Guideline 3

To establish economic development on local resources and demand

The Park Territory attracts many tourists, and the Ballons of Alsace, Hohneck, Crest Road, Schlucht are renowned “must-sees” where most visitors converge, thus raising the preservation issue at times.

The vast Vosges Mountains are ideal for sports and leisure in all seasons, and therefore require optimum organisation. The aim is to avoid added pressure on environments, landscapes, and amenities – with a sometimes uncertain profitability level due to trends or competition with other sites.

The Park’s many industrial, craft, agricultural, forestry, and service activities ensure its economic health but had to face major shifts over the past few years. Employment tends toward delocalization and concentrates in and around cities on the Park outskirts, thus increasing development disparities among mountain sides according to their geographical situation. The implemented strategy consists in promoting the territory’s main sectors based on local craftsmanship, and in furthering the development of local distribution networks by supporting collective enterprise approaches – per sector or cross-sector. Key player network and coordination will be favoured in order to ensure public policy complementarity while strengthening the use of the Park Image.