On september 3, TRAVEL TALK, an initiative of Eurobike Hannover, organized a digital conference to discuss the newest trends and innovations. This rendezvous for cycling tourism , brought the bike industry and tourism together on an international level.
A few trends in cycling tourism have been outlined :
- Electrification : better e-bikes and more efficient batteries give people new ways to visit a city, it extends their limits. E-bikes are creating new possibilities for tourism. E-mtb is the fastest boomer in the cycling industry.
- Congestion-risks : cyclist, mountainbikers and hikers on the same trails in the mountains are considered a arisk, including unauthorized tresspassing of protected nature.
- Everyday cycling : People are bringing their children to school by bike, are no longer using the car for their transfer to work and are shopping with the bike. People enjoy their mobility on the bike during vacation.
- The use of a cargo bike is also booming for multi-purpose, ‘allday’ transport needs.
- New opportunities to more sustainable tourism : statistics show that transport by train seems to be a, by travelling cyclists, highly appreciated means of transportation.
“Cycling tourism may never be the same, it could be better.” (Pinar Pinzuti, Bikenomist)
Cyclists, and travellers in general, want to get out in nature. And they need to experience ‘feel good, feel save’ memory on the roads and trails. But how can the tourism and biking industry respond ?
Clearly quite a few challenges are up for all stakeholders in cycling tourism (regions, cities, touroperators) and collaboration is the key. The tourism industry needs to rethink users needs as well as the shift to more healthy and sustainable tourism. Community or local concepts are needed to attract international visitor.
Development of infrastructure in more rural areas might be the key to move traffic away from the hotspots. The development of urban bike tourism is interesting as a new sustainable way to visit a city. A cycling tourist is an interesting visitor : he or she is a relatively high spender and has an interest in culture.
Is your tourist offer accessible for cycling and sustainable tourism ? Then your target audience must also be aware of this, communication is the key to be ‘top-of-mind’. In 2020 people are increasingly aware of the way they travel and where they are going. This is in line with the rise of more and more climate awareness.
#restartcycletourism #makecyclistsloveit
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