La Monfragüe Biosphere Reserve and the Provincial Council of Cáceres have signed a collaboration agreement with Bikefriendly Consulting to develop the strategy to promote cycle tourism in this natural space, the most important of Estremadura, and whose final objective is to achieve certification as 'Bike-friendly territory'.
The main objective of the project is to value all the resources of the Monfragüe Biosphere Reserve for promote the use of bicycles as an alternative to visit the area, deseasonalize tourist activity and increase the number of visitors through a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable cycle tourism proposal. The project covers all those agents of the territory, tourist resources and infrastructures within the geographical scope of the Monfragüe Biosphere Reserve or the municipalities that participate in it. In the first phase the purpose is ensure that the existing resources, services and infrastructure in the Biosphere Reserve have the potential to meet the needs and expectations of bicycle-loving tourists. through appropriate tourism products. Secondly, a awareness-raising and training work on the business community and the rest of the agents involved in cycle tourism in order to generate an attractive and quality cycle tourism offer, and promote Monfragüe as a cycle tourism destination of high interest. Finally, within the certification of the Reserve as a 'Bikefriendly Territory', the bases will be established and the actions necessary to promote alternative sustainable tourism, based on bicycles and cycle tourists, as a source of wealth generation for the Monfragüe Biosphere Reserve and the municipal areas in which it is located.Cycle tourism offers great opportunities for job creation and impact on the economy, especially in those regions where tourism is incipient or non-existent. The expenditure made by the cycle tourist has a greater impact on the local economy compared to conventional tourism, also contributing to deseasonalizing the tourist offer. In fact, cycle tourists spend more on their trips than conventional tourists: on average €57,08 per day and a total of €439 per trip.
