At a time when the summer tourist season is well and truly over, it is time to take stock. If 2024 will have been marked, in Vaucluse, by stable attendance, new forms of tourism are emerging and could well constitute, in the medium term, real growth drivers. Thus, alongside the development of off-season tourism, bicycle tourism is experiencing growing success. A way to reconcile economic development and ecological concerns.
If we know the appeal of Mont Ventoux among sports cyclists (160,000 enthusiasts climb it each year), we do not necessarily have a very precise idea of the extent and variety of the existing offer in tourism bike material.
In Vaucluse there are 400 km of marked routes on dedicated or shared roads, with 3 cycle routes (ViaRhôna, Calavon and Via Venaissia), 5 loops and a grand tour of the Luberon (240 km alone). On the off-road side we are not left out with 33 mountain bike routes and 15 by VTC, including the very demanding crossing of the Vaucluse by mountain bike (400 km and 10,000 meters of elevation gain).
The stakes are high
In short, there is something for all tastes and abilities. Many people are mobilizing to develop infrastructure and the practice of Cycling, whether for leisure, sport or business travel. Municipalities, EPCI, Departments, Region, regional parks, even regional associative structures like Vélo Loisir Provence, created 30 years ago, are mobilized for this cause. The stakes are high.
However, the indicators seem to be quite pronounced green
Although it is currently difficult to precisely quantify the economic benefits of the development of the tourist practice of the little queen, the indicators nevertheless seem to be quite markedly green. Starting with route attendance. The Vaucluse Departmental Council, which has jurisdiction over the region's 3 cycle routes, has set up fixed counters at certain strategic points. Thus, on certain busiest sections of the ViaRhôna, between January and August 2024, 84,620 passages were recorded, an increase of 30% compared to last year. In 2018, the Department announced that the ViaRhôna was used by 18,700 cyclists. Good progress. As for the Calavon road bike or the Via Venaissia, they are on the same gear with traffic increases of more than 20%.
A whole eco-system is being formed around cycling.
On the accommodation side, a recent survey conducted by the Vélo Loisir Provence association revealed an increase of 15 to 20% in overnight stays spent by cyclists in establishments labeled “Accueil Vélo”. this phenomenon is relatively new. 30% of accommodation is in guest rooms, 24% in hotels, 19% in campsites and the rest in seasonal rentals and gîtes.
The evolution of the number of bicycle rental companies is also another interesting indicator. Their number increased from 10 to 20 in a few years. The network of professionals affiliated with the Vélo Loisir Provence association now includes 56 accommodation providers, 20 rental companies, 8 restaurants, 8 cellars, 5 guides, 5 travel agencies and 3 transporters. Certain buildings, such as the old SNCF stations on the Calavon cycle route, have been transformed into restaurants or cultural exhibition spaces. A whole eco-system is being created around cycling.
A study carried out in 2020 by the national association France Vélo Tourisme showed that bicycle tourism represented a turnover of 4.2 billion euros in France and that the average daily expenditure per cycle tourist was 68 € compared to 55 for motorized tourists. Studies also show that 56% of practitioners are over 55 years old. Enough to make professionals think!
Vaucluse, a real land of cycling
For Sylvie Palpant, director of the Vélo Loisir Provence association, the development of bicycle tourism “is the way to develop the activity outside of the summer months”. In fact, the figures show that attendance is higher in spring and fall. All of these elements should enable all those involved to do even more to develop what could be a new tourist El Dorado. Various surveys carried out among users show that they would like more public facilities around the routes and above all more security, particularly on shared roads. It will undoubtedly be necessary to do even more so that Vaucluse is, as Dominique Santoni, President of the department, claims, a real land of cycling.
To find out more about the routes in Vaucluse
www.veloloisirprovence.com/
www.provence-a-velo.fr/
To find out more about the Vaucluse cycle routes
https://www.vaucluse.fr/nos-territoires/viarhona-via-venaissia-veloroute-du-calavon-a-la-decouverte-des-3-veloroutes-du-vaucluse-1697.html
To create your own route
www.veloloisirprovence.com/parcours
