The frontier of bicycle tourism

One of the most popular and trendy ways of doing tourism today is undoubtedly bicycle tourism. It is, as the word itself indicates, about visiting places on a bicycle. It is possible to do this on one’s own, with one’s backpack on one’s shoulders, perhaps after arriving by train to the places we wish to visit, or to turn to agencies capable of providing logistical support and luggage transport. The advantages of bicycle touring are mainly twofold: first, one goes by muscle propulsion and, therefore, the economic expense is very small compared to what would be faced by using a motor vehicle; second, touring in this way is a totally sustainable and environmentally friendly way to explore and (re)discover new places. And thiswaymaps all these things like it a lot!

Cycle tourism and hospitality

In Northern Europe, bicycle tourism is now an established reality. Countries with pronounced environmental awareness such as the Scandinavians, the Netherlands or Denmark have set up a system of cycle paths that allows the bicycle tourist to enjoy an attractive vacation on two wheels, and the trend is rapidly spreading further south and even to our country, where sustainable vacationing is increasingly a concrete reality. Targeting cycling tourism, then, is now a strategy that can pay off handsomely for a city, a province, an area, a region or a macro area. Connecting point A and point B with a cycleway is an idea on the agenda of many administrators at various levels. The hotelier and tourism operator can also benefit. Bicycle-friendly hospitality is in step with the times and demonstrates that the facility is receptive to innovation and attentive to sustainability; combining two pivotal elements, which summarize and represent this time of ours very well.

On the crest of the wave

If our hotel is located along a cycling route it will probably already be integrated within the local induced. This experiential and sustainable tourism is usually well promoted and provided with good services wherever people have decided to target it. After all, bicycle tourism is a good attractive lever, capable of attracting fans to regions that are less endowed than others in terms of tourism offerings. Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovenia are investing heavily in dedicated bicycle infrastructure. Cyclotourism is currently on the crest of a wave and is beginning to be defined and classified by industry authorities. In order for significant cycling flows to be attracted, homogeneous, uninterrupted cycleways are needed that are separated, at least for most of their length, from motorized traffic. These facilities must feature user services, such as drinking fountains, refreshment areas, and inflation and repair points. Planning must be thorough and promotion judicious, cataloging the work as a landscape and cultural attraction. Ad hoc receptivity is then needed along the route or in its immediate vicinity, which also provides shelter for vehicles and service and repair facilities for them.

A map for each guest

In light of the important development that bicycle tourism is experiencing in the world and in Italy, it may be a good move to think about creating-perhaps networking together with tour operators and local administrators-a map, clear and easily understood, illustrating all the bicycle tourism routes in the area. It could be a very valuable tool to incentivize and promote this type of environmentally-conscious vacation in response to the desire to travel and experience as well as serve as a powerful marketing tool for an area and all its accommodations.

Thiswaymaps can produce and print these types of maps, either bikemaps or bike maps, or traditional folding maps. If you have an accommodation facility you will have places nearby for your customers to visit by bike! Here are some examples of maps in our database with bike routes:
– Map of the Po Delta
– Map of Bibione
– Map Ciclovia del Piave
– Map of Cavallino-Treporti
– Map of Jesolo