DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIESB POLICY DEPARTMENT AgricultureAgriculture and Rural and Development Rural Development STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES B CultureCulture and Education and Education Role The Policy Departments are research units that provide specialised advice Fisheries to committees, inter-parliamentary delegations and other parliamentary bodies. Fisheries RegionalRegional Development Development Policy Areas TransportTransport and andTourism Tourism Agriculture and Rural Development Culture and Education Fisheries Regional Development Transport and Tourism Documents Visit the European Parliament website: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies PHOTO CREDIT: iStock International Inc., Photodisk, Phovoir DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES TRANSPORT AND TOURISM THE EUROPEAN CYCLE ROUTE NETWORK EUROVELO CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM STUDY This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and tourism AUTHORS Institute of Transport and Tourism, University of Central Lancashire, UKi Centre for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Breda University, the Netherlandsii RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR Mr Nils DANKLEFSEN Policy Department Structural and Cohesion Policies European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected]] LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN Translation: DE, FR. ABOUT THE EDITOR To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its monthly newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in April 2009. Brussels, © European Parliament, 2009. This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. i Les Lumsdon, Richard Weston, Peter McGrath, Nick Davies. ii Paul Peeters, Eke Eijgelaar, Pieter Piket DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT B: STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES TRANSPORT AND TOURISM THE EUROPEAN CYCLE ROUTE NETWORK EUROVELO CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM STUDY Abstract: This study evaluates the challenges and opportunities of developing a cycle tourism network across Europe. It focuses on EuroVelo, a network of 12 long-distance routes managed by the European Cyclists’ Federation, which is being developed in different countries by a wide range of partners. The study reviews the market for cycle tourism in Europe and presents a EuroVelo demand model. It reviews the carriage of cycles on trains. Finally, it evaluates the potential of the Iron Curtain Trail. IP/B/TRAN/IC/2008_097 April 2009 PE 419.088 EN The European Cycle Route Network EuroVelo CONTENTS ACRONYMS 3 GLOSSARY 4 LIST OF TABLES 5 LIST OF FIGURES 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 1 INTRODUCTION 15 1.1 Aim and objectives 15 1.2 Cycling in Europe 15 1.3 Sustainable tourism development and cycle tourism 16 1.4 EU Tourism policy 17 1.5 Role of EuroVelo 18 1.6 Iron Curtain trail 20 1.7 Summary 20 2 Literature review and responses from consultees 21 2.1 The cycle tourism market 21 2.2 Motivational factors 27 2.3 Transport modes to the cycle route/destination 32 2.4 Economic impacts 35 2.5 Environmental impacts 40 2.6 Social impacts 49 2.7 Summary 50 3 Public transport integration 51 3.1 Introduction 51 3.2 Railways 51 3.3 Travel by Long-distance Coaches 54 3.4 Travel by Ferries 54 3.5 Infrastructure 56 3.6 Summary 56 4 EuroVelo: Case Study Collection 57 4.1 Overview 57 4.2 Route Development 58 4.3 Route marketing 67 4.4 Supporting facilities 74 4.5 Monitoring 81 5 Iron Curtain Trail 85 5.1 General description 85 5.2 Market and volume projections 86 5.3 Public Transport Integration 88 5.4 Environmental impacts 88 5.5 Social impacts 89 5.6 SWOT analysis 89 5.7 Summary 90 6 Conclusions and recommendations 91 1 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies 6.1 The volume and value of cycle tourism 91 6.2 Are there key success factors which attract cycle tourists? 92 6.3 Barriers and challenges 92 6.4 Is cycle tourism a sustainable product? 93 6.5 Will EuroVelo add to the potential of cycle tourism? 94 6.6 Potential of the Iron Curtain Trail 94 6.7 Implications for EU policies 94 Bibliography 97 Annexes 105 Annex 1 Development of national cycle route networks: D-Netz (Germany) 105 Annex 2 A sample of the major cycle tour operators and destinations 107 Annex 3 Tourism volumes for several routes and networks 109 Annex 4 Profile of cyclists 110 Annex 5 NUTS Region codes determining the model parameters 112 Annex 6 Bicycle transportation on trains in the EU 113 Annex 7 Summary of prices and conditions for carriage of cycles by airline 116 Annex 8 Public Transport Integration on the Iron Curtain Trail (northern section) 117 Annex 9 NUTS 3 regions Iron Curtain Trail calculations 120 Annex 10 List of consultees who provided information 123 Annex 11 Overview of ferries 127 Annex 12 Survey of experts on European cycle tourism 133 2 The European Cycle Route Network EuroVelo ACRONYMS Acronym Description ADFC German Cyclists’ Federation BMBVS German Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Affairs BMVBW German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing BMWi German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology BMZ German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development CHF Swiss Franc CNL CityNightLine CO2 Carbon dioxide CRDFM Cycle Route Demand Forecast Model (version 0.0.0) DB German National Railways DTV German Tourism Association ECF European Cyclists’ Federation EU European Union Fvw Fietsvakantiewinkel (Cycle holiday shop) ICT Iron Curtain Trail MV Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania NMT Non-motorised traffic NRW North Rhine-Westphalia NUTS 3 Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics, developed by Eurostat ÖBB Austrian National Railways PT Public transport RLP Rheinland-Pfalz SBB Swiss National Railways SSM SchweizMobil Foundation SVS Veloland Schweiz Foundation TEN Trans-European Network 3 Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies GLOSSARY Cycle Cycle tourism refers specifically to travel between places by bicycle for Tourism leisure purposes. Cycling is an integral part of the tourist experience. Cycle Holidays which are motivated by a desire to cycle, either on a tour or holidays: from a base for most of the time away from home. Holiday Holidays which involve some cycling but not entirely and often in cycling: association with other activities usually from one base. EuroVelo: EuroVelo is a European cycle route network with an aim to offer a sustainable Trans-European Network. It comprises twelve long-distance cycle routes which cover 66,000 km of which approximately 45,000 km are in existence. The network is managed by the European Cyclists’ Federation, which is seeking to ensure that all routes offer high standards of design, signage and promotion throughout Europe. Long- Long-distance cycle routes are those which are designed to encourage distance cycle tourists to travel between locations within a country and between cycle routes: countries. They are over 100 km in length but often span more than 500km. Long-distance routes include signage and interpretation to guide cyclists. They are often branded, following a theme, and promoted to various markets by a multiplicity or organisations. Cycle day Leisure or recreational trips from home or holiday accommodation trips: involving cycling as an integral part of the day outing. We also refer to these as day's excursions Public The aim of the EuroVelo network is easy interchange between cycling and transport other modes of transport, principally tram, train, bus and ferry. Ideally, integration: the interchange should be seamless and service facilities available for secure cycle parking and waiting areas. Integration in a wider context refers to connectivity between the tourism and transport sectors in fare and information provision Slow Travel Slow Travel is a term which refers to the use of sustainable modes of travel, such as the train or coach, to a destination. The visitor is encouraged to spend more time to experience the cuisine, culture and patrimony of the location preferably travelling on foot, by cycle or public transport. This form of tourism, it is argued, provides a richer experience for the tourist and a lower environmental impact. Sustainable Long-distance cycle route design should embrace the principles of Tourism sustainable tourism development; cycle tourism planners need to be Development: aware of the need to conserve natural assets, to enhance community competences and capabilities and for the need for tourism providers to minimise use of resources and output of waste and pollution. Transport to a route can be one of the main negative environmental impacts and the route design has to be cognisant of this in terms of offering attractive near to home travel and integration of rail, coach and ferry transfers for longer distances. 4 The European Cycle Route Network EuroVelo LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Overview of cycling in a selection of European countries 15 Table 2: Volumes for cycle tourists and day cyclists 22 Table 3: Origin of cycle tourists 24 Table 4: Cycle tourism demand