The future of cycling tourism Hasselt 27 th

The future of cycling tourism Hasselt, 27 th September 2018 Josep Rodríguez Barcelona Provincial Council

FULL MEMBERS 36 Regional authorities (NUTS I, II and III) Austria: Tirol Belgium: Flanders, German-speaking Community of Belgium Region, Wallonia Bulgaria: Gabrovo Croatia: Istria Denmark: Central Denmark, Ringkøbing. Skjern France: Brittany, Île-de-France, Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Ireland: Donegal Italy: Calabria, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Liguria, Piedmont, Puglia, Sardinia, Trentino, Tuscany, Veneto The Netherlands: Limburg Republic of Serbia: Vojvodina Spain: Andalusia, Balearic Islands, Basque Country, Canary Islands, Catalonia, Galicia, Region of Valencia Sweden: Västra Götland United Kingdom: Cornwall, Scotland + 22 ACADEMIC MEMBERS + 12 ASSOCIATED MEMBERS

Delivery quality & Positioning Source: Eurostat 2015 14 out of top 20 EU Tourist Regions are NECSTou. R Members

5 Good Reasons to Join us 1. Participate to influence the European tourism policy 2. Be part of an open and dynamic network of experts at regional, national, European and international level 3. Have direct access to targeted knowledge, information and contacts of sustainable tourism 4. Promote your region/organisation within the experts and towards the European/international audience 5. Access to European funds, developing project ideas and finding quality partners

Thematic Priorities

Cultural Tourism The BARCELONA DECLARATION will be presented on October 11 th at the Thematic Conference Register in NECSTou. R website!

Tourism in Catalonia 32. 907 Km 2 7, 5 = Similiar to Belgium +25 MILION TOURISTS MILION INHABITANTS MOUNTAINS HIGHER THAN 3000 M. 580 KM OF COAST 12% Catalan GDP

Mediterranean life’s style Quality Destination 37 UNESCO World Heritage Sites 1 NATIONAL PARK 12 Natural Parks + THAN 500 MUSEUMS Dalí, Gaudí, Miró, Tàpies, Picasso and Pau Casals. 60 MICHELIN STARS Avant-garde cuisine. Outstanding chefs: Ferran Adrià, Carme Ruscalleda and Germans Roca. UNIVERSAL GENIUSES Dalí, Picasso, Gaudí, Tàpies, . . . SPORTS TRADITION FC Barcelona, 1992 Olympic Games, Motorcycling Champions, Formula 1, Ski. 1 st. CRUISE SHIPS EUROPEAN DESTINATION 46 10 6

The province of Barcelona 4. 84 M tourists – 14. 61 M Overnight stays (2017)* *Excluding the city of Barcelona

Eurovelo 8 – the Mediterranean route

MEDCycle. Tour www. medcycletour. interreg-med. eu 11 project partners from 8 countries: • Regional Government of Andalusia (ES, lead partner) • European Cyclists’ Federation (BE) • Cluster for Eco-Social Innovation and Development CEDRA (HR) • Croatian National Tourist Board (HR) • Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CY) • Conseil Départemental des Alpes. Maritimes (FR) • Region of Western Greece (GR) • Autonomous Region Friuli Venezia Giulia (IT) • Consorzio Oltrepò Mantovano (IT) • Regional Development Centre Koper (SI) • Regional Government of Catalonia (ES) Overall objective: Use Euro. Velo 8 as a tool to influence regional and national policies in favour of sustainable and responsible tourism, providing transnational solutions in coastal areas across the Mediterranean. Budget: € 2. 5 million Duration: 36 months

Pirinexus www. viesverdes. cat/

Other long-distance routes

Vies Blaves (Blue ways) #viesblaves Almost 300 km for hikers, bikers , access paths and gates to connect with public transport

Penedes 360 www. penedes 360. cat 3 routes around Penedès next to the sea, among vineyards and across the hills. 3 circular routes, designed specially for mountain bike, trekking and slow bike

Road cycling in Catalonia Font: Agència Catalana de Turisme

Road cycling in Costa Brava – Girona - Pyrenees

Other initiatives • Bike Strategic Plan of Catalonia, to promote the use of bicycles as a means of transport, • Create an inventory of roads and bicycle paths • Promote the bicycle Basic Network of Catalonia • Spread the technical standards for bicycle path design • Promote urban planning • Funding - Call for proposals ERDF for bike lanes for mobility or tourist purposes. 20 million € • Handbook for the Design of Cycling Routes of Catalonia • Bicycle Barometer, an annual study that analyzes the state of implementation of the bicycle in Catalan society under different parameters. • Train stations as bike hubs • Surveys of cycle tourist profile and value chain in Barcelona

Final considerations What is cycling tourism? Specialisation Infrastructures Cycling tourism as a complement of the regional tourist offer

www. barcelonaismuchmore. com @BCNmuchmore Josep Rodríguez rodriguezlj@diba. cat @UEturisme www. necstour. eu @NECSTour