More spontaneous, shorter, more different

Holidays on the bike are still popular, especially short bike trips are increasing. Bike tourism is clearly differentiated and attracts new target groups.

Particularly encouraging: Those who have enjoyed cycling on vacation also cycle more often in everyday life. These are the most important insights from the cycle-tourism-analysis by the ADFC (German Cyclists' Association) presented in Berlin at the beginning of March.

The image of "cycle tourists" has changed massively. Ten years ago, it was mainly middle-aged men with excellent technical equipment who cycled long distances. Today the picture is much more different and the types of bike tours are more diverse. There are holidays on the bike that last several weeks, but also wellness trips with bike excursions, spontaneous short bike trips with a city visit, radial tours with a permanent accommodation or even active time out close to home. Everyone can benefit from many new cycle tourists: classic cycle tour destinations, but also the cities and, last but not least, the rural regions. Cyclists spend € 70 - € 100 per day and can be considered an economic stimulus for entire cycling regions.

27 % more short-term travellers on the bike

The number of bike travellers who take holidays with three or more overnight stays remains at the high level of the previous year at 5.4 million people (5.5 million in 2018). The number of short trips is rising strongly: 5.2 million people took short bike trips during the week in 2019, 27 % more than in the previous year (4.1 million). The number of short weekend trips rose by 11 % from 6.1 million to 6.8 million cyclists. There are also an impressive 330 million day trips by bike.

Apps and e-bikes more and more popular

Apps are becoming more and more popular for planning a trip and for navigating while cycling. 51 % of cyclists already use apps for navigation, compared to 46 % in the previous year. The offers from Komoot and Google maps are used most frequently. The trend towards electric bicycles is also continuing:   29 % of bike travellers use an electric bicycle, compared with 23 % in the previous year.

Cycle tourism and everyday cycling create synergies

90 % of bicycle travellers also use the bicycle in everyday life. The ADFC rates this development as particularly positive: more and more cyclist tourists use their bike more frequently in everyday life after their cycling holiday than before (2019: 40 % then cycled more in everyday life, in 2018 it was 35 % ). ADFC tourism expert Louise Böhler says: “It is a nice trend that more and more people are taking the joy of cycling from their vacation into their everyday life. We should reinforce this trend by having tourism planners work together more often! "

Background to the bike trip analysis

The ADFC cycle tourism analysis is a representative online survey by the German Cyclists' Association among 8.122 people in Germany. The survey took place for the 21st time in 2019/2020. A cycling trip was defined as a trip with cycling as the main motive and comprising at least three overnight stays.