Bicycling in Hersonissos, Crete

In an attempt to boost alternative tourism in the region, the Municipality of Hersonissos decided to expand the network of bicycle routes featured in its brochure, which contains 9 different routes at all levels of hardship, including maps, photographs and other relevant information. The municipal tourism department wants cycling tourism visitors to be able to combine the healthful pleasure of riding with exploring the surrounding area of Hersonissos and getting to visit traditional Greek villages, monasteries and archaeological sites as well as local attractions in a unique and meaningful way.

In keeping with the times, cyclists can simply download the WikiLoc app on their mobile devices, select a bike route and follow it with the help of GPS-optimized maps, which also include descriptions and photographs of each route as well as distances, level of difficulty and other relevant information.

Cycling tourism is an alternative form of quality tourism currently on the rise, which allows travelers to combine leisure with athletics and exercise at their own pace. This type of tourism also enables visitor to become more intimately acquainted with the local environment and its inhabitants, and to have personal, authentic experiences in a way that would not be possible by car.

European Cycling Tourism is reported to exceed 2.8 billion trips in Europe alone, equivalent to about 25 million hotel occupancies, and constitutes about 3% of all European tourism, with an estimated turnover of 55 billion Euros.

Additional information about Hersonissos bike routes is available, at: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/user.do?id=2330012