The tourist cycles

November 3, 2008 - 4:46 PM by

Cycling and IsraelThe Israeli government’s recent aggressive courting of various niche tourist markets has targeted the Chinese and the gay, and now officials seem bent on attracting the cycling crowd.

Members of a subculture that espouses environmentalist as well as fitness values, bicyclists have been gaining momentum in Israel as of late, through expanded local and national cycle-friendly development endeavors as well as cycling community activities. There was even a highly publicized event that combined the ever-growing wine tourism niche with the cycling niche – and a Jewish holiday (not sure how that one turned out).

Back in the heady days of August, local environmentalism blog Green Prophet quoted Tourism Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balili on Israel’s bicycle tourism development plans:

“The Tourism Ministry leads the development of the cycling tourism industry as part of its policy to position Israel as a unique and quality tourist destination at an international level. This is in light of the worldwide trend in the tourism industry that places cycling tourism as a significant and developing market segment. Developing the industry will improve Israel’s image around the world and increase tourist traffic, while preserving the environment.”

Last week, the blog followed up with the latest details on the budget and where it’s going. Some NIS 20 million in “short-term” (through 2013) spending is said to cover the planning and creation of cycling paths all over the country, including a north-to-south Israel-spanning cycling route and regional loop trails that circle the perimeters of population clusters and bodies of water.

Image courtesy TLVshac from Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , • Category: Environment, General, Sports, Travel 

Comments

2 Comments on The tourist cycles

  1. Nicky on Wed, Nov 5th 2008 10:23 AM

    2. The more the government invests in cycle lanes in Israel the better – whatever the reason. It’s good for the environment, it’s good for exercise, and it’s good for my kids, who love cycling…

    ISRAEL21c did a video story on the new bicycle scheme in Tel Aviv, which is due to start soon.
    You can watch it here:

  2. Gila on Fri, Nov 7th 2008 11:59 PM

    3. Yay! Go biking!

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