Rethymno: A bicycle-friendly city

Rethymno. One of the most visibly Renaissance-inspired cities in Greece is Rethymno. A place with a high return rate of visitors and tourists, who seek a connection with the city’s residents and the countryside, as well as an experience in the Old Town, with its cultural elements that have remained indelible, attracting tourists in the shadow of the minarets, the Renaissance-era Fortezza, the lighthouse, and the labyrinths of the Old Town.

In Rethymno, the love for cycling is very evident, starting with children in the neighborhoods, students during their commutes, older adults for convenience, and also visitors-tourists who use it as a way to get to know the area and its corners. Within this framework, the cycling route and the network of bike paths were created, extending for 20 kilometers, with 22 routes in the urban area and 12 leading cyclists from the center to landmarks and alternative tourism spots.

The freedom that the bicycle gives to riders, for exploration and easy access to various points within and outside Rethymno, led the municipality, in collaboration with the Athens Polytechnic, to design an extension of the cycling network and search for routes in areas such as Arkadi, Ancient Eleutherna, and other significant landmarks. Beyond the international awards that Rethymno has received for sustainable development, the local government’s planning for sustainable mobility and quality of life for residents and visitors-tourists has also gained international recognition for fostering cycling awareness and planning to integrate bicycles into everyone’s daily life, with dedicated routes for competitive cycling, complete with all the necessary infrastructure.

Rethymno is one of the municipalities in Greece that has received the “Bike Friendly” certification, which promotes municipalities, hotels, travel agencies, and destinations associated with cycling. On the occasion of organizing the Bike Friendly Days in Rethymno for the second year, Deputy Mayor of Tourism Pepi Birliraki told ANA-MPA: “Rethymno collaborates with other municipalities in Greece that share the same love for cycling and have the same ‘Bike Friendly’ accreditation, meaning cities that are bike-friendly in combination with tourism. For years, Rethymno has been trying to cultivate and develop cycling tourism. We are now ready. We are also very close to starting, like other European destinations such as Mallorca, to strengthen cycling tourism. As Rethymno, but also as Greece, I believe we can immediately reap the benefits of this thematic tourism.”

The Bike Friendly certification officer, Vicky Karantzavelou, explained to ANA-MPA that cycling tourism can bring significant benefits to the country and local economies. “By attracting visitors-tourists who spend more, we can offer year-round tourism, as one of the enduring goals of Greek tourism is to extend the tourist season.” According to the data, amateur cycling is very developed in Central and Northern Europe, where there are thousands of Bike Clubs with millions of members and many cities with direct flights to Greek destinations. The total potential market for cycling tourism exceeds 100 million interested people. In Greece, nature and weather conditions allow for its development, Karantzavelou explained.

The “Bike Friendly” certification is under the auspices of the Ministries of Tourism, Environment & Energy, and Transport & Infrastructure. The ministry’s endorsements also serve as distinctions for NatTour for developing and promoting a network of hotels, partners, and destinations that are cyclist-friendly and for promoting the use of bicycles as an environmentally friendly means of transport. At the same time, they acknowledge NatTour’s efforts in promoting sustainable tourism and mobility. As Vicky Karantzavelou mentioned, there are already 130 certified Bike Friendly Hotels, many Bike Friendly Partners, i.e., cycling companies and stores, while recently, the first municipalities have been certified as Bike Friendly Destinations. According to all the data recorded, Greece has significant advantages for cycling, such as rural roads, favorable climatic conditions, monuments, destinations, and a road network that is not heavily congested in rural areas. Moreover, Greece is considered a warm destination for most months of the year by tourists from other countries.

Vicky Karantzavelou pointed out: “Imagine a cycling trip in Rethymno, Ierapetra, Chania, and so many municipalities in Greece, leading cycling tourists to incredible treasures, corners of nature, from vineyards to gorges, and from chapels to bridges and caves. We certify that there are people in local government, entrepreneurs, hoteliers, residents, and volunteers who can assist and support visitors with their knowledge of cycling tourism.” The effort to develop a network of municipalities, hotels, businesses, and destinations across Greece for cycling began in 2017, as cycling is an emerging activity that can shape a new strategy in both tourism and urban mobility.

“The response to the ever-increasing demand from visitors for mild tourism products has contributed to securing and expanding the BIKE FRIENDLY network of hotels, cycling companies, Greek Bike Specialists (travel agencies), and Bike Friendly Municipalities-Destinations,” explained the certification officer to ANA-MPA, agreeing with Pepi Birliraki, who, along with Rethymno Mayor Giorgis Marinakis, continues to advocate for the promotion of sports and cycling tourism. Moreover, according to the official positions of the Bike Friendly certification: “Today, in the modern European space and in Greece, the creation of cycling road networks in urban, suburban, and rural areas is directly connected to improving the quality of life and mainly reducing air pollution. Although this trend primarily concerns urban and suburban transportation, it is also closely linked to the use of bicycles in rural areas.”

Within this context, and given the increasing demand from visitors to Greece for mild tourism products and cycling, NatTour and the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature are working together with the Bike Friendly network. NatTour’s actions for cycling tourism under the Bike Friendly label are spreading across the country, with municipalities increasingly recognizing the benefits of incorporating bicycles into their sustainable development plans, Karantzavelou told ANA-MPA.

Bike Friendly Hotels in Greece can be found at the following link:
https://newbikefriendly.marketup.pro/el/ξενοδοχεία-bike-friendly/.
A list of Bike Friendly Municipalities in Greece is available at the following link:
https://newbikefriendly.marketup.pro/el/δήμοι-προορισμοί-bike-friendy/. The Bike Friendly Destinations network in Greece consists of selected municipalities committed to environmental protection, sustainable tourism development, and the support of cycling tourists. “At the same time, they create a ‘cycling identity’ for the destination and facilitate both tourists and residents in using bicycles, whether during their holidays or in their daily lives,” emphasized NatTour’s officer, Karantzavelou, who aims to “promote sustainability in tourism and mobility for tourists and citizens, as well as develop alternative forms of tourism, prioritizing the use of bicycles and cycling tourism, which our country needs and can greatly benefit from.