The first weekend of November saw us protagonists of an important conference on the themes of outdoor tourism. Moderator of the event was Marzio Bardi it's ours Marco Tagliaferri he dealt with illustrating the dynamics of media communication.
There were several invited speakers, William Basilico and Nicolò Weiss have brought the experience of Val di Fassa, Henry Guala instead he spoke about the history of Fiale Ligure, a world reference destination for our sport. Luca Biffezzi instead he described the path that the Val Vigezzo has been making in recent years.
Three different development models
From this meeting it is clear that there are different models of possible development.
On the one hand, the entrepreneurial organization of the Val di Fassa, with a medium-term project where the involvement of the territory is absolute; with a Teutonic programming that is bearing fruit.
On the opposite side Finale Ligure, a model of Italic fantasy; who in these years of somewhat 'anarchist' work has been able to build an enviable development model, with impressive numbers and a consolidated and constantly growing volume of business.
In the middle there is the Val Vigezzo, with its mountain environment similar to that of the Trentino area and an organization where the thrust of the private component is managing to involve and convince even more the political part and the territory.
Three locations that are at a different point of development, but which are united by a great passion for this sport and a vision of the bike product that respects the environment and increasingly declined to a 360 ° offer.
District, Region, Land
These are the three ways of declining one's own territory; three different words that, however, tell a similar vision of the project they want to carry out.
It is unanimous opinion that the development model of the tourism product linked to MTB is mature and now widely diversified. For this reason, starting from the name you want to give to your area, it is important to indicate which target audience you are targeting. From this point of view, the three realities, with different structures and organizations, are speaking a common language, organizing themselves to diversify the offer, satisfying an ever wider audience.
The will of Finale goes in this direction, confirmed on the sidelines by Enrico in a dialogue with the Italian Marathon champion Claudia Peretti, godmother of the convention, to organize their first Marathon next season. An event that will have to maintain the characteristics that have made Finale a destination now recognized all over the world. So we will have a Marathon in pure style final.
The electric world and the new challenges on the trail
Until a few years ago, the development of bike destinations essentially involved the design of the descents. With the introduction of e-bikes, the more structured locations have begun to think about technical climbs, suitable for modern assisted bikes, which know how to stimulate the riding skills of the biker. A necessary evolution if you want to convey an increasingly present type of tourism.
Events as a promotional vehicle
The positive opinion on the organization of events as a growth accelerator was unanimous. The organization of indemnity events, combined with the organization of the trails is the basis of the enormous success that the Finale has had in more than twenty years. For the Val di Fassa too, the constant presence in the EWS circuit was undoubtedly an important element for the growth and connotation of their product.
Flexibility
It is the basic concept that places such as Val Vigezzo must make their own. the tourism model must be dynamic, ready to change according to climatic conditions and the emergence of new trends. From this point of view, last season's experience marked a turning point, the absence of snow in fact allowed the Piana di Vigezzo lifts to switch from skiing to mountain biking in the space of one evening, with encouraging results. In the years to come, this model would seem to become increasingly strategic. Even in Val di Fassa, despite a much more articulated organization, which does not allow this speed, tourist models are being studied that will make it possible to reshape the offer between skiing, still economic driving, and other sports activities.
Conclusions
These meetings have the aim of comparing different development models, thus allowing all enthusiasts to enrich themselves with useful ideas for the growth of all the movement of fat wheels.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since 2006, the year in which the then All Mountain biking led by Marzio, together with some visionaries among whom Enrico Guala was already present, they toured Italy to promote the development of what were then called Bike Park, two years later the advent of enduro upset that first vision of tourism, which now the entry of assisted bicycles is once again distorting.
