EuroVelo, the European cycle route network, was present at the main European tourism trade fairs during the early part of the year. In January, the team visited Fitur in Madrid and Fiets en Wandelbeurs in The Netherlands, in March Berlin was the destination for the ITB. When the cycling tourism season gets going, so does EuroVelo!

Berlin at the ITB

Bicycles everywhere. That would be the main impression when visiting a tourism trade fair in Europe. Every single booth at the ITB Berlin or Fitur Madrid included cycling. Typically, they would be promoting a guided tour for cycling tourists or information on local bike rental services and it sometimes even featured a physical bike or a virtual bike tour! Is this what the much anticipated cycling boom looks like? It looks like cycling tourism is really trending in the European tourism sector and the potential and opportunities are enormous.

That is why a high quality product like EuroVelo needs to have a presence at the major tourism trade shows of Europe. These events attract an international audience and provide the perfect opportunity for the EuroVelo team to meet national and regional partners, keep a finger on the pulse of the sector and arrange important agreements. Take for instance the ITB Berlin, at which EuroVelo had its own booth. Over the 5-day event, the EuroVelo staff were in contact with over 120 stakeholders, organised an event with over 30 attendees and had the opportunity to promote the EuroVelo network (over 1,200 EuroVelo maps and over 750 flyers from our partners were  distributed) and our three ongoing projects: EuroVelo 8, EuroVelo 13 and EuroVelo 15, were promoted.

'Without EuroVelo, the Rhine Cycle Route would have never become a successful transnational product'  added Claudia Schwarz, EuroVelo 15 during the panel discussion at the ITB Berlin

ADFC Anual report on cycling tourism

The ITB Berlin was also a good place to have a closer look at the German market tendencies (ADFC anual report), by far the biggest cycling tourism market in the world (over €11billion of revenues per year). There were some important changes that we noted, many of which showed a positive effect of the EuroVelo routes. Three EuroVelo routes are in the top 10 of the German cycling tourist destinations. The EuroVelo 6 - especially the Danube section - remained at the number one spot. Perhaps the the more exciting news  was that EuroVelo 15 now came in at second in the same list and had recorded a significant growth (see table above).

Travelling in Europe magazine

During the European Commission event at the ITB, we had the opportunity to see how EuroVelo was presented as a good example of a European transnational tourism product. The European Travel Commission included an article about EuroVelo on the European Travel Commission Magazine 'Travelling in Europe' that will be disseminated in United States and Canada (#VisitEurope).

Previously, we had been invited to attend Fitur in Madrid by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment - who aims to coordinate EuroVelo in Spain - and the Spanish Greenways associations (Vía Verdes) who organised a workshop in which the EuroVelo team took part. We had the chance to make a presentation about the opportunities that cycling tourism offers in terms of job creation, growth and in terms of boosting the tourism sector. The European Commission (DG ENTR) also attended this event,  supporting sustainable tourism and EuroVelo specifically, as a good example. Spain is the third tourist destination in the world and EuroVelo is an opportunity to offer a high quality product to the Spanish tourism sector. Because Spain enjoys mild temperatures during the autumn and the spring, EuroVelo can help boost tourist numbers during the low and medium seasons as well as in rural areas. According to the ADFC annual report, Spain is the 10th favourite cycling tourism destination for the German market.

During these first three months we also had the opportunity to attend Fiets en Wandelbeurs in The Netherlands. With over 18 thousand participants, it is the largest cycling tourism trade fair in the world and we were invited to try the latest cycling tourism equipment and exchange experiences.

The outdoors are beckoning and we welcome in the spring on two wheels. Hundred of thousands of Europeans will choose cycling holidays this year. Give your body and mind the break they deserve and make sure to check out the destinations that EuroVelo offers.