Cycling contributes “10 percent of Germany’s tourism income”
In a talk at the Velo City conference in Taipei, Burkhard Stork, CEO of ADFC (the German Cyclists’ Association) has revealed that a tenth of Germany’s tourism income stems from cycle toursim.
Generating some 9 billion Euro (ZAR 143 Billion) annually, Germany’s cycle tourism income largely stems from the 26 million domestic day trips made and six million Germans who partake in cycling holidays each year.
Stork pointed to three key components in the success; 1. They operate with high quality products, 2. They have one route operator fully responsible for all components (infrastructure, services, promotion) of each route, 3. They operate with wide target groups not focusing on a niche market.
South African Tourism and local government would be wise to use this model to increase tourists and income from tourism as cycling grows globally. South Africa has a very position exchange rate and has the landscape and beauty to offer cycling tourists a variety of holiday options. We have a rich cycling culture that has grown dramatically over the last decade with the traditional focus on one day mass participation events and more recently on the very popular multi day stage races. The next level would be to attract local and international “cycling holiday” tourists. The Western Cape Government has initiated the “cycling holiday” concept with the new Cross Cape Route https://web.facebook.com/CrossCape/?_rdr . The Western Cape already hosts premier cycling races, such as the Cape Town Cycle Tour, the Cape Epic and the Cape Rouleur generate, which is estimated to generate in “excess of R700 million. The new route will give cyclists the opportunity to experience the best of the Western Cape while it also generates revenue for the province.
