At a press conference held in Coruche, municipal officials explained that a digital communication campaign will be developed to promote this type of tourism nationwide. The entity and the municipalities, in partnership with the company Cabreira Solutions, will hold several activities on 15 and 16 November to raise awareness of the cycling centres in Ribatejo to the national and international public. On the 15th, in Coruche, between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm, in the town of Erra, the municipality will organise a series of activities for children and, at the end of the day, a tasting of local products.
On the 16th, in Chamusca, there are planned tours with local tourism agents, members of the local community and influencers, including the YouTuber "O Ciclista Improvável" and the athletes Raquel Queirós and Renato Ferreira, among other personalities. Credits: Facebook; The aim of these two days of activities is to collect images and create photographic and digital content to be shared on social media, on the official channels of the municipalities and on the pages of influencers. Cycling centres are already quite traditional in Coruche and Chamusca, but the routes are currently only known by a small group of practitioners of the sport.
The aim is to increase the audience and promote cycling tourism in these areas. Currently, Coruche offers six gravel routes, with four levels of difficulty, totalling 306 km in length. Chamusca has seven mountain bike routes, also with four levels of difficulty, on a trail that is over 200 km long.
José Manuel Fernandes, president of the Regional Tourism Authority of Alentejo and Ribatejo, stated that this project "constitutes a very significant leisure and tourism offer" and that the aim is to "competitively" position these two areas in this tourism segment. The Mayor of Benavente, Francisco Correia, highlighted that this project is "strategic" for the region and will allow the creation of "a distinctive tourism product". Paulo Queimado, Mayor of Chamusca, added that the great challenge is to make these infrastructures known to the national public, which will have "a very significant impact on the region".
Cycling centres promote more sustainable mobility, encourage the practice of physical activities and generate a positive impact on the local economy by attracting more tourists. These centres have signposted routes for all skill levels, and the trails are digitalised and can be downloaded onto mobile phones..
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Investing in cycling tourism
The Regional Tourism Board of the Alentejo and Ribatejo intends to position Coruche and Chamusca as references in cycling centres, promoting them as an attractive and differentiating tourist product to attract more visitors to the region.