The contract was signed on the basis of the Cyclotourism Development Program on the Continent in 2017, for which the Ministry of Tourism, with the aim of tourism development on the continent, provided an additional 5 million HRK this year in the budget, reports HRTurizam on May 18, 2017.
Each county will receive a subsidized grant of 350,000 HRK on the basis of the signed contract. The contracts were signed with the counties of Bjelovar-Bilogora, Brod-Posavina, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj, Međimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Požega-Slavonia, Sisak-Moslavina, Varaždin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem and Zagreb.
The assigned funds are intended for the preparation of the Cyclotourism Development Plan, the provision of cyclotourism routes, the design and labeling of cyclotourism routes, the creation of maps, the lease of a joint web domain at the county level, the creation of a county-level website, the development of mobile applications and so on.
“Cyclotourism, along with other products such as gastro or health tourism, is of great importance for the development of the continent's tourism, in example the strengthening of its tourist attractiveness through the creation of additional contents. Finally, strengthening the continent in the tourist sense contributes to a more balanced tourism development of our country, the extension of the tourist season, and the positioning of Croatia as a destination with a diverse and rich tourist offer,” said Minister Cappelli, who added that the program was created in record time.
“Within just three weeks of the public call, all continental counties submitted applications and projects for cyclotourism development in their areas, which is particularly welcomed because it proves the high level of cooperation and the great interest of continental counties for the development of cyclotourism,” the Minister said.
After signing the contract, Karlovac County prefect Ivan Vučić thanked the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Tourism for the cooperation and rapid implementation of the program and stressed that the funds will be very useful for the further development of cyclotourism on the continent.
"Cyclotourism is a product for which there is an upward trend of interest, and it is up to us to use it to strengthen tourism in our counties, and on the whole continent," Vučić said.
The signing of the contract was also attended by the President of the Croatian Road Administration, Josip Škorić, who presented the current and future plans of road development on the continent with an emphasis on cycling paths envisaged within them.
“Until now, 350 kilometers of bicycle trails have been built within public roads, and an additional 490 kilometers are planned for the next four years. With the funds already provided in the budget of the Croatian Roads, and with good cooperation with the counties and good organization, the bicycle network may be even longer. It is certainly necessary in a systematic and thoughtful way to approach further development, both from the economic aspect and from the aspect of security,” said Škorić, who thanked the Minister for the excellent cooperation so far.
According to UNWTO data, there are more than 60 million active cyclists in Europe. Cyclotourists, more than other types of tourists, use the local trade and catering offer and have a daily consumption up to 30 percent higher than other tourists.
