Cycling tourism is no longer a niche market. Destinations are investing in cycling infrastructure, routes, cycling-friendly accommodations, events, and campaigns. And rightly so. Cyclists are attractive visitors: they often stay for several days, spend local money, and make it possible to make less-known areas and the off-season more appealing.
But there is a problem.
Good cycling opportunities do not make a good cycling destination.
And a page with the title ‘Cycling’ Having a tourist website doesn’t automatically ensure that cyclists will arrive at your destination.
The main question is therefore not:
How do we promote our bicycles?
The better question is:
Why would a cyclist choose us?
That difference changes everything.
Cycling tourism starts with positioning
A destination doesn’t have to be the best cycling destination in Europe.
She should especially the right destination is for a specific cyclist.
Think of destinations that already have a clear place in the minds of cyclists:
- Girona
- Mallorca
- Dolomites
- Flanders
- Alps
You hardly need to explain why you would want to cycle there. The destination already has meaning. That is exactly the challenge for destinations that do not yet have a strong position.
The answer is no longer content automatically. The answer is to ‘load’ the destination’. Why do you want to go there?
In what way does your destination stand out?
- Are they the quiet roads?
- The ascents?
- Gravel?
- The landscape?
- The food?
- The cycling culture?
- The accessibility?
- The combination of cycling with a different experience?
“Beautiful nature and excellent cycling routes” is not a positioning claim. Almost every destination can say that.
A good starting point is:
For [specific cyclist], [destination] is the place to experience [specific cycling experience], because [proof].
The more specific you make it, the stronger your story becomes.
Because positioning isn’t about telling everything you have.
Positioning is about choosing what you want to be known for.
Stop marketing to ‘cyclists’
One of the biggest problems within cycling tourism is the idea that there is one large target group that the cyclist called.
That does not exist.
A 28-year-old gravel rider looking for adventure has different needs than a 55-year-old cyclist who wants to go to the mountains with friends for a week.
A family is looking for something else again.
And an e-bike user may have a completely different definition of a good cycling destination.
So before you start a new campaign, ask yourself the question:
Who exactly do we want to attract?
Not: cyclists.
But for example:
- cyclists
- gravel riders
- endurance cyclists
- bicycle-friendly clubs
- women who travel together
- Cyclists who combine cycling with gastronomy
- families
- bikepackers
- participants in events
- e-bike users
The more specific your target audience is, the more relevant your routes, content and message can be.
And in the end, your destination becomes more recognizable as a result.
Your cycling routes are your product
Many destinations treat cycling routes as an additional section of their tourist website. They should not do that.
For a cycling destination, the route is a product.
A cyclist doesn’t wake up with the thought: “I would like to consume some Destination Marketing today”
That thinks:
“Where am I going to cycle tomorrow?”
It is also important to make the routes clearly visible: They must be easy to find, understand and use.
A good route page answers questions like:
- How long is the route?
- How many altitude meters?
- For which level?
- What type of pavement?
- How much time do I need?
- Where do I start?
- What are the highlights?
- Where can I have coffee?
- Can I download a GPX file?
- What should I keep in mind?
A good cycling destination therefore does not just publish a GPX file.
She sells the experience of cycling on that route.
A climb is not just eight kilometers at seven percent. It could be the climb with the most beautiful view in the region.
A gravel route is not just 90 kilometers of unpaved road. It could be the route that takes you through three villages, past a vineyard, and over an abandoned mountain pass without encountering a busy road.
That is the difference between route information and destination marketing.
Make your bike infrastructure visible
Good cycling infrastructure is valuable. But invisible infrastructure does not sell holidays. A cyclist wants certainty.
He is walking around with concrete questions:
- Can I bring my bike on the train?
- Where can I have my bike repaired?
- Is there secure parking?
- Can I rent a good bike?
- Is there a bike-friendly hotel?
- Can I have breakfast at seven o'clock?
- Can I wash my bike?
- Where is the nearest bike shop?
- Can I cycle directly from my hotel?
For a destination marketer, these may seem like operational details.
For a cyclist who is planning a holiday, this is conversational factors.
Therefore, hotels, cafes, bicycle shops, guides, carriers and tour operators are not separate entities.
Together, they form the ecosystem of your cycling destination.
Content should not only inspire. It should answer a question, solve a problem.
Cycling tourism has an interesting marketing challenge. You need to create desire and eliminate uncertainty.
A beautiful Instagram video can make someone enthusiastic. But that still doesn't answer the question:
“Can I actually ride a bike there?”
That’s where good content becomes interesting. So don’t just create inspiring photography. Create content around the questions that cyclists actually have:
- Where can I stay best?
- Which routes should I cycle?
- When is the best time to come?
- What's the weather like?
- How difficult are the climbs?
- Can I come by train?
- How do I bring my bike along?
- Can I combine road and gravel riding?
- What can I do if I only have three days?
SEO is therefore more than just a way to get traffic.
Search behavior tells you what potential visitors are trying to solve.
Your content should solve those problems.
Don't build a bike website. Build a bike experience.
A common mistake is creating a page with the title:
Cycling
This includes:
Routes.
Hotels.
Bike rental.
Events.
News.
A few photos.
Done.
But cyclists don't think in terms of website categories.
They think in terms of travel.
For example:
I am considering this destination.
↓
Is it easy to cycle here?
↓
What kind of bikes can I use here?
↓
Which routes should I take?
↓
Where is the best place to sleep?
↓
How do I get here with my bike?
↓
When is the best time to go?
↓
What will my trip look like?
↓
Books.
Your digital ecosystem must support that journey.
The goal is to make the decision to come easier.
Media collaborations
Paid campaigns absolutely have their value. You can work with individual creators, larger (niche) media outlets, or national/international titles. Google Ads can reach people who are actively searching. Social advertising can create awareness. Sponsored content can bring your destination to their attention.
But paid media does not solve a weak proposition.
If your destination does not have a convincing answer to the question “Why here?”, additional budget only ensures that more people see a weak proposition.
That is why, in our opinion, marketing starts with strategy.
First:
- Who do we want to attract?
- Where do we want to be known?
- What experience do we sell?
- Why should people choose us?
Only then:
How are we going to spread that story?
Earned media is about credibility
Cyclists are experienced consumers of cycling information. They recognize the difference between advertising and a recommendation.
That is why independent media, creators, specialized platforms, and trusted cycling communities are so interesting.
A destination that says:
“We are a fantastic cycling destination.”
is marketing.
A credible cycling medium that shows Why you should go cycling there, is different. The best destination marketing therefore is not just about putting your logo everywhere. It is about creating stories that others will talk about. want to tell.
The real competitive advantage: making choices
Here, cycling tourism will ultimately become a strategic challenge.
You can't be everything for everyone.
You can't do both at the same time:
- Europe’s ultimate cycling destination are
- the best gravel destination in the world are
- The perfect family destination
- the ultimate mountain biking region
- the most accessible cycling destinations are
- and it is the best-kept secret of Europe
At some point you have to choose.
Good destination marketing is about making those choices.
- Choose your cyclist.
- Choose your experience.
- Choose your story.
- Choose your routes.
- Choose your markets.
- Choose your channels.
And then build everything around those choices. That's how you change from a destination. where you can cycle in a destination that taking a place in the minds of cyclists.
From bike destination to bike brand
The destinations that will win the next phase of cycling tourism are not necessarily the destinations with the most kilometers of cycling path.
It is the destinations that understand how to translate their cycling opportunities into a Clear, distinctive and attractive proposition.
Because cyclists don't buy infrastructure.
They buy experiences.
They buy the challenge.
They buy freedom.
They buy discovery.
They buy into a sense of belonging somewhere.
And in the end they buy into the feeling:
I want to ride a bike here.
That is the mission of cycling destination marketing.
Not everyone tells you everything they have.
Give the right cyclist a reason to choose you.
How Ganna Creative looks at cycling tourism
At Ganna Creative, we help destinations make sharper choices in their positioning, target audience, content, and marketing.
We don't start with a campaign. We start with the question:
What should your destination be known for among cyclists?
From positioning and target audience to content strategy, campaigns and media partnerships: we help destinations translate their cycling opportunities into a brand that cyclists actually want to go to.
Because destinations do not need more bike tourism marketing. They need better bike tourism marketing.