Managing cycle tourism flows

Being the link between the fields of sport, traffic and tourism, cycle tourism is a growing segment of tourist market and service providers face the challenge to conform the market demands trough the integral sport-specific tourist product and in creating the cycling-friendly surroundings. Cyclist-demand is rather unique in their requests upon the receptive community. The supply needs to be sport-oriented and sport-specific while the vacation decision-making of cycle tourists derives from their way of life and is mostly the result of destination’s sport-suitability or the hotel’s distinct supply. Two identified levels enable addressing the complexity of sport–tourism–traffic synergy in creating the value for the cycle tourist. Identified synergy enables large potential benefits for the supply but needs to be integrated into both tourist and traffic policies, in order to reach its full potential. Managing the synergy requires multi-level approach and the logistic flow management at the level of cycle tourism destination and of cycle tourism hotels, obvious in the peak season periods when people, goods and services, information, knowledge, energy, waste and other logistic flows multiply and threaten the supply’s functioning.