Active mobility for Sustainable Tourism 

 

  • Promoting active mobility in the Together for EU Tourism expert group

  • Declarations on Cycling and the Mobility of Tomorrow to guide the future action in the EU.

  • Investments of EUR 4.5 billion planned under Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 for cycling infrastructure, a great opportunity for greenways

 

EGWA contributes to the Transition Pathway for Tourism through its participation in the group of experts with proposals, sharing and disseminating information, and the implementation of the Association’s pledges, basically oriented towards raising awareness, promotion and dissemination of good practices linked to active mobility on greenways.

Trough the Togheter 4 EU Tourism informal Commission expert group, (Green subgroup / greening transport Taskforce) EGWA requests more visibility for cycle tourism and rural tourism through which many of the greenways run.

The director of the Association regularly participates in activities promoted by the EC related to T4T. Among other the two-year anniversary event in Brussels, in where DG Grow presented the publication Transition pathway Taking stock of progress by 2023 (implementation of the Pledges by stakeholders) available at the different EU languages .

The event presentations, as well as the recording of the event are accessible on the event dedicated page. The presentation on Taking stock: Transition of the tourism ecosystem (DG GROW), includes an overview of the methodology, main results to date, challenges and actions for 2024.

Some of the main priorities and challenges mentioned are the following:

  • Much more awareness raising necessary –especially at local levels, across the EU
  • Dedicate effort to broaden the basis of pledges (all MS, different organization types in them) –to have more concrete examples for all types of actors
  • Mechanisms for stakeholders to easily find relevant examples –to value the pledges
  • Specific effort on skills needed, including Communication campaign, sharing of training opportunities

>> 2024 Plans. Monitoring and collaboration platform to strengthen the T4T community

Monitoring of the implementation of the commitments and pledges with concrete examples of achievements, which can inspire new actions, will also be carried out in 2024.

The launch of a collaboration platform is also planned (available from September) to facilitate the exchange of information and create a Together4Tourism (T4T) community. It will allow the presentation of the pledges and their follow-up in a more friendly way; offer visibility and share good practices of partner pledges. Likewise, facilitate the implementation of activities prepared by the expert subgroups for the T4T community. Each subgroup will carry out, among other activities, a webinar every quarter.

Among the tasks of the expert group TFs is to organise such a webinar every Quarter/year (rotating between the groups, and via the collaboration platform when available in September 2024 onwards). 

The platform will also allow the creation of interest groups to share information on good practices and facilitate communication between stakeholders.  The Platform will be available, for all stakeholders of all ecosystems.

>> Task Force Greening transport

The  webinar of the TF1 of the Green subgroup: Decarbonising the transport sector (including green mobility), in which EGWA participates, will be held end of 2024/ beginning of 2025. EGWA has proposed to share examples of real examples of BPs in active mobility in greenways.

A proposal fully in line with the European Declaration on Cycling which lists the principles that must guide future action in the EU, including support cycling as a sustainable means of recreation and tourism. Furthermore, with the Brussels Declaration on the mobility of tomorrow, at the informal meeting of Transport Ministers, to call the European Union to take the following steps during the next legislature:

  • Make rail transport the backbone of European mobility
  • Unlock the full potential of active mobility and cycling at European and national level

Extending active mobility and in particular cycling, requires commitment and improvements in quality, safety, ease of use, network extension, continuity, intermodality, especially by train, and all the necessary equipment to adapt the network to the development of cycling and the growing use of e.bike. Safe connections to cities and places of interest are particularly necessary, thus creating the right conditions for the development of cycle tourism. Respond to the demand of the already numerous and growing users, and further increase the attractiveness of cycle tourism in Europe, in line with the twin transitions towards a greener, more digital and resilient tourism.

>> Cohesion policy investments planned in cycling infrastructure

4.5 billion euros of investment are planned for the period 2021-2027 to improve cycling infrastructure within the framework of the EU Cohesion policy. 3.2 from European funds and 1.3 billion from national co-financing. It is the amount quoted in the interactive database that permit to consult projects per country; investments linked to different objectives of the Cohesion policy; information on indicators, and other useful information can be found in the database here . Two indicators will be required in such projects, one related to the number of the users in the EU funded cycling infrastructures, and the other one the km of cycling infrastructures.  Monitoring the use, as EGWA always remember, is essential, and all greenways and cycle routes should have monitoring systems adapted to the characteristics of the network; automatic counters are more than recommended.

>> Check out examples of projects, and the different objectives under which these projects are framed, which can serve as inspiration for new ones, especially greenways, since these safe routes can be included as safe multi-user infrastructures for cycling, walking and wheeling.

 

We hope that the new legislature will actually put these declarations into practice in order to make great achievements in the shaping of a European green network, mainly using greenways, and connected with other shared low-traffic and low- speed roads, making it possible to offer both long-distance continuous itineraries and a local network for local travel and leisure activities, based on the provision of a set of services that make them attractive, continuous and reliable, as advocated by the EGWA in 2000, in Lille Declaration.

EGWA will do its utmost to continue raising awareness and advocating for greener transport, by extending greenways and a green network across Europe to facilitate active mobility, taking into account environmental and health needs.

Let’s continue spreading the word and request for new ‘greenways’, for a greener tourism of today and tomorrow!

> Further info about Transition pathway for tourism

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Mercedes Muñoz Zamora
European Greenways Association, Director
3/June/2024