EuroVelo Conference 2018 – Limburg, Belgium
On World Tourism Day, over 150 international (cycling) tourism experts from 29 nationalities came together in Belgian Limburg at the EuroVelo and Cycle Tourism Conference 2018. This year’s edition of the premier cycle tourism conference in Europe had a record number of participants, speakers, exhibitors and sponsors.
Under the slogan ‘Experience the Unique’ over 40 speakers shared best practices and the latest innovations in cycle tourism in Europe and beyond in 2 plenaries and 6 parallel sessions covering topics such as innovation, infrastructure, communication and public transport.
‘The EuroVelo and Cycling Tourism Conference is a fantastic opportunity for professionals working in a range of different fields related to cycle tourism to come together and discuss good practices and new developments. It has been really inspiring hearing about the latest innovations, both in Limburg and elsewhere in Europe, during the 2018 edition’
Christophe Najdovski, President of the European Cyclists’ Federation.
‘We are honoured that Limburg was selected by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) to host this conference. Our province will continue to invest and innovate to uphold its reputation for being a true cycling paradise. The fact that this conference was assigned to Limburg acknowledges our efforts and boosts our province’s international image’.
Igor Philtjens, chairman of Tourism Limburg.
On September 28th, the participants discovered and experienced ‘Limburg Fietsparadijs’ (‘Cycling Paradise Limburg’) themselves in several site visits including the bicycle innovation centre Bike Valley, the TIME Magazine awarded Cycling Through Water and the EuroVelo 19 Candidate Route: ‘Meuse cycle route’.
‘Limburg has always been very innovative in developing cycle tourism products. Holding this year’s edition of the conference in the Province has provided an excellent opportunity to showcase this work to an international audience. We hope that Limburg’s success with innovative cycle tourism solutions, such as Cycle Through Water, will inspire the world of cycle tourism’
Ádám Bodor, EuroVelo and Advocacy Director (European Cyclists’ Federation)
Previous editions of the Conference took place in Nantes (2012), Basel (2014) and Vienna (2016). In 2018, Limburg was selected among 10 European candidate cities and regions from 7 different countries. As well as the conference, Limburg also hosted the Annual National EuroVelo Coordination Centres and Coordinators Meeting on September 26th.
For further information about the EuroVelo and Cycle Tourism Conference 2018, please visit www.euroveloconference2018.com or contact Jesus Freire, [email protected]