Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tourism trips (day and staying visitors) and a value of 54 billion euros per
annum (European Parliament, 2009). There are estimates for cycle tourism in
other parts of the world, but cycling is not usually delineated separately from
other categories of recreation or tourism. In the USA the demand for recre-
ational cycling is estimated to have increased from nearly 4 billion outings in
2005 to nearly 4.2 billion in 2008 (Outdoor Industry Foundation, 2009). The
increased number of rail trails highlights the growing popularity of cycling for
leisure in several US states.
The travel experience
Downward et al (2009) argue that cycle tourism focuses on the transcenden-
tal features of the act of cycling in different contexts that condition and define
the experience; that is, it connects travel with the features of tourism such as
landscape. Ritchie (1998, p580), in a study of cycle tourists in New Zealand,
reported that 'cycle tourists travel at a more relaxed and slower pace than
other travellers', and that they had a propensity to visit peripheral areas. An
analysis of studies undertaken in North America, Australia, Europe and New
Zealand indicates that cycle tourists have similar motivations and needs across
all countries. Much of the research to support this assertion has focused on
trails rather than road cycling or mountain biking, but there are a number of
salient motivational factors that apply across cultures. The findings point to a
conflation of motivations, such as wanting to relax, to enjoy healthy exercise,
and the enjoyment from experiencing nature. Cyclists are co-producers of the
experience (Dickinson et al, 2010b). This supports the literature on walking
that suggest that positive emotions can be evoked by movement through pleas-
ant landscapes and, as such, cycling is 'travel to enhance human experience'
(Schafer et al, 2000, p177).
In the UK, Downward and Lumsdon (2001) noted the importance of con-
straints such as the perceived lack of safety when cycling on highways;
traffic-free routes are rated highly by cycle tourists, especially by those who
are less experienced or travelling in family groups. Mintel (2008a) reported
reluctance on the part of the population to cycle simply because of the per-
ceived danger of road traffic. With regard to the UK market, it estimated that
one in four people perceive this as the major barrier to cycling. A number of
preferences have been noted in research studies, such as having a continuous,
safe route with pleasant surroundings and with signage to guide the traveller
in the right direction (Utiger et al, 2005). On the other hand, some sociologi-
cal studies acknowledge that a fear of cycling has been socially constructed
(Horton, 2007).
There is a paucity of information available regarding aesthetic design of
cycle trails. Martins (2009) referred to the work of Sauer (1925), in arguing
that the shaping of the landscape is determined by culture rather than the
forces of nature. There is therefore, it is argued, a need to direct patrimonial
resources to good effect in relation to trail development. The Cicloria scheme
in Portugal, for example, seeks to make good use of local materials and archi-
tectural designs of the old railway networks to take this idea forward (Mota,
