The Cycle Tourism Opportunity
Mike Dennison
Project Manager, Cycle Tourism Forum
@Mikeydennison
What is Cycle Tourism?
What is Cycle Tourism?
Road Cycling
Mountain Biking
Cycling on public roads
e.g. Sunday club run,
Sportives, long single-day
tours, races & events
Cyclocross,
Mtb
Orienteering
Trail Centres, Forest Trails,
Mtb races / events e.g.
Downhill, XC
Leisure /
pleasure ‘coffee
shop’ cycling!
Supported
road touring
Supported
off-road
touring
Traditional cycle
touring E.g. LEJOG,
Coast 2 Coast. Usually
multi-day and selfsupported
Cycle Touring
Value of Cycle Tourism to the Scottish Economy
Value of Cycle Tourism:
£363m (TS 2013)
Of which:
Direct expenditure by leisure cyclists
£228m
Direct expenditure by mountain bikers
£47m
Economic Impact of the NCN in Scotland
£375m (Sustrans 2014)
Country of origin (Estimate):
Scottish based
40%
Rest of UK
37%
International
23%
Value of Golf to Scottish Economy:
£1 billion (KPMG 2013)
Cycle Tourism across Europe as a whole:
£35.5 billion
Annual usage estimate / km of all NCN route
types in Scotland from 2010 until 2014
It’s a robust and fast growing sector!
Value of Cycle Tourism to Scottish Economy
Market Value
£s
=
Number of
cycling trips
x
Trip length
(Days)
x
Spend per day
(£s)
Expenditure by Leisure Cyclists in Scotland (estimate TS 2013)
Single day
Cycle
Tourism
12.5m trips x 1 day x £15 / day = £187m
(x120)
Multi day
100k trips x 7.7 days x £46 / day = £35m
(x1)
(of which £18 / day is accommodation)
Our Cycling Visitor
Decision making hierarchy
Where cycling is the
primary purpose for a
trip to Scotland
Type of cycling – Road / Tour,
Leisure, Mountain biking.
Destination: Routes
Scenery, Cultural / Natural Heritage.
Itinerary building:
Cycling friendly service
providers…hire, accommodation,
transport links etc.
Where cycling is just one
of a number of activities
undertaken during a trip
to Scotland
Destination: Scenery,
Cultural / Natural Heritage,
visitor attractions
Service provision:
‘A cycling package’
Bike hire, nature and severity
of routes, narrative which
includes places of interest etc.
Development of appropriate products and marketing
materials for each audience
Route Case Study
NCN 78, Oban to Fort William
A 46 mile section
from Oban to Fort William
340,000 trips are made on the route each year.
78% of trips are Cycle Tourism related.
56% of Route users used local accommodation.
This contributed £361, 330 to the economy.
This sustains 8.6 FTE jobs.
Business Case Study
NCN 78, Oban to Fort William
A 70% increase
In revenue from bike passengers
on the ferry in 2 years.
‘More and more cyclists and
walkers are using the ferry every
year…I’d definitely like to think
about buying a second boat’
Dougie Robertson, Owner.
Event Case Study
The Etape Loch Ness 2015
Annual mass participation event in its second year
£740,000 positive economic impact for Highland region.
3,328 participants.
68% of participants were from outside the Highlands region.
40% aged 40-49 yrs. 25% aged 50-59yrs. 22% aged 30-39 yrs.
77% male, 23% female
92% of participants said they would take part in the event again.
Event featured in 148 articles generating £1.1m of PR coverage.
Realising the opportunity…
• Product development
– Recognising regional USPs / assets
• The Hebridean Way – Cycling (& walking)
• Other recreational cycling trails E.g. Lews Castle Trails
• Natural history and cultural heritage
– Identifying barriers to participation & creating solutions
• Collaborative marketing of the cycling product(s)
–
–
–
–
VisitScotland.com
Joint funding E.g. VisitScotland Growth fund
Tour operators
Partners E.g. CalMac
Create an industry lead
Cycling (and walking?) Interest Group
Collaborative Case Study
Black Isle Bicycles
• A ‘flying’ bike hire operator.
• Full service:
– Delivery / collection
– Guiding
– Range of bikes (Inc. E Bikes)
• Website.
• Routes, featuring:
– Visitor attractions
– Service providers
• Start up funding from
Costal Communities fund
• Community operated.
• sustainable!
Resources
•
•
•
•
TIS Guide to Leisure Cycling
TIS Guide to Mountain Biking
Leisure Cycling crib sheet for VisitScotland VICs
Highlands & Islands Enterprise Webinar series
– Leisure Cycling
• Existing resources
– Cicerone, ‘Cycling in the Hebrides’
– 3rd party cycling websites E.g. Map my ride.
The Tour of The Isles – Ride with GPX
SUMMARY
Finishing with the Video
Example - The Caledonia Way
• Example of a video which showcases Scotland's
natural history and heritage, in the context of a
cycling journey along NCN 78 from Cambletown
to Inverness.
• I will bring the final version on a disc, but you can
view a late draft of it at
https://vimeo.com/139277721 use the Password
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