Satisfied cycle tourists – Facts and figures about cycling tourism in Denmark

It’s a well-known fact that cycling is good for the health and good for the soul.  But that’s not all it’s good for.  Cycling is really good for Danish tourism, too.

By Jesper Pørksen, Danish Cycling Tourism

According to VisitDenmark   cyclists were responsible for almost one fifth of the total number of accommodations in Denmark in 2017 (9.6 million out of a total of 52.4 million accommodations).  Foreign cycle tourists were responsible for 6.6 million accommodations and are thus a significant group. A total of 1.7 million tourists fell under the heading of cycle tourist in 2017.

According to VisitDenmark’s definition, a cycle tourist is a guest who, when asked the question,  “ To what degree is 1) cycling and/or 2) a cycling holiday the reason that you decided to holiday in Denmark?” responds either, “To a decisive degree” or “To a great degree”. According to VisitDenmark’s  calculations there were 1.5 million cycle tourists in Denmark in 2014. Thus the number of cycle tourists increased by 0.2 million over three years.

Box: Number of cycle tourists in Denmark

2008: 1.04 million

2011: 1.2 million

2014: 1.5 million

2017: 1.7 million

Unfortunately the economics of cycling tourism is not calculated as frequently or with the same degree of attention. The most recent financial figures are from 2011, and can be found in the national bicycle strategy, “Denmark – on your bike!” (2014). The 1.2 million cycle tourists who were in Denmark that year gave a turnover of DKK 5.5 billion. Assuming the same relation in 2017, the 1.7 million cycle tourists would have given a turnover of DKK 7.8 billion, roughly the equivalent of 7.2% of the total Danish tourist turnover of DKK 108 billion.

Good ambassadors

A characteristic feature of cycle tourists is that they are more satisfied with their holiday in Denmark than non-cycling tourists.  In other words, a cycling holiday in Denmark is a good experience. More than 90%   would like to visit Denmark again within the next two years, and as many as  three out of four will recommend a holiday in Denmark to friends and family. This makes cycle tourists excellent ambassadors for holidaying in Denmark.

Another characteristic feature, which may seem surprising, is that cycle tourists do not only visit Denmark in the months of July and August. Overall there are actually more cycle tourists in the other months of the year, see the box below:

Number of cycle tourists distributed according to season

Peak season (July-August): 800,000 cycle tourists

Shoulder season (March-June, September-October): 700,000 cycle tourists

Winter season (November – February): 200,000 cycle tourists

The Danish cycle tourists’ accommodation of choice is a camping site whereas foreign cycle tourists prefer a holiday home

Day trips rather than multi-day tours

The greatest holiday potential lies in day trips. At least three out of four cycle tourists return to their holiday base after a cycling day trip. The others continue on to a new accommodation on a longer cycling holiday.  Increasingly there is a trend to use sports bikes such as mountain bikes or road bikes when on holiday.

The German market is especially interesting to Denmark. German cycle tourists constitute 40% of all cycle tourists in Denmark. They are followed by Norway (8%), Sweden (5%) and Holland (3%).When Germans search the web for cycling holiday information, Denmark is the eighth most searched destination. This is consistent with Denmark’s sixth place among countries that German cycling tourists were planning to visit in 2018.

Beautiful landscapes and good cycle tracks

When asked what makes a good cycling experience, most cyclists respond beautiful landscapes and good cycle tracks. Over one third of Danish cycle tourists cycle on signed-posted cycle routes and use wayfinding signage for navigation (34%). Next comes digital maps/apps (28%) and printed maps (25%). Signage in the field is even more important to German cycle tourists. 75% of them follow the route signs.

Physical wayfinding is just as popular today as in the year 2008. Contrary to expectations, route signage has not become superfluous because of new digital options. However, there is less use of printed maps.

Links

Visitdenmark, 2018: Cycle tourists in Denmark

Danish Cycling Tourism: Danes as cycle tourists

ADFC 2018 Travelbike Bicycle travel analysis

Danish Ministry of Transport, 2017, Denmark – On Your Bike!, the national cycling strategy