The meeting, hosted by the Thrace Tourist Region management organisation, reviewed progress across the four pilot areas: the Via Francigena in Italy, the Lycian Way in Türkiye, the mountain route network around Mount Olympus, Mount Kissavos and Mount Mavrovouni in Greece, and the Sultan's Trail with the wider Thrace region in Bulgaria. The mini-grants support businesses and destinations in developing new tourism products, going digital and testing solutions for sustainability, resilience and accessibility, and the project's open-access training platform has attracted more than 150 new participants in its first three months.

The project places SMEs at the centre because local businesses provide the services and experiences that make walking routes attractive. Its next steps include a presence at the f.re.e tourism fair in Munich in February 2027, an international press tour in April 2027 and a final conference in Fidenza, Italy, in October 2027, so the results and tools developed should become available to other walking destinations.

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