EN 
IT 
The presentation of the prestigious Italian award for cycle tourism for 2024 will be held on June 1st.
This will be there ninth edition of this recognition, awarded annually to the cycle paths of the various Regions which favor two-wheel tourism and the slow exploration of the territory.
The deadline for sending applications relating to “green routes” present in the regional territory is next, May 10th.
The organizing committee received numerous proposals: among the first regions to nominate their cycle paths we find Lazio, Veneto, Liguria, Basilicata, Marche, Piedmont, Tuscany, Umbria and the Autonomous Province of Trento, awarded several times for its commitment to promoting an increasingly popular type of tourism.
Last year, 56 million cycling tourism visitors were recorded, corresponding to 6.7% of the total in Italy, according to the Report “Travelling by bike 2024”. This sector had a direct economic impact of over 5.5 billion euros in 2023, up 35% compared to 2022 and 19% compared to 2019.
The Italian Cycle Tourism Oscar aims to encourage local administrations to enhance their excellent cycling infrastructure and to promote investment in two-wheel tourism, creating new tourist flows throughout the year. This type of tourism contributes to improving the quality of life, the conservation of natural and cultural heritage and economic, social and tourist development, also generating new job opportunities, especially for young people.
The awards event will take place over three days between Lucca and Viareggio, the lands of Giacomo Puccini, on the occasion of the centenary of his death. The ceremony on June 1st will be preceded on May 31st by a Bike Forum, which will see the participation of cycle tourism experts, administrators and local tour operators to share experiences and knowledge.
Each region has the possibility of proposing up to two cycle routes.
First, second and third place prizes will be awarded to “green roads” which stand out for excellence in various fields such as design, construction, promotion, signage and ecological services. Legambiente will award a special mention and the jury may decide to award further awards based on the quality of the applications.
Past winners of the Italian Cycle Tourism Oscar include Umbria in 2015 with the “Assisi-Spoleto-Norcia” cycle route, Friuli Venezia Giulia in 2016 with “L’Alpe Adria”, Veneto in 2017 with “La Ciclovia dell’Amicizia”, Lombardy in 2018 with “La Ciclovia del Fiume Oglio”, l’Abruzzo in 2020 with “Bike to Coast”, Calabria and the Autonomous Province of Trento in 2 021 with respectively “La Ciclovia dei parks” and “Green Road of’Acqua”, l’Emilia Romagna in 2022 with the “Grand Tour of the Savio Valley”, and Tuscany last year with the Puccini Ciclopedonale.
The jury of the award is made up of authoritative figures in the field of journalism, opinion leaders and representatives of the sectors related to cycling, the environment and tourism, with Ludovica Casellati, founder of the award and director of viaggionbici.com, as president of the jury.