developed in the future, especially for active tourism. To this end, the association will soon be publishing a brochure with the 16 most beautiful hiking trails in northwest Brandenburg.

Active holidays also regularly attract numerous visitors to somewhat hilly regions such as the Fläming south-west of Potsdam.

"The Fläming has long been known to hiking fans from Berlin and Brandenburg and is also attracting new explorers to our region these weeks who enjoy being outdoors in nature," said Catharina Weisser, spokeswoman for the Fläming Tourism Association.

"We have seen increased demand for active experiences since the beginning of the corona pandemic," she said.

This included hiking, cycling and skating alike.

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According to Weisser, 190 percent more users have accessed the hiking page of the association's website since May of last year than in previous years. "Overall, the number of guest inquiries this April tripled compared to April 2019," said the association spokeswoman. The hiking infrastructure on the 300-kilometer network of trails in Hohen Fläming alone is very well developed. There are marked, mostly natural hiking trails, information boards, as well as rest and refreshment opportunities. Every year, the Nature Park Hiking Festival, a large event dedicated to hiking, takes place there.

According to the Brandenburg Tourism Marketing department, there is still room for improvement in the establishment of not only individual paths, but also regional hiking networks.

Karl-Heinz Schmiedeke from the Brandenburg Hiking Association agrees.

He complains that, for example, the state capital Potsdam relies entirely on cycle tourism.

You can almost exclusively only find signs indicating cycling tourism, said Schmiedeke.

"The once exemplary marking of the existing hiking trails was deliberately neglected in Potsdam in favor of cycling tourism."

Schmiedeke also emphasizes the sporty aspect of hiking, which has recently become more and more of a minor matter due to active tourism.

"For us, hiking is by no means a meeting for a walk in hospitality."

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210508-99-516031 / 2

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Fläming tourist office

Prignitz tourist office

TMB hiking