Cycling tourism: EuroVelo conference held in Balatonfüred

Balatonfüred hosted the EuroVelo and Cycling Tourism Conference, where both the profession and decision-makers discussed the future and role of cycling tourism. In his opening speech, Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Public Administration and Regional Development, emphasized that the health indicators of Hungarian society are unfavorable, two-thirds of the population does not play sports, so encouraging active pastime is not only a health issue, but also a community-building and economic issue. The minister emphasized that the Balaton region now plays a prominent role not only as a cultural, but also as a sports and tourism destination: from 2026, the region will become the sports region of Europe. At the same time, State Secretary Máriusz Révész announced that the renovation of several sections of Lake Balaton bicycle paths will begin this year with 1.5 billion forints, and next year the section between Balatonfűzfő and Tihany may be renovated with EU funds.

In the past ten years, Hungary has built 2,000 kilometers of new bicycle paths, signposted 3,000 kilometers, and 628 kilometers of the Horizont forest bicycle path, which was planned to be 1,500 kilometers long, have already been completed. In addition, 186 bike parks and pump tracks have been built, and a new, complex route planning application called BicApp will soon be available for cyclists.

Among the conference participants was Henk Swarttouw, President of the European Cyclists’ Association, who highlighted that the condition of the Hungarian EuroVelo routes is outstanding even in European comparison, with 97 percent of the cycle paths being of excellent quality. According to him, cycle tourism is developing dynamically on all continents, and Hungary is in a good position to benefit from this trend.

The three-day event was organized by the European Cyclists’ Association, the State Secretariat for Active Hungary, the Hungarian Cycling Tourism Association and the city of Balatonfüred, with approximately 350 international participants.