When we talk about the impact of cycle tourism on a territory, there is one piece of data that almost always appears: the number of cyclists.

How many people use a greenway? How many cyclists travel a route? How many users does a counter register?

These are important data. The problem arises when we use these figures as proof of the tourist or economic impact of a route.

Because Counting cyclists is not the same as measuring cycle tourism.

A single infrastructure can register hundreds of thousands of uses, many of which correspond to residents who go out for walks, exercise, or commute. And a route with far fewer users can generate a considerable economic impact if those who travel it stay for several days, sleeping, eating, and using local services.

Cyclists traveling along the Renaissance Greenway

Therefore, if we want to understand what cycle tourism really contributes to local development, we have to go a little further.

From building a route to generating local development

For years, many cycle tourism projects have been planned following a relatively simple logic.

Cycling infrastructure is created or improved. This infrastructure attracts users. Some of these users are visitors. Some stay for several days. They sleep, eat, and use services. This spending generates business activity and employment.

And finally, at least in theory, it contributes to local development.

The model works.

Many major European cycling routes, some greenways in Spain, and proposals like Zona Zero demonstrate that good infrastructure can become the support for significant tourist activity.

But there is something that should not be forgotten: Each arrow in that diagram represents a condition that must be met..

Building infrastructure doesn't guarantee tourists will arrive. Tourist arrivals don't guarantee overnight stays. And tourists visiting a region doesn't necessarily mean their spending will stay there.

Infrastructure can be a fundamental piece, but on its own it does not create tourism development.

What if we start with what we already have?

Cycle touring is not just about pedaling

There is also another interesting issue.

Not all successful cycling tourism destinations started by building cycling infrastructure.

Mallorca is a good example.

Much of its development as a cycling destination has come from taking advantage of something that was already there: roads, scenery, climate, air connectivity, hotel facilities and a growing network of specialized companies.

Around that demand, adapted hotels, bicycle rentals, workshops, transfers, guides and a multitude of services began to appear.

Specific infrastructure, route planning and signage have subsequently reinforced a destination that already had significant cycle tourism activity.

Empty Mountains represents an even more interesting model.

It didn't start by building kilometers of bike lanes or making a large investment in tourism infrastructure.

He began by looking at a territory that already existed in a different way.

Roads and forest tracks, small villages, landscape, small population and many practically empty kilometers became an itinerary.

But there was something else.

A name. An identity. Photographs. Tracks. Information. And a story capable of transforming one of the most sparsely populated areas of Spain into a place that cyclists from many countries want to visit precisely to experience that feeling of emptiness.

The infrastructure was already there in the form of roads.

What was missing was turn it into a travel experience.

These examples do not mean that infrastructure is not important.

They mean something different:

Infrastructure can be the starting point, but it can also come later.

A product that demonstrates demand can subsequently justify investments in signage, maintenance, security, or new infrastructure.

Therefore, before asking ourselves what cycling tourism infrastructure a territory needs, perhaps we should ask ourselves another question:

What do we already have that could become a reason to travel by bicycle?

The real challenge: ensuring that spending stays within the territory

Attracting cyclists is not enough either.

From the perspective of local development, one of the fundamental questions is:

What portion of the value generated by these cyclists does the territory manage to capture and retain?

A cycle tourist needs to sleep, eat, and get around. They might rent a bicycle, transport luggage, visit a museum, shop, have a drink at a bar, or book an activity.

When those services are provided locally, the trip generates revenue for different companies.

And here a particularly interesting feature of cycle touring emerges.

The traveler moves.

A multi-day route can spread expenses across different towns. Today's accommodation is in one town, lunch in another, and dinner and the next overnight stay a few kilometers further on.

In certain rural areas, the route can become the destination.

Villages that would hardly attract a tourist stay on their own become part of an experience that can justify several days of travel.

The question then ceases to be solely how much money cycle tourism generates and becomes also how is that money distributed across the territory.

Not every tourist euro has the same value.

There is another dimension that often receives less attention: when does that expense occur.

Bicycle touring is also seasonal. The weather, daylight hours, and holidays clearly influence when we travel by bicycle.

But its optimal season does not necessarily coincide with the destination's peak season.

In many places, the spring and autumn months offer the best conditions for cycling.

This can allow for bringing forward the start of the tourist season, extending it after the summer, or generating demand during periods when hotels, restaurants, and other services have capacity.

And from a business perspective, this is important.

Not every tourist euro has the same value.

A room sold when the hotel is full in August does not have the same effect as that same room being occupied in May or October when it would otherwise have remained empty.

Something similar happens with restaurants, transport companies, bicycle rentals, guides and other services.

Therefore, the ability of cycle tourism to help reduce seasonality can be as important as the absolute volume of visitors it generates.

It doesn't happen in all destinations or in the same way. But it's a variable we should measure.

From counting users to measuring impact

This brings us back to the initial problem.

How many cyclists pass through a route?

We need to know.

But this is only the beginning.

Next, we should ask ourselves how many are visitors. How many of those visitors are actually cycle tourists? How many days do they stay? How many nights do they sleep? How much do they spend? What do they spend it on? Where does that money go? Which companies benefit? What jobs does it help create?

In other words, to understand the economic impact of cycle tourism we need to answer at least four questions:

How much do they spend?

Where do they spend it?

During how much time?

When do they spend it?

Only then can we begin to seriously discuss economic impact.

Tourism and territorial impact are not exactly the same thing

There is also one last important distinction.

Cycling infrastructure can generate benefits even if those who use it are not tourists.

A greenway used daily by the local population can contribute to improving physical activity, facilitating travel, reducing emissions, or increasing the quality of life.

That has value.

But it's not a tourist impact.

Therefore, it is important to distinguish between:

use of infrastructure ≠ tourism impact ≠ total territorial impact

Confusing them can lead us to both exaggerate the tourist impact and undervalue other important benefits of cycling infrastructure.

Measuring well means knowing what we are measuring.

From cycle tourism to local development

After more than three decades working with bicycle travel, I am increasingly less interested in the question of how many cyclists pass through a place and more interested in what happens when they pass through.

Do they sleep there?

Are they going into the bar?

Do they shop at the store?

Do they use a taxi?

Are you visiting the museum?

Are you hiring a service?

Do they travel in August, when everything is full, or in April and October?

Does that cash flow allow you to keep a business open, create a new one, or extend your season?

That's where cycle tourism really starts to become a tool for local development.

Because a good cycling route is not just an infrastructure that allows you to pedal.

It's a system that connects territory, mobility, experience, companies and travelers.

And perhaps the most interesting indicator is not how many cyclists we manage to attract, but:

What capacity does the territory have to transform its passage into stay, consumption and local economic activity?

Cycle tourism transforms the territory into an experience and can generate economic activity, employment and local development.