As the whole world, in and outside of business, is starting to become more focused on sustainability and being responsible leaders in their own fields, cycle tourism has become an increasingly more attractive idea for both travellers and travel providers, especially in Italy.
The industry’s reception to cycle tourism in Italy and Europe
Cycle tourism in Italy and also Europe has really started to establish itself as something to take notice of. In 2017, ITB Berlin, the world’s largest tourism trade fair, focused heavily on cycle tourism, talking of how this niche in the market rose to popularity due to increasing global infrastructure.
Touching on the importance of the growing infrastructure for cyclists, Spinlister’s website, the “Airbnb for bikes”, highlights in one of their blogs that with the expansion and improvement of trails comes more tourists for longer periods. This comes as good news seeing that, according to a Trekksoft article, the Italian National Tourism Agency has responded to this type of tourism with a promising attitude. They have reported a revenue of €3.2 billion from cycle tourism in Italy and have began proposing national infrastructures for cyclists.
This is just one storz of the rising popularity of cycle tourism as in the whole EU there was an estimated 2.3 billion bikes journeys taken with a revenue of of around €44 billion.
Cycling in Italy
With the breath-taking views of the Italian peninsula and the Alps, accompanied by the sunny mediterranean weather, this seems to be the perfect reason to see Itay as the home for cycle tourism. Maybe this is why many, from both the Italian private and public sectors, have seen this trend worthy of investment
According to Italy’s official tourism website, Italia.it, athletic associations, social clubs and commercial enterprises are providing route information, offering tours and other types of travel assistance to cycle tourists in the country. One association based around cycle tourism is ItalyBikeHotels, they are a group of around 70 hotels, mostly based in northern Italy. They provide information on routes between their hotels with various types of biking holidays.
FindYourItaly’s Involvement in cycle tourism in Italy
Find Your Italy, (FYI), also offers packages holidays based around this ever-growing popular trend in tourism. These include tours in some of the most scenic and unforgettable destinations in all of Italy.
One product offered by FYI is the Tuscany Bike Tour, this route travels in and around Siena and Chianti, some of the most beautiful landscapes in all of Tuscany and Italy. The cyclists who chose to make this experience will ride, at their own pace, alongside the astonishing wavy landscapes of the Tuscan hills. Through both hundreds of vineyards and portrait-like valleys these travellers will experience the Italian countryside in the most authentic way like no other.
Another FYI product with a great original experience of the Italian countryside is the Bike & Wine tour in Abruzzo. This bike tour includes a beautiful and peaceful travel through traditional old villages and also through the region’s more natural areas with most of the tour on grass and dirt roads. Through the tour the cyclists will be able to relax each day by discovering the wine culture of the area with tastings of famous wines such as Montepulciano. This tour also accommodates all travellers with options of having a cycling tour guide or cycling independently and having the option of using mountain bikes or E-bikes.
Just the beginning for cycle tourism in Italy
Cycle tourism in Italy has definitely seen itself growing in popularity for a number of reasons. With increasing numbers of bike journeys resulting in large revenues, in Europe and specifically Italy. Investments and support for improved cycling infrastructure in Italy, from both the government and corporations and finally the modern trend of a healthy lifestyle and sustainable travel.
Cycle tourism in Italy has only just began its rise in popularity.
