Measuring growth in bicycle tourism

Overview

Action 4.8: Investigate a method for capturing, measuring and reporting on growth in bicycle tourism in Queensland and specific destinations.

Lead agency: Department of Transport and Main Roads

Status: Complete

Achievements

Domestically and internationally, there is a growing interest in bicycle tourism. Queensland is well placed to capitalise on this increasing popularity, with a great climate and an array of cycling experiences on offer. However, the lack of a thorough understanding of the market potential presents a barrier to developing a larger bicycle tourism market.

We researched a series of standard measures that can be applied at the state, regional and destination-specific levels to aid reporting on the state of bicycle tourism in Queensland.

Through this study, we identified additional data sources are needed to supplement existing data sources and gain insight into bicycle tourism trends in Queensland. Suggested new data sources include:

• the number of visits to key bicycle tourism websites
• a new online survey to capture information on participation in bicycle tourism and visitor behaviour
• an expanded bicycle count and intercept survey program to capture data at key bicycle tourism locations.

Next steps

We will implement mechanisms in 2023–2024 to gather additional data as feasible, to provide detailed information on the state of bicycle tourism in Queensland and help understand the benefits of public and private investment.