The natural beauty of Lower Austria enchants more and more guests with once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Surveys among tourists and day visitors show that they prefer those places where they can experience pure nature when hiking and walking. Lower Austria, blessed with natural beauty, has great appeal with its two national and 23 natural parks. As well, the garden tourism and nature in gardens initiatives make the development of an extraordinary travel destination possible. Fundamental to the strategy is a contemporary yet careful and sustainable preparation, dramatization and promotion of the offer. Exciting and sensual, yet experienced in comfortable surroundings: this is the way Lower Austria's natural environment should be taken in. The most important target groups are families, children and youth – their needs are the focus in product development.
ecoplus promotes this development, so vital to Lower Austria, in a carefully targeted way. New key regional projects have arisen through the erection of visitor centers in the Thayatal and Donau-Auen national parks. Several natural parks with a tourism alignment have been supported in the expansion of their visitor attractions. In this way, information offices, experiential playgrounds, theme paths and presentation points have come about in the natural parks Hohe Wand, Waidhofen / Buchenberg, Ötscher Tormäuer and Blockheide Gmünd. In planning, the interconnectedness with other regional lodging and restaurant facilities is emphasized, as this is essential in order to increase the benefit to the region in the long term as well as to encourage guests to return to the area for repeat visits.

As an important recreational trend, gardening and gardens correspond to the innovative garden tourism-related focus. Lower Austria has the opportunity to create a unique travel experience. Where assistance has yielded success: the Kittenberger Gardens, the Kamptal Garden Festival, Tulln Gardens, and the Therme Laa Show Gardens.

» Overview of Show Garden Projects in Lower Austria

» International Show Garden Projects

ecoplus has for years supported the planning and financing of show gardens seeking to establish themselves in the market as independent tourism offerings. Evaluation of show garden projects is based on the requirements for assistance established as part of the regional development guidelines, oriented on longstanding general regional development criteria including the quality of the project, operational management, regional anchoring as well as economic impact on the region.

• ecoplus supports the development of a business plan that clearly presents the substantive direction of the project in the context of the above-mentioned criteria and is developed in close cooperation between the project sponsor and an external expert. Following the selection and assignment of a consultant, undertaken jointly with the project sponsor, 70 percent of associated consulting costs are covered.
  
• Based on the completed business plan and proof of ability to cover a minimum of one-third of the required capital, investment subsidies can be provided up to the maximum permitted under EU competition policy guidelines. The actual amount of subsidies is determined on a case-by-case basis according to the quality of the project. Examples of projects eligible for subsidies include information kiosks, “experience stations“ and visitors centers.

This Lower Austria Garden Platform was launched at the initiative of ecoplus in March 2005 and meets regularly for topic-specific continuing education workshops moderated by a tourism expert.