The authors of the ground-breaking 2009 study The European Cycle Route Network, EuroVelo: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Tourism have been commissioned by the European Parliament to update their work.

When originally published, it caught the interest of the cycling community and the wider world, as it estimated that there were 2,795 billion cycle tourism trips in Europe with a value in excess of €54 billion per annum.  It went on to estimate that, if completed, the EuroVelo network itself could account for 45.2 million cycle tourism trips, generating a total of almost €5 billion of direct revenue.

According to Prof. Richard Weston, (one of the authors of both the original study and this year’s update), the new study will “reflect on changes to the EuroVelo network, especially the Iron Curtain Trail (EV13), and the wider impacts of the Lisbon Treaty”.

A Change in Tone

Cycling Tourism had long been considered a niche market, but the original study blew away this myth. It changed the way that cycling tourism is marketed with emphasis now given to its economic benefits, in addition to the usual health, environmental and social arguments.

Before it was commissioned, the EuroVelo project was just beginning to garner the support that it now enjoys. Yes, people always assumed that cycling tourism had many benefits. Yes, people believed that it was good for both the communities along the routes, as well as the cyclists themselves. But sadly, we had no evidence to show it – there were no detailed studies to back these observations up, especially not on an international level.

Since the completion of the original study, DG ENTR (the part of the European Commission that deals with Enterprise and Tourism) has co-financed several projects supporting the central coordination of EuroVelo, as well as a number specific route development projects.  This has enabled a significant improvement in the organisation of EuroVelo.  In addition, the Iron Curtain Trail has joined the EuroVelo network (as EuroVelo 13) and pressure continues to grow for EuroVelo to be included in the TEN-T network – just last December the European Parliament asked again for its inclusion in their response to the Transport White Paper.

Progress with the other tasks on the original study’s ‘To Do List’ has been a little slower – a monitoring framework for cycling tourism has yet to be developed, the model that had been developed to assess the impact of cycling tourism has not been maintained and a appraisal of the carriage of bicycles on public transport has not been undertaken – which is all the more reason to celebrate the study being revisited.

Let’s hope that the updated version proves to be just as influential as the original.

This year the tour is dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the Netherlands – Turkey Friendship Foundation (NTFF), so if anyone from the Netherlands fancies joining the tour they will be particularly well received!

In 2011, there were 144 cyclists including ECF Vice President and EuroVelo Council Member, Frans van Schoot.  Some of you may recall that Frans wrote an article on his experiences in Turkey for the EuroVelo Newsletter: “It was for me, a great experience to climb from sea level up to 500- 600 meters in these surroundings, full with friendly people.”

For more information on the tour view the official website.

EnverCevko’s official website is available here.

In 2011 alone, 2,250km of national and regional cycling routes were inspected across 19 Cantons.  This resulted in a total of 580 proposals for signalisation improvements. Each of these was recorded in detail using a standard from, which was then sent to the relevant Canton and, where necessary, followed-up with joint meetings or even visits to the site.

The Swiss National EuroVelo Coordination Centre, Switzerland Mobility, oversee the inspection process, with each route typically being assessed once every three years.  This is in addition to annual inspections undertaken by the Cantons themselves or delegated organisations.

For more information on Switzerland Mobility’s Quality Promotion Concept view the www.switzerlandmobility.org website (see > Downloads > Infrastructure).

Mr Havel  was one of the most prominent dissidents who fought the communist regime in Eastern Europe and was a key figure in the “Velvet Revolution”, the non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government.  Earlier in the year, he had agreed to became patron of EuroVelo 13 – Iron Curtain Trail in the Czech Republic, which was a great honour and reflected the growing importance of the route.

Statens Vegvesen, which is the Public Roads Administration in Norway – and now also confirmed as the National EuroVelo Coordination Centre – organised a kick off meeting on the 18th October in Otta, a small town located between Oslo and Trondheim.

Henrik Duus, who is the EuroVelo contact person, opened the meeting and explained the background for the national routes in Norway and the role of the Public Roads Administration. The national route number 7 is planned to go from Halden at the Swedish border, through Oslo and up to Trondheim, where the Nidaros  church is a famous pilgrims destination like Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela.  This itinerary is also the one proposed for the EuroVelo 3.

Heidi Brimi from the national pilgrims centre in Trondheim spoke about the already existing pilgrims route for people walking and how popular pilgrim trails have become in Norway.

Jens Erik Larsen from Foreningen Frie Fugle (and member of EuroVelo Council) presented impressions from the EuroVelo 3 in the other countries and gave his experiences of planning the exact itinerary for such routes.

The meeting had more than 20 participants representing local, regional and national authorities. The good atmosphere and interesting discussions can hopefully start a process to implement this important part of EuroVelo 3.

A brand new 300 metre long walking / cycling viaduct is being built near Tavistock, Devon on part of EuroVelo 1 (National Cycle Network Route 27).  It will be known as “Gem Bridge” and crosses the River Walkham near Grenofen, where it will open up a traffic-free section of the EuroVelo 1 / NCN27 route which is currently on road.

There will be joined by another traffic-free section of the route, which is opening thanks to the purchase of a disused railway tunnel by Devon County Council nearby. The “Grenofen Tunnel” was built in 1859 by the famous British Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel but has been closed for 50 years.  It is being re-opened with a cycle route through it, again as part of EuroVelo 1 / NCN27 (the picture was taken before any work was started).  It is expected to open in Spring 2012.

The viaduct and tunnel, combined with connecting paths, will add 26kms of traffic-free cycling to the route.

Last year I had the pleasure to participate in Bicistaffetta, a bicycle trip organised by FIAB, the Italian cyclists’ federation.  The 345 km route passed between Verona to Livorno and there were around 50-60 participants, many wearing red, white and green t-shirts and with flags attached to their bikes!   Along the way, we met with representatives of local authorities (including several mayors) because one of the objectives of the tour is to convince local decision-makers of the benefits of investing in bicycle tourism and in particular the national cycle network, Bicitalia, and the EuroVelo routes in Italy.

The trip actually involved 3 EuroVelo routes: EuroVelo 7 crossing north – south in Mantova, EuroVelo 8 following the course of the River Po and EuroVelo 5 coming from Milano and down to Viareggio.  This part was actually signed as Via Francigena – a pilgrims route which is the popular theme of the route.

Most of the routes followed the national cycle route Bicitalia 16 and new signs were inaugurated during the tour.  Several meetings during the trip showed that the local authorities were positive about developing cycle routes, especially the European ones, in spite of the tough economic climate.  Between the two Unesco World Heritage towns Mantova and Sabbioneta, a special “Percorso Unesco” route was inaugurated.

At the end of the trip, a conference took place at the theatre of Livorno.  I gave a presentation on EuroVelo and there were other presentations on Bicitalia (by Claudio Pedroni of FIAB) and several local projects in Livorno.

In general, the Bicistaffetta seemed to be a good way to make cycling visible and to push the authorities to do something about it – and at the same time have good company and fresh air.

Jens Erik Larsen  JE@Friefugle.dk

For more information on Bicitalia please view the the official website.

This was the European Parliament’s non-legislative response to the European Commission White Paper on Transport. The response will now have to be considered by the Commission and it is very timely as the Parliament will also be consulted on revised guidelines for the TEN-T network this year.

Following the vote Bernhard Ensink, ECF Secretary General, commented that “In 1995 we had a vision to develop a European cycle route network, to be completed by 2020. With the demand of the Parliament to integrate EuroVelo into the TEN-T, this vision has taken a big step forward in becoming reality.”

As well as providing an opportunity to promote the EuroVelo routes to the trade and the general public, it will also be fantastic opportunity for networking because it is the largest gathering of tourism organisations in the world and many of the most influential figures in the industry will be present.  Of course, the EuroVelo routes are not only for use by tourists but they are likely to be an important user group for most parts of the network.

If you are heading along pop by and see us.  We’re going to be in Hall 4.1 at booth 218.

For more information on the ITB Berlin, please view the website: http://www.itb-berlin.de/en/

Three workshops were held in Brussels at the beginning of December to look back at the successes of the past year and to consider how this ambitious project should developed further in the years to come.

To mark the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Mrs Katarzyna Sobierajska, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Poland, and the ECF hosted two workshops in the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the EU on Wednesday 7^th December.  The first considered the central coordination of EuroVelo and there were presentations from Mrs Sobierajska, Mr Pedro Ortún, Director of DG ENTR, and Wolfgang Münch, Policy Officer from DG REGIO.

Mrs Sobierajska described the EuroVelo network as “an excellent instrument for promoting cycling as an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable means of transport, and provides excellent infrastructure for active pro-environmental recreation.”  She also called for steps to be taken to implement the European Parliament’s resolution of 22 April 2009 asking the European Commission and Member States to consider including EuroVelo routes into the TEN-T network.

Mr Ortún spoke of EuroVelo’s economic impact and argued that the network could be an important tool in increasing tourism opportunities across Europe, particularly in extending the high season.  Mr Münch spoke about the funding opportunities that are likely to be available for cycling projects in the next financial period (2014-2020) through the proposed EU Cohesion Policy.

The ECF’s EuroVelo Manger, Adam Bodor, used the workshop to present the latest calculations for how much it is likely to cost to complete the EuroVelo network by 2020.   Taking into account coordination, promotion and route development he estimated that it will cost between 1,5 – 2 billion Euros.  This has to be offset against the economic impact of a complete EuroVelo network, which a study commissioned by the European Parliament in 2009, estimated would be 5 billion Euros every year once it is complete.

The second workshop focused on EuroVelo 13 – the Iron Curtain Trail and there were contributions from Andrzej B. Piotrowicz, Chief Executive of the PSWE (PO) and Daniel Mourek, International Greenways Coordinator for Nadace Partnerskvi (CZ), who introduced the route and the projects that had been undertaken this year.  The afternoon ended with a rousing speech from Michael Cramer MEP and the father of the Iron Curtain Trail, who encouraged everyone to build on the successes of the past year and ensure that the route realises its potential.  For further information, please view the EuroVelo 13 North and Central sub sites.

On Thursday 8^th December, a third workshop was held in the Danish Embassy both to mark the upcoming Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the fact that the workshop was dedicated to EuroVelo 3 – The Pilgrims Route, which passes through Denmark.  The keynote speech was given by Klaus Bondam, Director at the Danish Cultural Institute/Benelux and the former Mayor of Copenhagen (widely known as the ‘Cycling Mayor’).  Mr Bondam encouraged those working on the routes not just to promote them as tourism products but also to emphasise their value to local communities along the routes, as a sustainable transportation network.

The project partners then gave short presentations on the sections of the route in their country, highlighting the opportunities and threats that exist, before Adam Bodor chaired a lively discussion on what needs to be done next to ensure that the route is completed.  For more information on this workshop, please view the EuroVelo 3 sub site.

The well-attended workshops were a suitable end to what has been a busy year for EuroVelo.  Thanks to grants from DG ENTR, several EuroVelo-related projects have enabled the development of an improved EuroVelo central coordination, as well as the specific route development projects linked to EuroVelo 3 and 13.  The ECF is hoping for more of the same in 2012!