1. Eurovelo Les Lumsdon

The European Cycle Route Network: Eurovelo 2009 Les Lumsdon Leisure and Tourism Cycling Conference: Aveiro, Portugal 6th November 2009 Institute of Transport and Tourism

European Study on Cycling • Requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism • Assessed the challenges and opportunities for sustainable cycle tourism • The report focuses specifically on travel between places by bicycle for leisure purposes Institute of Transport and Tourism

Aims and Objectives • Evaluate the potential benefits of long distance European cycling routes for tourism purposes • Three key objectives: – to determine the current scale and scope of cycle tourism in Europe – to evaluate EuroVelo as a sustainable tourism network across Europe – to investigate the potential to develop a themed trail, currently known as The Iron Curtain Trail. Institute of Transport and Tourism

The Cycle Tourism Market • No reliable data sources regarding overall volume and value of the existing cycle tourism market • France and Austria most important destinations for cycle tourism • Germany and the UK are the main outbound markets of the European tourism sector • Universal needs- a continuous, safe, pleasant route with good signage Institute of Transport and Tourism

Trends & Tourism Market • Marginal increase in cycle tourism • Uneven provision and market growth across Europe • Model produced to evaluate the value of cycle tourism in the EU (EU27+Norway and Switzerland). • The total economic impact for the estimated 2.8 billion cycle tourism trips in Europe with a value in excess of €54 billion per annum Institute of Transport and Tourism

Motivational Factors • Health • Relaxation • Nature • Pleasant scenery and landscapes • Learning about other areas • Social Institute of Transport and Tourism

Most important factors of route design • Safety (low or no traffic density) • Ease of use (signposting) • Pleasant landscapes • Accommodation/refreshment • Of lesser importance are: – information material – public transport access – route network density – cycle maintenance shops – infrastructure such as resting places Institute of Transport and Tourism

Impacts • Economic impact: – Cycle tourists spend average €53 per day (inc. accommodation). – Day excursion cyclists estimated average spend of almost €16 per day. • Environmental and Social Impacts: – Minimal negative impacts – Disturbance of wildlife/flora – Crowding (impact on recreational quality) Institute of Transport and Tourism

The Eurovelo network • EuroVelo: a European cycle route network which seeks to offer a sustainable Trans- European Network. • Comprises twelve long distance cycle routes covering a distance of 66,000 km. • Managed by the European Cyclists’ Federation • The report assesses whether or not this network could enhance the overall transport and tourism offering in Europe. Institute of Transport and Tourism

The Eurovelo Network Institute of Transport and Tourism

The challenges The challenges are at different levels: • Lack of vision to mitigate climatic change • Institutions and tourism associations slow to translate sustainability principles into practice • The lack of investment in low carbon tourism • The gap between transport and tourism Institute of Transport and Tourism

Vision • The EU documentation states that tourism has not progressed much in terms of sustainable development • There’s a real need for a tourism ‘product’ which highlights a vision of the future • EuroVelo has the potential to offer this: across all countries, low impact, high economic impact Institute of Transport and Tourism

Stakeholder Investment • A major challenge for leisure cycle tourism is the need to invest in routes • Major tourism institutions need to get behind a European cycle tourism product • Currently cycle tourism ‘products’ are fragmented-need to be coordinated • EuroVelo not sufficiently developed as a flagship Institute of Transport and Tourism

Low Carbon Tourism Cycle tourism has a very significant advantage over other forms of transport in reducing climate change But only if cyclists travel shorter distances to cycle and by train-not airplane Analysis of German data shows that 7% of cyclists flying to destination: this accounts for 40% of total cycle holiday emissions Rail based cycle holidays account for 28% of trips but only 7% of the total cycle holiday emissions There’s a need to design EuroVelo as a low carbon product Institute of Transport and Tourism

The transport-tourism gap • A need for integration between modes of transport and tourism • Cycle hire for the more casual day excursionist at railway stations is ideal • Train operators in different countries have varying approaches to carriage of cycles. • The coach and cycle offer is currently very limited • Provision for cycles on ferries is an important element • Switzerland is the best example of a coordinated approach to transport and tourism Institute of Transport and Tourism

The report recommendations • In summary we recommended the following: • That EuroVelo is incorporated into the TEN programme. • That more funds are made available for coordination of development and coordinated marketing of the EuroVelo network • Funds for bi-annual monitoring of cycle tourism. • Funds to further develop and maintain the demand forecast model (CRDFM). • More focused and detailed appraisal is made (projects, seminars, cost-benefit analyses) on railways to improve the carriage of bicycles, specifically on long distance trains • To proceed with Iron Curtain Trail as an example of green tourism Institute of Transport and Tourism

1. Eurovelo Les Lumsdon

by Projecto CicloRia on Nov 10, 2009

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