Sustainable rural cycle tourism

Sustainable Rural Cycle Tourism

The training course Sustainable Rural Cycle Tourism – rural development through youth entrepreneurship in cycle tourism lasted only a week, but it enriched me not only personally but also professionally. The project was located in the small town of l’Orxa.

The main goal of the project was to contribute to the improvement of local resources, primarily by training professional skills and fostering a new mindset among young people.

l’Orxa is a municipality in the Valencian Community, located in the province of Alicante. It currently has 580 inhabitants.

In L'Orxa, most of the active population worked in a paper factory, while the rest lived from rainfed agriculture, mainly olive and almond trees. Since 1950, the town has suffered a significant demographic decline caused by internal emigration to Alcoy and external emigration to France.

This exchange allowed us to improve our skills and abilities in the field of sustainable tourism in rural areas and to enhance the local economy in the hospitality sector. Furthermore, the aim was to help young people in rural areas promote professional opportunities in sustainable rural tourism, strongly re-evaluating their sense of belonging and their roots in their place of origin, in contrast to the current depopulation of rural areas.

The exchange also included local administrators, experts in cycle tourism route development, travel agencies, teachers, and trainers in the youth sector.

They helped us create, implement, and share their knowledge in the field of sustainable rural tourism and offered “experiential tours,” and they also helped us share innovative ideas for improving various rural areas and promoting entrepreneurial and professional opportunities for young people in the field.

During the main activity “Seminar on the development of cycle tourism in rural areas,” we were divided into groups and worked on thematic seminars, which were divided into four thematic sections for 2 days each. The working methodologies were based on non-formal education, experiential learning, and the “learning by doing” method.

The outcome of the main activity was the creation of a video to promote local tourism in the town of L'Orxa. The videos were very creative, and we really enjoyed it.

However, the training course was not only about seminars and activities but also about people. Even though we were from different countries with different backgrounds, we connected through open minds and forward-looking perspectives. In addition to our Slovak team, we met young people from Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Portugal, Estonia, and Romania. The diversity of our cultures created an even better and more interesting experience. Perhaps we speak different languages, grew up in different areas, and dream of different things. However, we are not strangers. We have the same determination, passions, and live our experiences, share our ideas, and build new relationships and friendships.

We would like to say a big THANK YOU to all participants, organizers, and all the people who took care of us during the project. Of course, also to our organization Youthfully yours for giving us the opportunity to be part of the project.

Thank you,

Boris and Julia