On 1–2 October 2026, the DETOUR partners met in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, for the Consortium Meeting hosted by the Management Organization of Thrace Tourist Region. Representatives from all the partners of the project gathered for two days of exchanges, technical discussions and joint planning at a key stage of the project. The meeting provided an opportunity to review the progress achieved across the four pilot areas involved in DETOUR: the Via Francigena in Italy, the Lycian Way in Türkiye, the mountain route network connecting Mount Olympus, Mount Kissavos and Mount Mavrovouni in Greece, and the Sultan’s Trail and the whole Thrace Tourism Region in Bulgaria. The focus of the meeting was the launch of the collaborative projects involving tourism SMEs and local stakeholders. Through mini-grants, DETOUR supports businesses and destinations in developing innovative tourism products, going digital, and testing new solutions for sustainability, resilience and accessibility, helping strengthen tourism along long-distance walking routes.

The programme opened with institutional greetings from Plovdiv Deputy Mayor Plamen Panov and Executive Director of Thrace Tourism Region Radost Ivanova, who presented the Thrace Tourism Region as the project’s pilot area in Bulgaria. This was followed by a presentation by Max Smith, manager of the Sultan’s Trail, who introduced the long-distance route connecting Vienna and Istanbul across eight European countries and highlighted its relevance within the Thrace region. Participants had an opportunity to experience the route directly on a walk through the hills surrounding Plovdiv.

During the meeting, partners reviewed the activities carried out by each project team and discussed the coordination of the next implementation phase.

Particular attention was given to the DETOUR open-access training platform, which has attracted more than 150 new participants in its first three months.

The meeting also looked ahead to DETOUR’s final year, with several key dissemination activities already planned. The project will be represented at the f.re.e tourism and leisure fair in Munich in February 2027, followed by an international press tour for journalists and content creators in April 2027. The project will conclude with its final conference in Fidenza, Italy, in October 2027.

By placing SMEs at the centre of the project, DETOUR recognises their essential role in the development of sustainable walking destinations. Local businesses provide the services, experiences and innovation that connect visitors with territories and communities. Supporting their capacity to adapt, cooperate and innovate is therefore a key step towards making Europe’s walking routes more competitive, resilient, inclusive and sustainable.

[Credits: AEVF]