EuroVelo 19 Partnership
The French, Belgian and Dutch partners had already been working together to develop the route as a transnational route when EuroVelo 19 – Meuse Cycle Route was added to the network in 2019. The EuroVelo 19 Partnership officially started at the same time and was signed for three years. The collaboration has then been further extended as a Partnership renewal was signed and will remain in force until the end of 2024.
The EuroVelo 19 Partnership (formerly called LTMA, long-term management agreement) provides a solid basis for sustainability on the transnational level and an opportunity for further developments in the fields of:
- Route infrastructure (route condition monitoring, signalisation, coordination, etc.)
- Public transport (cross border public transport information)
- Promotion (web portal, press work, social media, answer information requests, etc.)
- Monitoring (usage monitoring report)
- Organisational tasks (meetings, planning, reporting, accounting etc.)
ECF is the Secretariat of this Partnership that involves partners from 3 different countries, each of which has a national contact point representing the partners:
France
- Agence Régionale du Tourisme (ART) Grand-Est – representing the French partners
Belgium
- Pro Velo – representing the Belgian partners
The Netherlands
- Stichting Landelijk Fietsplatform – representing the Dutch partners
Achievements
EuroVelo 19 - Meuse Cycle Route was the third most popular EuroVelo route on the web platform www.EuroVelo.com in 2019, counting more than 130,000 sessions by over 110,000 unique users in total. Given that the route only joined the network in March 2019, this is a huge jump in popularity! The website is available in English, French, German and Dutch.
News articles, contents, maps, as well as services and bookable offers along the route, are constantly updated in order to attract more users to the Meuse Cycle Route as their next cycle-tourism destination. The news articles can be easily shared, are inspirational and engage users, with a special emphasis on the time shortly before and during the cycling season.
Campaigns on social media include a yearly Summer Photo Contest taking place on Instagram, which enjoys plenty of interest from users.
A dedicated Esterbauer guide was also published in December 2019, providing detailed information and maps for cycle tourists interested in discovering the Meuse Cycle Route.