Storytelling and routes:
design, development and marketing in 7 steps! 

Storytelling: you often hear about it, as if it were a magic wand in the field of development and marketing of tourism products. But what exactly does it entail and how do you apply it to the creation and promotion of cycling or walking routes? And which stories should you ‘tell’?

Moniek Hover, professor of Storytelling at Breda University of Applied Sciences, is uniquely at home in this field. Moniek’s research entails the connections between storytelling and experiences in the contexts of leisure, tourism and cultural heritage sites. With her team, she also designs storytelling-based experiences. 

Since 2019, together with Visit Brabant and local partners, Moniek creates experiential cycling routes based on storytelling, specifically around Folktales and Legends, Made in Brabant, and the Dutch-Belgian border.

Breakout session IBTC

During a breakout session at the IBTC 2025, Moniek will present together with Veronique de Kort of VisitBrabant Routebureau the 7-steps method they use for the design, development and marketing of routes. They will briefly go into some principles and techniques of storytelling, how to integrate points of interest (lieux de memoire and lieux d’imagination), how to match logic of the storyline with the logic of the route and the logic of the entrepreneurs along the routes. 

After this, they will show how the development and the online and offline marketing of these experiential routes by VisitBrabant Routebureau takes place. Of course, they will be showing several examples through videos, photos and other materials.

On Thursday 13 February 2025, the IBTC will present a full-day programme in Domstad Utrecht with a keynote from Tim Voors, an interactive panel discussion, six breakout sessions, lunch, drinks and ample networking opportunities. 
 

Why you can’t miss the IBTC 2025: 

• Knowledge gathering: widen your knowledge of cycling and walking tourism, discover the latest trends and insights.

• Best practices: in keynotes and breakout sessions you learn about successful projects and work methods which you may be able to put into practice yourself.

• Networking: you will be in contact with professionals in cycling and walking tourism from all over Europe, and can exchange information of their own experience in the field.

Enrol for the IBTC!