Bicycle or cycling tourism refers to „travel between places by bicycle for leisure
purposes, and where the act of cycling is an integral part of the tourist experience“
(Millington 2013). Sustrans (1999) defined it as “recreational visits, either overnight or
day visits away from home, which involve leisure cycling as a fundamental and
significant part of the visit.” Addressing many of the definitions (Simonsen, Jorgensen
i Robbins 1998; Ritchie 1998; Sustrans 1999; Lumsdon 2000; Lamont 2009;
Marcussen 2009; and other) one is able to argue that it is not so much the width of the
definition that could be an issue, rather it is a set of criteria that would enable unified
(and comparable) statistical data for the purpose of determining the value and the size
of the cycling tourist market.
Europe is well-established as a cycling tourism destination, and Croatia’s natural
features make it a challenging and interesting destination for the cycling tourist, if only
the market was (properly) addressed. There are no accurate statistics on cycling tourism
at a European level. Drawing upon verifiable data, even the European Parliament
(2009) forms an assumption when stating that European cycle tourism generates 44
billion euros in tourism consumption, while arguing the market is significant and
growing. With a total number of domestic and international overnight holidays
estimated to be over one billion in 2011 (Millington 2013), bicycle tourism accounts
for almost 2% of total overnight tourism trips in Europe. Germany is Europe’s leading
cycle tourism destination with 27% of the tourist market (ibid.).
Even if tourists do not use the bicycle to travel to the destination, cycling tourists use
bicycle to get around the destination and to engage in various activities throughout their
stay. The influence of cycling tourism on the destination needs to be researched in
correlation with the tourist activitiy during their holiday, which includes the use of
accommodation facilities, transport between their place of residence and the destination
and various tourist activities in the destination.
The benefits that the destination can profit from by developing cycling tourism can be
identified with regard to the following aspects: (1) equal or greater tourism expenditure
by cycling tourists compared to other tourist groups; (2) generating the demand (and
developing the supply) for specific products and services in the destination; (3) using
the services of local providers and increasing the financial influx to the local economy1
;
(4) minimum ecological impact on the destination of this type of transport and reducing
traffic flows; (5) using or repurposing existing and insufficiently used, run-down or
outdated infrastructure; (6) improving the destination image and attracting new or
different visitors: (7) increasing the activity of the local residents and other benefits for
the community that come from a more active lifestyle, among other things (Sustrans
1999, 3).