Barcelona hosts launch event for EuroVelo and Cycling Tourism Conference 2021
Together with the Government of Catalonia, ECF organised the official online announcement of next year’s EuroVelo and Cycling Tourism Conference which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the announcement, the fun new conference branding was revealed and the official website was launched. The website will be a ‘one-stop-shop' for all relevant information in the lead up to October 2021. One of the main milestones was highlighted as being the Call for Abstracts which will be launched on 1 March 2021. The conference programme will include presentations and communications based around ‘Health and Cycling Tourism’, ‘Infrastructures, Research and Innovation’ and ‘Economic Recovery, Employment and Communication’. You can also pre-register to be notified about the most recent information around the conference.
In reference to the cause of the postponement of the conference, the second half of the announcement event included a webinar on the challenges and opportunities for the cycling tourism sector from COVID-19 in which several speakers from ECF, from ECF member organisations and from the Catalan government shared their experiences and views. ECF’s co-CEO Jill Warren elaborated on the European perspective on the pandemic’s effects on the sector followed by first findings regarding the impacts on bicycle usage in France presented by Camille Thomé, director of EuroVelo NECC Vélo & Territoires. Following that, Gonçalo Peres, Advisory Board Member of Portuguese EuroVelo NECC FBCUP, highlighted the urban perspective giving examples from Lisbon, Velo-city 2021.
The EuroVelo and Cycling Tourism Conferences have been held every other year since 2012 to share knowledge, highlight good practices and encourage further development of the EuroVelo network and of cycling tourism generally across Europe. Every two year, professionals from the tourism and cycle tourism sectors from all around the world discuss this growing market that employs over 500,000 Europeans and generates over 44 billion euros for the European economy every year.
Barcelona will host the conferences in the AXA Auditorium providing exhibition spaces, meeting areas and opportunities to promote the importance of cycling and to highlight the commitment of institutions and the public. With the Catalan capital being one of the many highlights on the itinerary of EuroVelo 8 – Mediterranean Route, the conference represents a great opportunity to promote cycle tourism on the Mediterranean coast and to extend and consolidate the route between Cádiz (Spain) and Cyprus.
As part of CicloBCN21, Barcelona will host two other cycling related congresses between 5 October to 10 October 2021: the 17th Iberian Bicycle and City Congress and the 7th International Bicycle Congress of Catalonia.
