New app for historical footpaths

Those two itineraries – or vias – follow closely the historical footpaths listed by ViaStoria and which were used for transporting cheese during the 17^th and 18^th century. These itineraries guide hikers from the heights of Lake Geneva to the heart of the green landscapes of the Pays-d’Enhaut, while introducing them to the natural and cultural characteristics of the Parc.

Created from the will to promote these trails and to make them accessible to a larger audience, the mobile application suggests small sections (1-4 hours) accessible by public transportation. The hiker selects the one he would like to follow and has direct access not only to the detailed and mapped description but also to the nearby points of interest recommended to the hiker according to his preferences, to the interactive media gallery and the event calendar. A game leads the young and old alike to learn more about the region they are exploring, its traditions and the making of two emblematic cheeses.

A state of the art technology from the EPFL
The Cheese Trails is based on the tourism information and statistics system MyCity, designed by EDSI-Tech. Resulting from a 3-year research and development period, the system integrates algorithms which learn from the user’s behaviour and take various internal and external elements into account to give accurate recommendations and enable visitors to make the most of their time spent in the region. These technologies also allow the Regional natural park Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut to obtain valuable information on their visitors’ preferences and to fine-tune their offer. Two patents and a CTI (Swiss Federal Commission for Technologies and Innovation) research project are in progress to secure these innovations.