A marked, well-kept trail feels effortless to walk. It isn’t. Behind every path there is someone who marked it, maintains it and defends access to it.
Mountain Games Cyprus 2026, a European Erasmus+ Sport event coordinated by the MountMed Institute, brought sport, culture, science and sustainable tourism to the Troodos Mountains from 23 to 26 September under the message “Healthy Lifestyles for All”. EUMA was there for a reason that matters to every trail user in Europe.
On Thursday 24 September in Agros, during the conference on mountain tourism, Andreas Aschaber (EUMA) presented his vision for sustainable mountain tourism and, together with ERA board member Joep Naber, handed over the Charter on European Hiking and Mountain Trails to Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis.
The Charter is our shared European position: trails are a public good for health, climate resilience, culture, tourism and rural communities, and they need free access, quality management and connections across borders. It carries no commitment for those who receive it. Its purpose is to put the issue on the table where decisions are made.
The need is real. The EU has more than 1.1 million km of hiking trails, and they are under pressure from rising visitor numbers, climate change, unclear rules on marking, maintenance and liability, uncoordinated trail construction, and too little government support for the clubs that look after them.
Cyprus is already moving, with a new national trail standard and cooperation with ERA on the Leading Quality Trails criteria. Building on that, Andreas presented recommendations for the island:
- trail concepts and maintenance, with mountaineering and hiking associations involved
- certified guides and certification schemes
- a visitor guidance system and hiking promoted outside the high season
- car-free villages and public transport
- local value chains and green jobs for mountain communities
Our message is simple: European trails are at stake and we need to protect them. Only cooperation between ministries and local mountain and hiking clubs can deliver sustainable trail management.
The Charter and the recommendations were warmly received. Warm thanks go to the MountMed Institute, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and our colleagues at ERA.
Photo caption from left: Stavros Kazamias (Exec. Director of MountMed Institute), Savvas Iezekiel (Director of the Department of Forests, Ministry of Agriculture), Kostas Koumis (Deputy Minister of Tourism, Cyprus), Andreas Aschaber (EUMA), Joep Naber (ERA), Anthie Gabrielides (Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus).
Read the Charter: https://www.era-ewv-ferp.org/euma-era-charter-for-hiking-and-mountain-trails-in-europe/
ERA report from the event: https://www.era-ewv-ferp.org/mountain-games-cyprus-2026/
About the event: https://www.mountaingames.eu/