cycle tourism

Editorial: Cycle tracks real asset for region

This morning at 5.30am I was on my bike. I'll be on it again tomorrow at the same time.

I don't own any skin-tight cycling clobber. Nor do I own much of a bicycle, just one of those easy-rider roadster bikes with a comfy seat.

In serious cycling circles, I'd be considered a bit of a joke.

But that doesn't stop me getting on my bike every morning before work. The fact that I have a fabulous limestone cycling pathway along the coast from my home has made the morning bike ride an irresistible ritual.

Invigorating side-effects of a jolly good ride

The economic benefits of environmentally smart cycle tourism can drive a recovery in provincial New Zealand and have the potential to double the amount tourists spend annually – from $320 million to $640 million, tourism leaders say.

At the Ecotourism 2010 conference in Rotorua this month, cycle tourism leaders explained the power of pedallers and applauded the injection of $9 million of the prime minister's $50m cycleway fund into "quick start" ventures that will see new multi-day routes operating this summer.