Birding Aragón

Project n°6

INTRODUCTION

Birding Aragón unites all the stakeholders of rural Aragón in the promotion of nature tourism. Through this project we have made the main objective to get behind the already existing brand as a destination for both the local and foreign market. Birding Aragon belongs to a bussines asociation, one of the partners, which ensures its continuity.

PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

Birding Aragón unites all the local stakeholders in the promotion of nature tourism. The main objective of this project has been to converge support around the strengthening of Aragón as a destination for local and foreign visitors. Thanks to its landscapes, geology, flora, fauna and its strategic position along major bird migratory routes, Aragón has great potential as a Nature tourism destination. Over the last three years we have tried to develop a tourism product which both protects nature and is sustainable. We have worked following different approaches: local promotion of those agents who are dedicated to local nature conservation, training local representatives of the tourism sector to increase their awareness of nature resources in their territory as well as how to exploit them sustainably, technical innovation through digitalization, providing support and some financial backup to conservation and environmental education projects, as well as one of the most important, generating alliances with other bodies involved in nature tourism to provide cooperation and training, thereby genrally improving the nature tourism product as a whole thanks to smooth transfer of knowledge amongst all the local stakeholders.

PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this project has been to converge support around the strengthening of Aragón as a destination for local and foreign visitors. Create a network between the agents involved in nature tourism and create a common product

THE ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

Nature and ornithological tourism is an unknown natural resource of Aragon. Through the LEADER project we have achieved the positioning of the Birding Aragón brand in the territories, thanks to the involvement of the Local Action Groups and their knowledge of their endogenous resources.

The agents involved in rural tourism have been trained so that they can take advantage of this valuable resource that we have in Aragon. The impact generated has been very positive, small rural businesses have learned about the nearby natural resources, how to begin to make themselves known in the sector and what specialized professionals they have nearby to be able to cooperate with them and create a product, always from a sustainability approach. conservation and reduction of environmental impact.

A work team was created to design the actions and events that were organized, a network through which everything is organized and decided. We have worked on nature conservation through calls for projects carried out by schoolchildren, conservation and environmental NGOs,…

Communication through social media has grown exponentially, as has the number of followers, both national and international, the content of the website has been expanded and translated into English and French. The presence of the brand in specialized national and international fairs has positioned us as a destination in the nature tourism sector at a national and European level. The local population has also participated in the project, in addition to training on local ornithological resources in schools, guided ornithological outings have been carried out that have made the endogenous resources known. The specialization of professionals and their continuous training in different aspects of the sector has also played an important role in the project, in addition to an exchange of experiences with the Valencian Community, in which important business relationships emerged.

We showed entrepreneurs in the sector in situ how Ornithological tourism was worked in each type of business, as a guide, as accommodation, as a photographic hide, as a travel agency,… a sample of support from the network created and how it is They share experiences.

WEB: https://birdingaragon.com/en/birding-aragon/
Facebook Instagram and Youtube: @birdingaragon
Final video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv9ibztKxVM
Partners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSDtkyYHXeE