It’s a €7,6 billion per year business. More and more tourists are moving around by bike. In 2018 the number of cyclotourists in accommodation facilities and private homes amounted to 77,6million, 8,4% of the entire tourism movement in Italy. We are talking about over 6 million people who spent their holidays riding a bike. This is what comes from the first Cyclotourism and cyclotourists in Italy report made by Isnart-UnioncamereandLegambiente and presented in Rome during the BikeSummit 2019.
It’s a fast-growing trend, in fact the data shows an increase of 41% in 5 years. Giorgio Zampetti, the Director-General of Legambiente explains: “Today more than ever bike routes andcyclotourism represent an extraordinary opportunity for the tourism, the economy, the employment and for our country’s hinterland as well. Therefore,it’s clear that Italy, with all its cultural, artisanal and industrial heritage, is up against the need of a radical overhaul in terms of transport system. Our course is clear, and it’s a bike route.”
Every year in Italy about 1,85 million tourists travel by bike their whole itinerary, while around 4,18 million people use their bikes in their own hometowns. To these numbers are added over 700.000 urban cyclists using their bikes every dayto reach theirworkplace, bringing the total count to 6,73 million people. The bicycle business is a widespread reality, but in Italy we are lagging behind in respect of the entire welcome organizational network. In Italy the ratio bike-inhabitant is estimated at 440 to 1000, while in Germany and in the Netherlands it’s almost 1 to 1.
Back to the mentioned ratio, among the major cyclists’ regions of departure appear several central-southern areas. Almost 1/5 of the cyclotourists comes from Campania, followed by
Lombardia and Lazio, while most of the destinations are in the northern area: Trentino, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. Germany is the main foreign market interested in active holidays, followed by France, USA and UK.
