Sports tourism trips increased by 23% in Spain in the last 4 years, exceeding 4,5 million annual trips. The number of overnight stays related to this type of tourism, which includes cycle tourism, increased by 34% from 2015 to 2019, reaching almost 13 million annual overnight stays, according to the Resident Tourism Survey.
Cycling contributes 1.900 billion to the economy
Cycling contributes to economic activity with about 1.900 million euros in sales and 22.567 jobs in Spain, as highlighted in the report prepared by 2PlayBook presented by the Spanish Federation (RFEC) in collaboration with Telefónica.
According to the report "Cycling, before its greatest port", 21 million Spaniards have a bicycle, a figure that increases by cycle tourism as a new form of tourism; the use of the bicycle as sustainable means of transport; the relevance of professional cycling and the growing organization and participation in cycling events for both men and women.
Outdoor sports, sustainable mobility and cycle tourism boost bicycle use
In Spain, The bicycle industry generates more than 1.871 million euros in retail sales alone and employs 22.567 people (2019 data), to which we must add the hundreds of people who mobilize evidence such as La Vuelta every year.
Furthermore, the forecast is that the 2020 data will show an even greater increase due to the boom experienced in recent months by outdoor sports and the use of bicycles for mobility and sports practice, especially the electric bicycle.
21 million Spaniards use their bicycle regularly
According to data from the Higher Sports Council (CSD), 7,9 million people get on a bicycle at least once a month as part of your physical activity routine. The latest study promoted by the Government indicates that more than 20 million citizens frequently use bicycles as a means of transportation. Furthermore, almost 21 million Spaniards have a bicycle and uses it regularly.
In fact, In the last decade, bicycle use has grown by more than 9 percentage points, reaching 50,7% of the population. To this we must add that it is a sport for all audiences, since 89,6% of the Spanish population knows how to ride a bicycle, according to the DGT study at the end of 2019.
Cycle tourism: The average expense per person to participate in sports events increases by 30%
This hatching and democratization of the bicycle in Spain It also explains the spending on them. With a sawtooth evolution, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) shows that Each Spaniard allocated 148,37 euros on average to bicycles in 2019, compared to 132,88 euros in 2016.
This boom has also been reflected in the expense to participate in sports events, which has gone from 64,93 euros to 84,4 euros on average per person. The Spanish allocated a 9,8% more in 2019 to actively participate in cycling and running events, among other disciplines.
Cycle tourism, one of the rising phenomena of sports tourism
The use of bicycles influences one of the country's main economic drivers, tourism. 92% of the population between 12 and 54 years old knows how to ride a bicycle and this aspect, together with the increase in the penetration of their use for recreational rather than sporting purposes, is favoring cycle tourism.
In fact, Cycle tourism is one of the rising phenomena within sports tourism, an activity that moved 2.258 million euros in 2019, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Travel for sports tourism has increased by 23% in Spain in the last 4 years (from 2015 to 2019) exceeding 4,5 million annual trips. In this sense, The number of overnight stays related to this type of tourism increased by 34% in the same period until reaching 13 million annual overnight stays according to the Resident Tourism Survey.
To this reality that Cycling is one of the most practiced sports in Spain it turns out that it is one one of the most consumed as a sports entertainment spectacle. The data managed by the Government place it as the sixth most followed sport, which adds another factor of cycling as a driver of economic activity.
Bicycle sales soar
In Spain, 1,26 million bicycles were sold in 2019, 20,4% more year-on-year, and a business of 1871 million euros was generated between the sale of bicycles and accessories, reaching maximum levels. The forecast is that, in 2020, with the boom in outdoor sports and the use of bicycles for mobility and sports practice, sales go up.
The bicycle has experienced its particular boom in the midst of a pandemic. Covid-19 has just catapulted an industry that offers what society needed: agile, open-air mobility alternatives that avoid crowds. In this sense, cities are adapting their mobility plans to cycling with all that this entails in promoting the green economy.
Employment in the bicycle sector
On the other hand, the bicycle sector represents 26,84% of the total number of workers in the sports industry, with 22.567 people. More than half are concentrated in points of sale, while the rest is distributed among suppliers and factories, among others.
To direct employment we must add indirect employment, generated through cycle tourism and other sectors linked to bicycles, where hopes are placed for development in the next decade by promoting urban electric models. The sale of ebikes increased by 11,3% year-on-year in 2019, up to 142.766 units,
Wide margin for growth in cycling and women's cycle tourism
Spain has 4.859 federated cyclists, but it is estimated that 42,8% of Spanish women use bicycles. The market is broader than what the licenses show because, if this discipline has shown anything, it is that It is more than a sport: it is leisure and a means of transportation, two directions in which brands look in search of pedaling the wheel of the female public, 51% of the population.
Likewise, currently federated women only represent 6,4% of the almost 75.000 tokens in Spain, which also shows the room for growth in this area. Highlight the program Women in Bike of the Spanish Cycling Federation which, with the support of Movistar, connects women who want to share their passion for cycling.
