Cycle Tourism Research Articles

Sustainable Development of Cycle Tourism Destinations in Croatia based on Innovative e-Tools

Abstract Cycle tourism in Croatia is not just a significant economic contributor but also a driver of rural development and job creation in sectors like hospitality, tourism, leisure, and cycle path maintenance. The unique preferences of cycle tourists for authentic experiences and local culture also boost the local economy. This research, with its practical implications, aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the level of awareness of e-innovation tools in Croatia’s cycling tourism sector, identify challenges and potentials in terms of technological change, and highlight infrastructural gaps in Adriatic versus continental Croatia using a SWOT analysis. The insights from this research can be instrumental in fostering sustainable and long-term destination development, making it a valuable resource for all professionals in the field.

Connecting classic cycle tourism with micromobiles - Case study of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina

Connecting classic cycle tourism with micromobiles - Case study of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina

Sustainable cycle-tourism for society: Integrating multi-criteria decision-making and land use approaches for route selection

Cycle tourism is a sustainable active vacation, which is quickly growing in recent years. Although it has several benefits for society and users (e.g., social connections, amusement, and physical and mental health), cycle tourism requires an adequate route network to enjoy destinations with historical and landscape peculiarities. Past literature mainly investigated motivations and preferences for cycle tourists and proposed optimisation methods in planning routes. However, applying assessment methods for prioritising cycle-tourist routes is a seldom-explored topic. This study aims to address this gap by applying an integrated method for evaluating and prioritising cycle routes, searching for a compromise between route characteristics, service provided to users, and natural and building contexts crossed. It jointly includes Multi-Criteria Decision Methods (MCDMs) and a land use approach: AHP determines the weights of criteria and parameters describing cycle routes; GIS elaborates spatial analysis of parameters; ELECTRE I and VIKOR help find a compromise solution amongst different cycle routes. The integrated method involved a panel of experts to collect data, and it is applied to the wide-study area of Franciacorta (Italy). Some comparisons with other MCDMs are made to justify the results. The findings could support multi-institutions prioritising cycle route alternatives in deciding their building.

A comparative cycling path selection for sustainable tourism in Franciacorta. An integrated AHP-ELECTRE method

Cycle tourism is a form of sustainable itinerant tourism expanding in Italy and the rest of the world, with prospects for growth in coming years. Europe and North America have already developed a wide range of cycling infrastructures tied to tourism experiences. Benefits induced are generally recognised: first, it is a sustainable solution that increases local economics while conserving the environment; second, it guarantees advantages on social connections, amusement, and physical and mental health. However, it requires an adequate network to enjoy destinations as historical and landscape peculiarities. Currently, literature provides some methods for planning itineraries dedicated to cycle tourism. Despite that, there is less attention on how evaluating existing or already planned tourist itineraries.This study covers this gap, by applying an integrated method to assess bicycle connections for tourism experiences within municipalities. Since this evaluation may contain many conflicting criteria (e.g., preferences of public administrator, technical and economic viability) and possible alternatives, this study frames the method as a multi-criteria decision-making problem (MCDM). Specifically, at first, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is adopted to calculate weights for each criterium; next, the ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalitè (ELECTRE) method is applied to provide a (possible) priority ranking of cycling tourist paths among alternatives, by computing indices of discordance and concordance between pairs of alternatives.The framework is applied to the Franciacorta area (North-East Italy), a national and international tourist relevance territory encompassing 22 municipalities. This study may be useful for public administrators to rationalise and prioritise cycling routes.

GIS analysis of the Andalusian rail trails accessibility from motorhome areas

The symbiosis between motorhome tourism and cycle tourism on the rail trails is not reflected in the development strategies to promote these old railway infrastructures. The project “New models of intermodal mobility and tourist use of Andalusian rail trails: application of an explanatory, predictive and spatial methodology”, uses GIS tools and web-scrapping as an essential resource to obtain results. This paper shows results from the use of these two techniques to highlight a relationship that is ignored by the planners of the promotion strategies that have been implemented in the last twenty years about the rail trails in Andalusia. The results, based on the analysis of the primary information prepared by the authors, demonstrate that the symbiosis has occurred spontaneously without any prior planning. This paper presents also a necessary conceptualization to identify the elements that participate in this symbiosis and to develop the GIS model for further analysis. The project is financed by the Department of Economy Knowledge, Business and Universities of the Government of Andalusia.

Development of a Mexican Version of the Cycle-Tourist Motivation Instrument (CtMI)

With the growing interest in cycle tourism in Mexico, it is necessary to understand the motives for traveling and cycling. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the bicycle tourism motivation instrument (Cycle-tourist Motivation Instrument (CtMI)) for Mexico. The instrument was applied to 322 cycle tourists who participated, directly or indirectly, in the 2021 Chichimeca route, a cycle tourism event. Atypical data were removed, Cronbach’s alpha of the CtMi was 0.920, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) test gave 0.911 as a result, and Barlett’s sphericity test was equal to 0.000; in addition, factor analysis with varimax rotation was performed with factor loadings greater than 0.40, resulting in an instrument with validity and explanatory capacity for the phenomenon of cyclist motivation with 32 items divided into 7 dimensions: health, social, competence domain, exploration, stimulus-seeking, self-presentation and escape, with values equal to and/or higher than those reported in the literature. The CtMI can contribute to future research related to this topic, which will allow us to understand and determine the motivations of the cycle tourist in Mexico. Likewise, this study demonstrates the need for further research to validate the CtMI in other contexts, within Mexico and abroad.

How to develop a road cycling tourism destination. Girona as a case study

Road cycle tourism is a modality of cycling which, by virtue of its characteristics, can contribute to the de-seasonalising of tourist demand in destinations with very rigidly marked tourist seasons. In addition, it can favour the decentralisation of tourist and recreational activities, moving them away from urban centres towards the rural periphery, and promote the inclusion of new tourist agents. Despite the growth and benefits of this tourism product, it is still insufficiently researched. This being so, in terms of the management and promotion of destinations, it is worth arriving at a fuller understanding of how to develop this model of cycle tourism from the suppliers’ perspective. Bearing in mind the points mentioned above, the present study set out to evaluate the conditions and factors involved in the successful development of a tourist destination for road cycling and to analyse the attractiveness of the particular tourist destination referred to. With that in mind, the article seeks to shed light on the significance of road cycling for tourism purposes and to develop a value-based system which can be used in the planning for road cycling in tourist destinations. • Road cycling tourism can contribute to the de-seasonalising of tourist demand. • Conditions and factors involved in developing a road cycling tourist destination: geography, climate and transport connectivity are the main conditions involved. • Professional cyclists can contribute to develop a road cycling tourist destination. • Planners must identify the specific needs of this segment to configure provision. • Specialised tourist services are necessary to support road cycling tourism. • Road cycling tourism can boost the emergence of related businesses and services. • Tourism products should connect tourist attractions with cyclists' interests. • Cycling infrastructure and road education must be part of the development. • Road cyclist tourists are consumers with medium to high level purchasing power. • Ambassadors and cycling-related brands can help improve destination's positioning.

Cycling Tourism: A Literature Review to Assess Implications, Multiple Impacts, Vulnerabilities, and Future Perspectives

Cycle tourists are increasingly prominent in the profile of world tourism and, in the light of the literature, it is essential, among other things, to examine more closely who they are, what their concerns and motivations are that generate the choice of a cycle tourism product, and, as a priority, the level of economic, social, and environmental impact they cause at destination. In this context, this literature review aims at identifying authors’ and publishers’ interest in cycle tourism, the positive and negative effects of this form of tourism on the economic environment (direct and indirect), as well as effects on the social environment (benefits and potential drawbacks for local communities, along with health benefits for practitioners) and, last but not least, the degree of vulnerability to economic crises generated by travel restrictions. The conclusions reported in this article, as they have been drawn from analyses and examples of best practice, based on natural and anthropogenic geographical conditions, will be prioritised as future research directions. The usefulness of this approach lies in the information with significant applied and novelty aspects, addressed to local, regional, and national authorities, cycling and cycle-tourism associations, and various private interested enterprises, with a view to promoting cycling for recreational purposes and implementing cycling/cycle-tourism infrastructure as a sustainable way of developing small towns and rural areas with tourism potential.

Package cycle tourists′ relationship to time and pace

For its slow mobility, cycle tourism has been linked to slow travel. Yet, few tourism scholars have studied the meaning of the pace at which cycle tourists move. This study seeks to shed some light on cycle tourists' relationship to time and pace. For that purpose, mobile ethnography through participant observation and interviews was employed to explore how western tourists experience a package cycling holiday in Vietnam. The cyclists' notion of subjective pace was found to be unconnected from actual velocity or form of travel. Some of the tourists sought speed and closely monitored time as ways to achieve their cycling performance goals. None of the cyclists expressed concerns with the high carbon footprint of their air travel to Vietnam. Furthermore, contrary to the slow travel literature, the cycle tourists did not prioritise social encounters. The findings of this study, therefore, question whether package cycle tourists can be considered to be slow travellers. We thus suggest that the experience of pace as controlled by the traveller her or himself is central to being a slow traveller.

Building resilient local tourism systems: insights from New Zealand's premier cycling attractions

ABSTRACT Using a framework based on seven principles that build resilience in socio ecological systems, this paper explores how two prominent cycle tourism attractions in New Zealand have been able to adapt to exogenous and endogenous change over several decades. The findings, based on interviews with actors involved in management and governance roles, identifies five factors that have contributed to the resilience demonstrated by these exemplar cases and notes the potential of the seven principles as a guiding framework for organisations responsible for managing or governing similar local tourism systems.

Everyday Cycling Mobilities and Tourist Behaviour: The Emergence of Cycle Tourism as COVID-Secure Activity

The extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic have evidently led to increased levels of cycle commuting and cycle tourism closer to and around the home (we refer to this as everyday cycling mobilities). Cycling is a popular tourism pursuit in Japan and in the pandemic era, is acknowledged to be a COVID-secure activity. In response to, and drawing from the theory of planned behaviour, examining the relationship between the COVID-secure perspective and the intention to perform tours via cycling mobilities in Japan is the underlying aim of this exploratory study. Further, analyses are informed by an online survey approach and contextualised with hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Findings emphasise that COVID-secure perspective is negatively associated with intention to tour as part of everyday cycling mobilities, whereas attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control show positive association. This has implications for everyday cycling mobilities and cycle tourism. COVID-related advice should be developed and disseminated not only to cycling enthusiasts but also to the general public in order to emphasise and reinforce the COVID-secure nature of this mode of tourism. Consequently, the rise in popularity of everyday cycling mobilities and touring, sounds a clarion call to ensure that any ensuing expansion pays heed to responsible tourism concerns.

Cycle Touring and the Middle-Class Consumption of Nature. Anti-urbanism in H. G. Wells’ The Wheels of Chance and Cycling Press Reports of the Late Nineteenth Century

The article aims to discuss the cultural significance of cycle touring for the Victorian urban middle class in the context of the growing significance of leisure and recreation to Englandʼs working popula-tion and the burgeoning mass tourist industry. Cycle tourism in the countryside is presented as a leisure activity reinstating an organic link between man and nature that was severed by the progress of industrial capitalism in Victorian cities. The remarkable popularity of bicycle tourism in the last decade of the nineteenth century was induced mainly by its perception as an essentially rural recreation, allowing cyclists to immerse themselves in the unspoilt nature of England's pastoral countryside. As such, the activity corresponded with Victorian attitudes to nature, their idealisation of the country, nostalgia for the wholesomeness of rural existence and denunciation of the city. The discussion of the phenomenon is illustrated with references to numerous press publications promoting cycle touring in the countryside and extolling its benefits, and Herbert George Wells' bicycling novel The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll (1896).

Inventing the Pandemic Lifestyles: Bicycle Tourism during COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has harshly accelerated existing future of social life and changed how people approach and act toward it, including in the aspect of sport and tourism, that can be claimed to have created the pandemic's new social orders. This article, in essence, examines the cycling meanings and experiences of Yogyakarta’s cyclists in both individual and communal contexts during the pandemic. Having been categorized as an active sport which supports social and physical distance campaigns, the shift of meaning of cycle tourism both to increase immune system and to enjoy sightseeing at once is applied to critically explain the way people understand the cycling itself. In line with the motivational aspects, the meaning of cycling has shown fascinating facts shifted from regular sport to be more valuable due to disruptions during the pandemic. By applying qualitative descriptive methods, this research conducted observations and interviews with cyclists and cycling communities. This article shows two findings. First, the shift of meaning and awareness of cycling is considered as a pandemic sport because of a compatibility with its health protocols and as a sustainable tourism sector; and second, the emergence of cycle tourism as a pandemic lifestyle shaped constantly with social narratives of a pandemic. The psychological aspects have also become additional notes explained by this article.

Sports Consumption Behavior: Discovering Typologies of Amateur Cyclists

Abstract Introduction. Cycling is one of the most popular and practiced sports both in Europe and globally. However, management studies aimed at defining cyclists’ consumption behavior are still limited. The most recent contributions describe cycling consumption as an activity heavily influenced by the intensity and sociality of its practice but do not highlight the importance of expenditures related to participation in amateur cycling events and cycle tourism experiences. Starting from these behavioral dimensions, the article proposes an original segmentation of the sport and leisure market, leading to the identification of different profiles of amateur cyclists. Material and methods. The research was conducted on a sample of 182 cyclists located in one single Italian region to ensure a high level of social, economic and cultural uniformity. The data was collected by conducting a questionnaire, and its resulting information relating to sport and consumer behavior was processed through a cluster analysis procedure. Results. The results reveal the existence of five different amateur cyclists’ profiles (the parsimonious, the competitive, the ostentatious, the sociable and the experiential), each distinguished by specific behavior in terms of the intensity and way of conducting the sports activity and the propensity to incur different types of expenditure. Conclusions. From a theoretical point of view, the results confirm the effectiveness of behavioral segmentation in the market of sports consumption. From an operational point of view, they provide useful marketing indications for businesses operating in the sport-system chain and destination management operators.

Cicloturismo no planejamento integrado de cidades e o caso da região metropolitana de Curitiba

O cicloturismo é reconhecido por ser uma atividade que envolve múltiplos segmentos do turismo, assim como conecta ambientes urbanos e rurais. Quando a principal motivação de uma viagem se encontra no percurso entre um destino e outro, permite-se o desenvolvimento em escala local nas regiões abrangidas pela rota de trânsito. Contudo, a implantação de roteiros turísticos para bicicleta requer uma articulação organizacional que envolva diferentes áreas de planejamento e setores da sociedade – principalmente em grandes centros urbanos. Desta forma, o presente artigo apresenta uma contribuição teórico-conceitual sobre o alinhamento do planejamento cicloviário ao turístico, com vistas ao desenvolvimento do cicloturismo. Por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica que contemplou artigos científicos e documentos estratégicos nacionais e internacionais, foram levantados conceitos orientadores de gestão e avaliadores de infraestrutura – como os polos de ciclismo e os critérios de qualidade, respectivamente. O estudo de caso sobre a Região Metropolitana de Curitiba foi realizado para melhor compreender a aplicabilidade destas ferramentas para o contexto brasileiro. Os resultados destacam uma perspectiva interdisciplinar para o planejamento da rede viária em relação à atratividade do destino e suas respectivas condições ambientais e demográficas.

Mountain cycle network as enhancer of sustainable economic post-earthquake development in the central Apennines area

Environmental, cultural and health oriented cycling tourism represents an emerging phenomenon worldwide. If properly encouraged, guided and managed, it can give rise to economic return functional to new territorial models of business development compatible with the fragilities typical of isolated mountain places.The paper analyses the territorial and socio-economic conditions for developing cycle tourism in the Gran Sasso d'Italia area, hit by the 2009 earthquake, characterized by two natural parks and some high value small villages.The objectives of the article are to define an intervention methodology focused on the design of an integrated cycle mobility network and to preliminarily assess its costs and impacts on the local economy. The aim of the study is to revive the economic fabric of the area, through the introduction of an eco-compatible development model able to enhance the uniqueness of historical-environmental resources, reorganize the internal mobility system and take advantage of the benefits of public and private building heritage reconstruction. In support of these objectives the article presents an extensive territorial and transport analyses of the study area, and concludes by determining the minimum number of users necessary to guarantee the effectiveness of the investment and policies to achieve them.

Urban cycling mobility: management and urban institutional arrangements to support bicycle tourism activities—case study from Curitiba, Brazil

Simultaneously addressing micro-mobility and urban tourism has been a challenge for urban managers formulating cycle-inclusive urban policies in different countries. In this context, we investigate how municipal public agencies have historically planned with regard to cycling as a mode of transport in the urban mobility system in Curitiba, Brazil, and how they currently associate the city’s cycle-inclusive and cycle tourism activities. This research is qualitative and based on documentary evidence and interviews with managers of municipal agencies. The results indicate that Curitiba’s cycling infrastructure is underused compared to other Latin American cities, cyclists still face high traffic risk, planning policies place greater emphasis on technical bicycle projects than cyclist safety, innovations in cycling policy emerge from urban management systems and societal urban governance, and relations between public agencies are more operational and bureaucratic than strategic in strengthening leisure-cycle and urban cycle tourism activities. We conclude that the development of public policies to support these cycle-related activities has been valued in different contexts, but still does not seem to be a priority in Curitiba.

Path creation and the role of entrepreneurial actors: The case of the Otago Central Rail Trail

Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG) has emerged as a theoretical framework offering insights into how tourism activities develop in different places. Much of this research has drawn upon path dependence concepts and takes a macro or regional perspective. This paper takes a different approach and uses path creation concepts to explore the emergence and evolution of a cycle tourism attraction that has become an important development path for the Central Otago region in New Zealand. Insights drawn from the case highlight the potential of path creation concepts such as distributed and embedded agency, action nets and mindful deviation to understand the decisive role that entrepreneurial actors and the organisations they belong to may play in the development of significant tourism products.

A methodological approach to non-motorized itineraries with greater potentiality for the “train+bike” intermodality in Andalusia

The rise of cycle tourism is based on the use of non-motorized itineraries, which favours a new tourist typology that makes possible the revitalization of rural and peripheral areas. At present, studies of sustainable mobility consider, to a large extent, intermodality, especially among public transportation means, which are not very polluting and collective, as in the case of railways. Andalusia has a huge variety of non-motorized itineraries (livestock trails, rural roads, greenways ...) associated with areas of great scenic and heritage value. The main objective of this research is the establishment of a methodology that allows to identify the existing links between railway lines in use and these itineraries. To do this, at the methodological level, a proximity study was carried out first using the Buffer Geoprocessing tool, and subsequently a Network Analysis to measure accessibility through this extension, in both cases of the ArcGIS program, applied to the Geographic Information System that has been implemented. Its main results are related to the determination of favourable routes for potential users of the “train+bike” intermodality in Andalusia. In addition, its conclusions are, therefore, indicative for further studies of detail.

CYCLE TOURISM AS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN ÇANAKKALE, TURKEY

The number of the cyclists participating tourism activities in the world is gradually increasing. The cycle tourism, having emerged from people’s travelling by bike according to their own motives, is becoming more popular, cycle routes are getting enlarged, and projects are developed for cycle tours day by day. Therefore, the elements constituting the cycle tourism have come into prominence and the motivations of the cycle tourists participating bike tours have been studied. Thus, the aim of this study is to find out the importance that cycle tourists give to and the level of the interest they show for cycle tours. The central question of the study raised on is; what is the level of interest and importance on cycling and how can be an important touristic attraction for Canakkale tourism? For this purpose, in-depth interview technique was used on cyclist groups at different cycle tours in Canakkale, Turkey. According to the results of the analyses developing cycling by its philosophy and structural requirements in Canakkale can be feasible in sustainability perspective.