Baltic Biking UPGRADE

Contents

History ✍

Following the Biking South Baltic project, and based on discussion with regions’ authorities and ECF expertise, an application was submitted to the Interreg South Baltic programme with success. This project was born out of the assessment that SMEs are aware of the near location of EuroVelo 10 – Baltic Sea Cycle Route but do not know how to take advantage of this potential and to connect their offer with the route and market it to future customers.

Summary 💡

Baltic Biking UPGRADE (BBU) officially started on 1 September 2023 and runs over a three-year period (2023-2026). Led by Pomorskie Tourist Board, the project focuses on the South Baltic Region and involves 6 countries – Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Belgium as ECF is based in Brussels. The five countries crossed by EuroVelo 10 cover more than 4,900 km of the route’s total lenght (9,100 km), representing over half of its entire length.

✅ The BBU project addresses some significant challenges of SMEs located nearby EuroVelo 10: lack of knowledge, underdeveloped cycling-friendly standards, services and offers ⛺🧳🛏️, as well as a lack of a solid business network and partnerships with relevant peers, including international stakeholders.

🗺️ The main goal of the project is to assist SMEs in creating attractive cycling-friendly offers 🏘️🚲 and successfully reaching out to foreign markets. For this purpose, several actions are being set up: dedicated training for SMEs, marketing support for the development of new offers, promotion of the new cycling-friendly offers on the EuroVelo website and on social media, and an invitation to join the EuroVelo 10 network in the South Baltic Area.

⛱️ BBU will allow for the roll-out of more and better cycling-friendly services along EuroVelo 10, with new products and offers for cycling visitors. The ultimate aim is to make the area more visible in the international cycling tourism market and to strengthen the development and management of the route 🏆 thanks to closer transnational cooperation and long-term planning. ✒️📅

Project partners 🤝

• Pomorskie Tourist Board, Poland (Lead Partners)
• Westpomerania Regional Tourism Organisation, Poland
• Visit Lolland-Falster, Denmark
• Danish Cycling Tourism, Dansk Cykelturisme, Denmark
• Klaipeda Region Association, Lithuania
• Region Blekinge, Sweden
• Swedish Cycling Advocacy Organisation, Cykelfrämjandet, Sweden
• City of Barth, Germany
• European Cyclists' Federation, Belgium

Associated partners 🤸

• Pomorskie Voivodeship, Poland
• Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship, Poland
• Polish Tourism Organisation, Poland
• Warmia and Masuria Tourist Board, Poland
• Visit Denmark, Denmark
• Finnish Cyclists’ Federation / The Finnish Center for Cycling Tourism, Finland
• Citybike Ltd., Estonia
• Vidzeme Tourism Organisation, Latvia
• Larsson Bike, Denmark
• Jan-Pol, Poland
• JSC Baltic Bike Travel, Lithuania

Deliverables 👏

The BBU partners are glad to introduce the final deliverables of the project:

• A comparative analysis of cycling-friendly schemes in Europe and a summary of local workshops conducted to discuss the topic of cycling-friendly labels, prepared by the project partner City of Barth in collaboration with Capufaktur e.V. Greifswald (December 2024)

• Overview of small and medium-sized enterprises’ bicycle-friendly offers and services along EuroVelo 10 in the South Baltic Area, prepared by the project partner Visit Lolland-Falster, Denmark (December 2024)

• Marketing guidelines for EuroVelo 10 in the South Baltic area – tailored for SMEs offering cyclist-friendly services and local tourism organisations, prepared by the project partner Pomorskie Tourist Board (November 2024)

• Marketing strategy for the development of cycling-friendly services and offers along EuroVelo 10 in the South Baltic area, prepared by the project partner Pomorskie Tourist Board (November 2024)

• EuroVelo 10 Partnership - A proposal for a Multiannual Action Plan, prepared by ECF (June 2025)

You represent a national or regional institutional organisation involved in cycling tourism and crossed by EuroVelo 10? Read our suggestion for a future EuroVelo 10 Partnership ⬆️, focusing on common marketing activities.

• EuroVelo 10 – Baltic Sea Cycle Route - Transnational Route Evaluation Report, prepared by ECF with major contributions from project partners represented by EuroVelo Route Inspectors (January 2026)

📢 Read more about the main findings of the report and experience of the EuroVelo Route Inspectors in this dedicated article (February 2026)

• Cycling-friendly standards in Europe - A comparative report on national schemes in Sweden, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark, prepared by project partner City of Barth in collaboration with Capufaktur e.V. Greifswald, with thorough review from ECF (February 2026)

Reach out to Alexandra Fournier, EuroVelo and Projects Coordinator: [email protected]

More activities 🎉

🚲 A pilot one-way crossborder bike rental between Germany and Denmark along EuroVelo 10 – Baltic Sea Cycle Route was launched during summer 2025. Cyclists who tested the bike rental service benefitted from a discount using an e-bike with GPS tracking and filling in a short survey.

🗺️🚴 Between Monday 25 May and Sunday 31 May, a FAM trip gathering influencers, tour operators and cycling tourism experts was organised to promote the Copenhagen-Gdańsk section of EuroVelo 10 and a new dedicated website was released. The one-way bike tour service was extended to make it possible for cycling tourists to start in the capital city of Denmark and return their rented cycle in Gdańsk. ✅

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💫 The EuroVelo 10 multistakeholder platform has been launched to support and sustain cooperation between stakeholders, even after the project's end. This LinkedIn group provides a space for promotion, networking, collaboration opportunities and knowledge exchange (sharing best practices, discussing challenges, project ideas, etc). Members are encouraged to interact by sharing updates, marketing activities, and business opportunities related to EuroVelo 10.

💡 A dedicated training for SMEs to strenghthen their cycling-friendly capacities was held in February 2026 in Barth, Germany.

🖥️🪄 Web developments have also been carried out as part of the project, resulting in a brand-new page for cycling-friendly labels with an interactive map! More information in this article.

⭐ During the Velo-city 2025 conference in Gdańsk, partners of the Baltic Biking UPGRADE project gathered to discuss the progress and future of cycling tourism around the Baltic Sea. We took the opportunity to record short interviews with project partners and associated experts, highlighting their involvement in BBU and their thoughts on the conference.

➡️🎥 Watch the clips below to learn more about our shared vision for a stronger, better connected EuroVelo network in the region.

Coming next 🔜

🧭 As the project has entered its final year, there are more deliverables to be expected in 2026, including a report on EuroVelo 10 cycling-friendly services development and transport providers engagement based on roundtables, and a EuroVelo 10 Handbook for users. 📖

🚨 Finally, the project was granted a two-month extension to optimise the project's results dissemination and allow for the organisation of the final project conference in Gdansk on 8-9 September 2026 to discuss the follow-up of activities within marketing collaboration and strenghthening of governance.

💰The Baltic Biking UPGRADE project budget is €1,936,077.90, of which €1,548,862.32 is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

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More information 🧳💬

• Kick-off meeting in Gdansk, Poland - October 2023
• Second project meeting in Barth, Germany - March 2024
• First study visit in Mielno, Zachodniopomorskie region, Poland - May 2024
• Velo-city in Ghent, Belgium - June 2024
• Cross-border project workshop in Gdansk, Poland, September 2024
• Third project meeting and second study visit in Lolland-Falster, Denmark - October 2024
• Fourth project meeting in Świnoujście, Poland - April 2025
• Velo-city Gdansk - 10-13 June 2025
• Fifth project meeting and stakeholder roundtable in Klaipeda, Lithuania - September 2025
• ECF represented the project at the EuroVelo & Cycling Tourism Conference 2025 in Balatonfüred, Hungary, on 23-25 September

Cover picture: EuroVelo 10 – Baltic Sea Cycle Route © Biking South Baltic!