EuroVelo: enormous economic potential for cycling.

The ECF has published a new report, “the state of national cycling strategies in Europe (2021)”, which provides an overview of national cycling strategies in 47 European countries as of December 2021.

In order for European countries to be increasingly cycle-friendly and increase the national bicycle share, with all the related positive impacts, it becomes essential to have a good national cycling strategy.

With the adoption of the Pan-European Cycling Master Plan in May 2021, under the support of WHO/Europe and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 54 countries in the pan-European region are now politically obliged to develop and implement a cycling strategy by 2030.

The data that emerged showed how, of 47 European countries, the majority of countries have a long way to go to achieve this objective: just think that Italy does not yet have a National Plan for Cycling Mobility, even if it seems is working on it.

Within the guidelines for the promotion of cycling, a very important and much cited element is the EuroVelo network with the entire set of further investments in terms of development and digitalisation.

Currently, the countries with clearest reference to the EuroVelo network are Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia and Spain.

 “A multi-year plan establishes a global vision – reports Matej Zganec of the ECF – aimed at coordinating policies, objectives and actions for the promotion of cycling, allowing the setting of clear objectives and precise tools for the development of cycling at a national level. For a country, having a national cycling strategy is an important political signal, which is why it should be systematically supported by public authorities, businesses, academia and civil society organisations.”

According to a study commissioned by the European Parliament, the EuroVelo network will be able to generate around 7 billion euros in direct revenue every year.

Countries responded differently with different actions, especially regarding the EuroVelo network

Germany, which sees cycle tourism as being of fundamental importance to the economic development of rural regions, aims to strengthen and expand the EuroVelo network to increase the number of German citizens and attract more cyclists.

The Spanish EuroVelo routes, however, are not yet fully developed. Part of the strategy in Spain is dedicated to the creation of a national network of multilevel cycling routes capable of connecting different routes.

In Austria, a great deal of work has been done using digital tools and integrating the EuroVelo 13 cycle route into the “Alpstein” online route planner.

In Latvia the central government will promote the EuroVelo routes and cycle tourism, while in Hungary there is the aim of creating 700 km of new national and European paths.

Finally, the Czech Republic will exploit analytical data to optimize urban and landscape planning and define a more ambitious marketing plan.

As far as our country is concerned, it is not yet known what the strategy inherent to EuroVelo will be nor when the document will be available to view, we hope to be able to do so as soon as possible.

You can download the full report at this link: https://ecf.com/files/reports/national-cycling-strategies-in-europe-2021