Reinventing the Wheel: A Definitional Discussion of Bicycle Tourism

The relationship between cycling and tourism is increasingly attracting scholarly attention as cycling experiences a resurgence as a recreational, leisure and sporting activity. Whilst several attempts at defining bicycle tourism exist, current literature is fragmented by the use of inconsistent parameters in characterising bicycle tourists. Disparity also exists regarding the range of cycling activities and participation characteristics that distinguish bicycle tourists from other tourists. At the same time, some potentially significant tourism markets related to cycling have been overlooked or unreasonably excluded from existing definitions. This paper critically examines existing definitions and proposes a technical definition of bicycle tourism aimed at facilitating more rigorous and consistent statistical measurements regarding this form of tourism. Implications of the parameters used in the proposed definition are also discussed throughout the paper.