Off the beaten track: EPU app combats overtourism with alternative routes
EPU, an app created by the Czech software companies Gatyer and Algodos, and with support from the Ministry of the Environment, aims to offer tourists alternative paths to follow and places to visit. In doing so, EPU seeks to take pressure off certain nature hotspots and literally broaden horizons.
The acronym EPU stands for the Czech words ekologie, příroda and udržitelnost – ecology, nature and sustainability. These are the values of the team behind the app, which they hope will make a positive contribution to tourism within Czechia. The free app, which is available in Czech and English, was launched this year and currently offers over two hundred trips. With these suggestions, EPU can lead tourists away from the most famous (and often most overcrowded) natural attractions, such as Sněžka mountain and the Pravčice Gate.
Ladislav Cirhan, executive director of Gatyer and creator of the app, spoke to Czech Radio about the impetus for the project:
“The most recent impetus came from the years 2020 and 2021, during the time of Covid, when travel abroad was not allowed and many people started travelling around Czechia. During the pandemic, the national parks and areas that were less frequented under normal circumstances were overcrowded. It was very aptly described by a colleague from one of the national parks who said ‘we have people here at the moment who are [usually] at the shopping centre at the weekend or spend this time of year in Thailand’. That was the impetus for when I said that we have to do something to regulate the problem of overtourism.”
The app works by listing routes that deliberately do lead visitors to or through popular sites during their most popular periods, instead taking them to less well-known corners of Czechia’s national parks and protected landscape areas. The suggested routes are not fixed, but rather are created through a neural network powered by artificial intelligence, which prepares for certain days and areas a forecast of how many people are likely to be around.
However, an additional function of the EPU app to warn walkers about current restrictions in place. These may be areas that have been designated as off limits to tourists because of wildfires, or because of breeding seasons for protected wildlife.
“There is always someone who is interested in breaking the rules, so we didn't want to regulate them, but we do make recommendations to them. This means that the moment they enter an area with increased protection, we alert them through a notification that they have entered that area, that they can only move along marked paths, and that there are certain visitor rules that must be followed.”
EPU is now available to download on popular app stores.
