On Wednesday 16 June 2021, Luxembourg's Minister for Tourism, Lex Delles, presented the conclusions of the “rural tourist accommodation” reflection and consultation process, which brought together all stakeholders in the sector in three participatory working groups.
These groups, made up of public and private actors in the tourism sector, met on several occasions to develop project ideas in three thematic areas: the offer of tourist activities, innovative accommodation concepts as well as shared structures and services.
Among all the project ideas developed, three concepts had particular potential:
“Glamping Cabins”: the creation of a concept at the national level for attractive lightweight individual accommodation, intended to be set up in existing tourist places such as campsites, hotels, castles, leisure centres or public parks. This “Glamping Cabins” network across Luxembourg is aimed more at a young audience as well as at families. The project could potentially create an innovative tourist offer, support the actors in their projects of development of the offer of accommodation and envisage an interesting collaboration with companies in the handicraft sector.
“Mixed-Use Hotspot”: the development of a network of strategic “Mixed-Use Hotspots” sites with a strong tourist vocation in various places in the rural regions of Luxembourg. With a medium and long-term vision for each site together with an action plan, a network of more resilient tourist sites is being put in place in the long term. This network could make it possible to offer a coherent set of infrastructures and services to visitors to rural areas and aims to orient them towards the existing offer of tourist products and services in the surrounding area.
"Camping-Car Park": the creation of a concept at national level allowing the establishment of a network of attractive parking areas for visitors in motorhomes. This is a standardised concept for infrastructure, marketing as well as a set of value-added services for users. The "Camping-Car Park" could create a modern tourist offer for a market segment that has been growing steadily for several years. It would also make it possible to guide visitors passing through Luxembourg towards the offer of tourist products and services at local, regional and national level.
Following the presentation of all the ideas for tourism projects, a feasibility analysis will be carried out by the General Directorate for Tourism in close collaboration with various players in the tourism sector, such as Camprilux and Horesca, in the months to come.
Tourism Minister Lex Delles noted “that it is essential to highlight the assets of Luxembourg's rural regions, because they are a strong point of our tourism offer. An intact natural environment, varied landscapes and an important cultural heritage characterise these attractive regions. Because of this enormous potential, the development of tourist accommodation is a political priority. I am convinced that the innovative concepts developed by the participatory working groups have the potential to revitalise the tourist offer in rural areas".
