Alternative Tourism: Promotion of sports activities with a mild environmental footprint – the case of cycling
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26248/sport-soc.vi4.1973Keywords:
alternative tourism, sports tourism, cycling, cyclotourism, tourism of mild environmental footprintAbstract
Physical and sports activities are dynamically rising tourist attractions for various places. The same applies to Greece, with the added advantage that they act as an alternative to the established stereotype of mass sun, sea and sand tourism. These activities have significant potential for enriching the tourism product mix and attracting quality and responsible tourism. In Greece, however, while sports activities are integrated into the national culture, at least in theory, being linked to tradition and the natural environment, they have not been integrated into the tourism product to the extent that it would be possible, while only very recently they tend to gain the recognition and social acceptance they deserve.
In this article, after the delimitation of a sustainable development orientation for Tourism and within that of sports tourism, the evolution of cycling as a sports and social phenomenon is reviewed, and cases of cycling events in Greece and successful practices in other countries are analyzed. These events, while not being official athletic championships, have quality certificates and combine both the sports and tourism dimensions, along with an extroversion and international recognition that can consolidate local development and identity. The research question of the article is whether and under what conditions it is possible and feasible to effectively integrate them into the tourism product.
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