natourli - Abenteuer natürlich.
Natourli contributes to climate protection by creating sustainable nature experiences. In places close to nature, natourli builds overnight accommodation with simple wooden shelters so that travellers can spend the night in harmony with nature.
The pioneer shelters are being built in the hiking paradise of Maria-Rickenbach - local partners are already on board. The shelter sites promote soft tourism by preventing wild camping and providing local operators with a small sideline.
What issue does your project address, and why do you want to tackle it?
Travellers want to travel as individually as possible. At the same time, space in the Alps is limited and nature is increasingly under pressure. natourli meets the growing demand for nature experiences by building shelters without endangering the fragile ecosystems.
We only have one nature. Let's protect it.
What is your project about and how does it make tourism in the Alps future-proof?
Spending the night in a shelter is an adventure and at the same time the footprint that travellers leave behind is very small compared to travelling by car and staying in a hotel. Travellers arrive on foot or by bike and sleep in a sleeping bag. The shelter itself consumes no energy and is made from Swiss wood. In addition, alpine farmers receive a small sideline. natourli stands for adventure, economic promotion and climate protection all in one - so it is definitely future-proof tourism.
How do you measure your project's success?
- Less wild camping, fewer human traces in nature (tents left standing, rubbish, faeces etc.)
- Participation of the regional population (number of alpine farmers who take part, successful cooperation with tourism association)
- Economic support for low-income alpine farms (annual turnover through shelters)
- Economic promotion of the region: total number of overnight stays
Who are the people behind the project and what is your secret to a great collaboration?
We rely on a strong network to realise our project. The most important stakeholders are the future operators of our shelters. We maintain communication on an equal footing and involved them in the project at an early stage. One of the planned shelters is being built by the future operator himself - he is an alpine farmer in summer and a carpenter in winter. Local roots create acceptance. We are therefore delighted that the local tourism association is also fully supporting our project.
