Visit Lincoln launches Cycle Friendly Charter
Visit Lincoln has launched a free, online course for Lincolnshire’s businesses to help them attract and increase business from cyclists – a growing market worth an estimated £520 million to the UK economy.
Cycling represents a growing and valuable tourism market, particularly in rural areas. In June 2020, it was reported that there was a 100% increase in weekday cycling with that rising to around 200% on the weekends when compared to pre-Covid-19 levels.
With this growth comes new audiences and new opportunities for local trade and businesses. According to Cycling UK, 1.23 million overnight cycle trips in the UK contribute around £433m to the economy. Whilst research from the Department for Transport found that cyclists spend around 9% more per trip than the average visitor with an average spend per day of a cycling trip of £46.75.
Cycle Lincolnshire’s ‘Cycle Friendly Charter’ helps businesses gain an understanding of how to make their business more appealing to the cycling market and benefit from this growing audience. The Charter outlines services that should be offered to achieve Cycle Friendly status such as secure bike storage facilities and access to a first aid kit, puncture repair kit and water to refill bottles. The free, online course should take around ninety minutes to complete and will be open to all businesses across Lincolnshire from today, February 14th, 2022.
Once businesses have completed the course and satisfied the criteria, they will be gifted a plaque to display in their establishment, feature as a highlight on the Visit Lincoln website, receive a digital badge to use online, and receive printed literature to showcase they are ‘Cycle Friendly’.
The initiative, led by Visit Lincoln with funding and support from Lincolnshire County Council, Access Lincoln, East Lindsey District Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North Kesteven District Council, is a legacy of Cycle England - a joint venture between Visit England’s Discover England fund, Lincolnshire County Council and Welcome to Yorkshire with support from Visit Lincoln in 2018.
The course can be found here: Becoming Cycle Friendly | Destination Lincolnshire (teachable.com)
Visit England Director, Andrew Stokes, said:
“It is great to see that the success of Cycle England has been the creation of Cycle Lincolnshire, bringing together businesses to build on current routes available and create new products and experiences county-wide. This Charter will support local businesses understand how they can become cycle-friendly, and we hope Cycle Lincolnshire goes from strength to strength.”
Visit Lincoln, the city’s official Destination Management Organisation (DMO), is evolving into Destination Lincolnshire. Supported by businesses and operators within the sector who want to see a joined-up approach, Destination Lincolnshire identifies the work underway by the DMO across the entire county. Destination Lincolnshire will build an interconnected, resilient, and flourishing visitor economy, now and in the future. The Cycle Lincolnshire brand will form a foundation of Destination Lincolnshire.
Leading the project is the company’s latest team member, Helen Smith. Helen has joined Destination Lincolnshire with a wealth of experience having worked on the Cycle England project for the last 6 years. Prior to that, Helen worked in the international team at Welcome to Yorkshire.
Charlotte Goy, CEO at Visit Lincoln, said:
‘Our natural evolution into Destination Lincolnshire is the perfect time to launch Cycle Lincolnshire and our Cycle Friendly Charter. Lincolnshire’s city, coast, countryside, and market towns have so much to offer; Cycle Lincolnshire will attract new audiences to the county and create brilliant opportunities for local businesses to tap into a new, growing market. I’m delighted to welcome Helen to the team. Helen’s experience in the cycling sector is invaluable and I can’t think of a better candidate to lead the legacy of Visit England’s impactful ‘Cycle England’ project here in Lincolnshire.’
Mark Hollingworth, Manager at Giant, Lincoln, Doddington Hall and Chairman at Visit Lincoln, said:
‘Cycle tourism has boomed in recent years and presents a real opportunity for Lincolnshire. Businesses should be ready to receive and welcome cyclists and consider how they can encourage this new audience to stay for longer and return frequently. Visit Lincoln’s Cycle Friendly Charter is a brilliant opportunity for businesses to establish themselves on cycle routes as friendly and secure pit stops with a great choice of amenities, food and drink. The sooner we can establish the county as a great destination for cyclists, the better.’
Cycle Friendly Charter course: Becoming Cycle Friendly | Destination Lincolnshire (teachable.com)
For more information on our evolution into Destination Lincolnshire, click here.
