Tourism to Israel has been hitting record heights this year, and it looks like it’s only going to get better – especially if you’re a two-wheeler interested in visiting the Holy Land. Yesterday saw the Tourism Ministry present a 100 million shekel (that’s around $25 million) plan to promote cycling tourism to Israel, complete with blueprints for a country-wide network of cycling paths, that will join cities with open areas, and offer some amazing views and things to see along the way.
Just to give you an idea of the ever-growing cycling tourism market – it’s now worth billions of dollars per year, with some 19 million cycling tourists visiting Europe every year. With the proper facilities developed, it could really be a great boost for tourism numbers here. Just imagine the number of bookings that would go up for some of those more out-of-reach guest houses (or zimmers as they are known in Hebrew) in country locations, in what would be prime cycling-world real estate.
There are some 600km of existing trails but that number would likely reach a total of over 6000km of trails if this multi-year plan kicks in. A great boost for domestic tourism too, as cycling in Israel has really taken off in recent years.
Our hero, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, had this to say:
The development of a national cycling infrastructure will contribute to enriching the range of tourism products in the periphery and generate momentum for small and medium businesses, while creating new jobs. About 80% of all the cycling paths will be developed in the Negev and Galilee and there’s no doubt that this investment will bear fruit both regionally and in terms of its contribution to the economy generally. It’s important to note that creating this infrastructure will also make Israel an attractive destination for cyclists from around the world and a marketing program will also be prepared accordingly.