In cycling tourism, Lower Austria leads the pack in the yellow and blue jersey.

Bike riding is “in”, especially as a recreation activity. The number of people, who name bicycle riding as a motivation for an excursion has been growing steadily for years. Take a look at the German market where in the year 2004 alone, 2.45 million Germans took a cycling holiday, (=+9% to 2003)(F.U.R.).
Also, a GfK image study undertaken in 2003 shows that 18% of those surveyed spontaneously associate holidays in Lower Austria with the subject of bicycle riding. The average amount of money spent per day in 2002 for those taking excursions was € 13.00 as well as overnight guests spending an average of € 47.00 (Survey of Guest Cyclists to Lower Austria, 2002).
Lower Austria has good conditions in most areas of the country for cycling tourism: good topographical conditions, beautiful countryside, sightseeing and a market “at the doorstep”. Last but not least, for this reason, in the last few years, more than 3,300 kilometers of new bike paths have been built or existing paths have been connected to bike routes.

Not every bike path is the same
When we speak of a main bike path for tourists, we’re talking of other prerequisites than for a service bike path, or alternatively a path for daily use. There are differences in themes, signage or in the quality of construction of the infrastructure. The most significant differences are summarized here:

A bicycle path is not yet a tourist offer
As beautiful as it is to ride through charming countryside, in order for a bike tour to be a fun, overall experience, it also needs components other than the path itself. The following basic requirements characterize main tourist bike routes for the target group of "pleasure riders":
• beautiful countryside and suitable topography
• optimal infrastructure (surface, signage,
  maintenance system, rest places,
  parking/garages...)
• the course of the bike route should be laid out
  according to the view of the user (direct,
  convenient, safe)
• a functioning chain of services: cyclist friendly 
  restaurants and overnight accommodation,
  professional information and service centers
  (repair and rental etc.), organized transfers,
  connections to public transportation with the
  possibility to take a bicycle along and rest places,
  arrival and departure information etc….
• marketing that is appropriate to the target group as 
  well as public relations

In the background, the participating state departments (tourism departments, state road construction, Lower Austria advertising, regional planning, municipalities etc.) work together on creating the appropriate general conditions (planning, construction, maintenance issues, etc.).
However, in addition to these general prerequisites, like other tourist products, a bicycle path must be significantly different from its competition so that new guests can actually be acquired. For this, further development is needed to become a “tourist product” that is capable of satisfying the demands of the relevant customer groups (e.g. families, recreational; and sport cyclists…).

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