EuroVelo Cycling Tourism Conference 2024

The EuroVelo & Cycling Tourism Conference 2024, held from September 23-25, brought together cycling enthusiasts and experts to discuss the future of cycling tourism under the theme ‘Legacy and Localhood.’ This year’s event, co-organized by Viborg Municipality, marked the first time the conference was hosted in such a northern location. It was a great opportunity for BAB partners to join the conference and learn more about cycling tourism development within other European countries.  

Insights on Nordic Cycling Culture & strategic development of cycling tourism 

Henna Palosaari from the Finnish Center for Cycling Tourism and Marie Kåstrup emphasized the rich cycling heritage shared by Finland and Denmark. They underscored the importance of stronger promotion, closer collaboration among stakeholders, and the development of diverse cycling tourism routes to further enhance the appeal of Nordic cycling tourism. With a foundation of excellent infrastructure and breathtaking Nordic landscapes, they envision a future where cycling tourism flourishes through unique and inclusive route offerings. 

The conference also spotlighted the European Declaration on Cycling, signed in April 2024. This ambitious initiative aims to improve cycling infrastructure and tourism across Europe, with significant political backing. The declaration can be utilized to justify the policy recommendations that are being developed in the BAB project. In addition, National Strategies for cycling tourism development were presented. For example, Hungary’s plan is to increase cycling tourism by 150%; France just recently publishing their new cycling tourism strategy to become number one cycling destination; and Denmark’s efforts to revise its National Cycling Strategy. The need for a strategic approach to cycling tourism development has also been acknowledged in the BAB partner countries.  

The Data Insights presented in the conference concluded that the traffic on EuroVelo routes has increased by 10% over the past five years. No wonder, as cycling tourism connects cities and rural areas, supporting cycling for locals and tourists. Patricia Carmona Redondo of UN Tourism highlighted this, mentioning some Best Rural Tourism Villages that are crossed by EuroVelo routes in her speech on the renewed Memorandum of Understanding with ECF regarding cycling tourism promotion. 

In a parallel session, Anna Lindén, project manager and route inspector from the Swedish Cycling Federation, emphasized the need to adapt EuroVelo certification standards to better accommodate rural regions. Currently, these standards are designed with Central Europe’s dense population and service networks in mind, making it challenging for sparsely populated Nordic areas to achieve certification. Lindén highlighted how essential cycling tourism is for the growth of these rural communities and advocated for certification standards that recognize the unique qualities and challenges of the Nordic landscape, enabling more regions to develop and showcase their EuroVelo routes.  

The event successfully fostered discussions on how to leverage cycling events to enhance local culture and community engagement, setting a positive tone for the future of cycling tourism in Europe. 

For more information, visit the EuroVelo website: https://pro.eurovelo.com/news/2024-09-27_a-successful-eurovelo-cycling-tourism-conference-reflecting-on-local-ownership-and-legacy-of-cycling-events  

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