Reflections on the 1st Public/Private Meeting on Cycle Tourism in Spain

CHECK THE PROGRAM I PUBLIC – PRIVATE MEETING OF CYCLE TOURISM IN SPAIN

The promotion of the use of bicycles in our country as a means of transportation in cities is increasingly in better health, as shown by the data from the latest Bicycle Barometer 2017 prepared by the Bicycle Cities Network. To this fact it must be added that Cycling is already the most practiced sport in our country (38,7%), as can be seen from the latest “Sports Habits Survey” prepared by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in 2015.

However, even though Spain is the second country that received the most tourists in the world during 2017, the opportunities offered by the promotion of bicycle tourism have not been fully taken advantage of. And, although it is true that successful public and private initiatives are already being developed in this sense, the weaknesses than the latest study of “The Economic Impact of Cycle Tourism in Europe. Synthesis of the main studies carried out. 2014” (carried out by the FFE – Vías Verdes with the support of the Ministry of Development and Housing of the Government of Andalusia) threw on our country:

• Lack of market structure. Little involvement of tour operators and cycle tourism providers.
• Lack of quality long-distance routes and networks.
• Eurovelo, although it has considerable potential, does not appear in the tourism assets.
• Little knowledge on the part of promotion entities and tourist offices.
• The promoters of cycle routes are the transport or sports departments, and it is difficult for tourism departments to get involved in their promotion and marketing.
• Adaptation of accommodation to the needs of cycle tourists.
• Lack of policies in favor of the use of bicycles and the promotion of cycle tourism, and coordination between them.
• Very poorly defined network of cycling infrastructures, with a dispersed tourist offer, both in products and infrastructure.

All these aspects highlight the need to analyze these and other weaknesses and draw conclusions with the aim of helping to structure the cycle tourism product of our country in a coordinated manner between the different territories, administrations and economic agents involved. And even more so when, since the writing of the State Strategic Bicycle Plan (PEEB) The need to have all these agents to shape the specific chapter on cycle tourism that will generate the greatest socioeconomic return from future investments and policies to promote the use of bicycles is already being considered.

In this context, the next On March 22, the first public/private cycle tourism meeting held in Spain will be held in Sitges. A space for reflection and debate on policies linked to the sector where to jointly address the challenges and opportunities of the sector. The main objectives on which this event will focus are:

• Promote and promote a permanent space for dissemination, sharing and debate between professionals and companies to analyze the situation and the future of the cycle tourism sector in Spain.
• Through this type of spaces, publicize experiences and projects with the aim of delving into the role of cycle tourism in the near future.
• Promote public-private collaboration (trying to strengthen the local business fabric) to promote the development of policies regarding cycle tourism.
• Encourage talent through the establishment of synergies between companies, knowledge spaces and other territories.

This space is powered by AMBE (Association of Bicycle Brands of Spain) and will have the collaboration of Bikefriendly Group and the support of both Diputación de Barcelona as the Sitges City Council.

March 23, 2018 – Sitge. Reflections and conclusions

Working Group A:  Marketing Difficulties

Moderator: Luis Poch, CEO Bikefriendly Tours

Problems and/or objectives expressed in a first presentation:

1. Nuria Salas (Consorci Enoturisme Penedés): Lack of capacity in existing accommodation.
2. María Belén Malina (Tracks Tour). Lack of updated diagnostic studies.
3. Laura Kalberg (Rioja Tours): Language as a weak point in international recruitment.
4. Marcos Sufrategui (Rioja Tours): Language as a weak point in international recruitment.
5. Marta Castillo (Servigroup): Difficulty recruiting outside the proximity radius of an international airport.
6. Aleix Pla ((Pierre & Vacances): Lack of knowledge when it comes to wanting to specialize.
7. Paula Ramírez (Baix Ebre Avant): Objective of organizing and specializing the private sector.
8. Cristian Herrero (Mas Boronat): Create a destination as an objective.

Open round: Problems grouped by sector

TT.OO.

A current problem on the part of the TT.OO is put on the table. and/or local receptionists regarding the direct contact of the final client with the hotel and the loss of relationship between the hotel and the local receptionist as an intermediary with the final client.

After several interventions, the conclusions are summarized in that currently the TT.OO. It leaves little room, so the accommodation looks for direct ways to contact the end customer and the Internet era has greatly facilitated this direct contact.

Difficulty of incorporating the cycle tourism product into the TT.OO. generalist, they show a lot of interest, but they have little knowledge of what training implies.

Lack of content to provide added value to the product.

Specialized Receptive

From the specialized receptive point of view, the problem of hotel availability is manifested. Cycle tourism as a deseasonalizing element has the problem that out of season there are fewer open hotel spaces. On the other hand, customer demand for cycle tourism products sometimes focuses on itinerant trips, so certain hotels are not willing to offer just one night.

Difficulty facing marketing costs as a small local business. For this reason, they currently attract 95% of their clients online.

Territory

The problem that can arise for companies to have the same quota to belong to a quality seal (the Seal of the Catalan Tourism Agency is named) is evident, whether large or small companies.

Problem of lack of beds in certain territories or seasons.

Technicians suffer from the short-term vision of the public administration.

Cut departments to be able to generate your own content. The possibility of external contracting to generate this content is raised by the public administration.

There is a need for funds to carry out certain projects and there is a significant difficulty in obtaining common funds for the development of a route that runs through several territories.

Accommodation

Difficulty in finding specialized local receptive people to provide service to their clients

Final conclusions

After approximately an hour of an interesting debate on the difficulties that different sectors encounter in the promotion-marketing of cycle tourism products, several common factors are summarized that can provide solutions to most of the problems raised:

La specializationAs an added value, it solves the possible problem of the relationship between the end client, accommodation and local incoming guests.

Public-private collaboration for the generation of cycle tourism destination.

Public-private, public-public, private-private collaboration, to meet the costs of promotion and marketing at an international level.

Challenge posed for future meetings:

Because a large part of the problems are resolved with public-private collaboration (in all its variants), the challenge of define an organizational structure that allows collaborative work to be articulated at the national level.

Working Group B: Product and Infrastructure

Moderator: Sergio Serna, General Director Bikefriendly Group

In our working group a debate was addressed about What should be the “Itinerary” to build quality Cycle Touring products? This debate focused on the possible generation of a roadmap or similar to recommend to public and private agents how to build a competitive product.

After a series of interesting interventions where great challenges were addressed, such as the necessary unification of regulations in the field of active tourism or the need for compliance by the actors themselves with the regulations that bind us, the aforementioned itinerary of in order to build a competitive Cycle Tourism Product;

1. Public-Private Dialogue; The itinerary must begin by seating the different actors of a territory at a table where they can combine interests and expectations.
2. Bet on Specialization; Each territory has its particularities, a natural environment, topography and even hotel capacity that must adjust to the characteristics of demand. The success stories analyzed are largely based on the appropriate selection of specialization in the bicycle universe. Enduro, Downhill, Trail, Road, Family….
3. Infrastructure; This part was very enriching since it was approached from different perspectives; security, informative...In this sense, I reflected on how, despite the new tools, an appropriate signaling effort is still required, to this we must add the cleaning of roads and highways, the elimination of black spots or the need to have hotels. adapted were key points.
4. Complementary services; At this point there was unanimity in the requirements that the Cycle Tourist offer requires additional services that give it added value; Transfer, Gastronomy, Spare Parts and Repairs, Health Services...were some of the points that were discussed.
5. Marketing strategy; An appropriate compression of demand requires an attractive conception of the product that is built from the identity of the territory itself, where an attractive brand must even be created that makes the product more visible.
6. Marketing; This last section was considered the most important. Taking advantage of all online and offline channels is essential to make products accessible to the end consumer.