Cycling is gradually gaining in popularity over motorised transport, both for city travel and for tours and excursions. There are several factors contributing to this growing success: for many years now, awareness of the benefits of physical activity during holidays (especially if one tends to have a sedentary lifestyle) and increasing sensitivity to environmental issues have led to increased sales of city bikes and mountain bikes. The recent crisis caused by the pandemic has also brought the cycling into the limelight as the ideal means of transport: it is practical, cheap and allows people to travel alone and is therefore safer than public transport. The increase in cycle paths in many cities and recent purchase incentives did the rest. As was easy to imagine, this situation has led to a rapid rise in the popularity of cycling tourism, which is increasingly appreciated by photography and landscape lovers.
The appeal of cycling tourism: feeling good about yourself and the environment
Cycling tourism, for those who practice it, is a regenerating and even transformative experience. Not only does it not cause pollution and help those who practice it stay in shape, but it is also a positive phenomenon for the local economy in the areas it touches. On the other hand, cycling itself is more than a sport: it is a lifestyle in itself. Choosing cycling for your holidays allows you to explore parts of the territory that other tourists are excluded from or only partially see. Cyclists immerse themselves in alternative paths, forest tracks, move along old canals or disused railway tracks, crossing rural areas that are hardly affected by mass tourism. This way they bring the economic benefits of tourism even outside the most popular and fashionable destinations, enhancing local crafts and food and wine products.
Cycling tourism in Italy
Italy has a landscape heritage that is unparalleled worldwide, encompassing both urban and natural scenery in relatively small areas. It ranges from white beaches to steep cliffs, from Mediterranean scrub to evergreen forests and woods, from plains crossed by rivers to hills covered with vineyards, from art cities to small medieval villages, passing through real deserts, canyons, mountains, valleys and much more. Each region has its own hidden treasures and popular destinations and, unfailingly, its own dedicated cycling routes. From the Ciclovia dei Fiori between Genoa and Ventimiglia to the historical routes of the Itria Valley. For the more daring there is even the Ciclovia del Sole, which runs all the way from Brennero to Sicily. Crossing Italy by bicycle allows one to get to know and love it as perhaps none of us have ever done before, not even having been born and raised in this splendid country.
International cycling tourism
Cycling enthusiasts know that the greatest joys in this kind of travel are to be found in covering great distances. It is no coincidence that one of the most popular routes in the world is the Camino de Santiago, which allows visitors to reach the Spanish sanctuary of the same name by following different possible trajectories, depending on the time they want to take and the countries they want to pass through. To enjoy cycling to the fullest, in short, cooperation between countries for the management of long routes is essential. There are already a number of organisations that deal with this (such as the EuroVelo network, a project managed by the European Cyclists’ Federation that currently has 15 routes of over 45,000 kilometres in use throughout Europe). This type of collaboration makes it possible to maximise the benefits, guaranteeing all the territories involved excellent visibility for the development of a constant stream of cycling tourism on which to rely. The real great victory, of course, lies in the fact that it is “good” tourism, which is beneficial to the environment and local communities, which creates unforgettable memories for those who experience it and really helps those who support it.