ENIT.IT showcases the best cycling in Italy with special new project

Italy’s tourism agency ENIT is launching the project to develop the Italian cycle tourism offer according to region, which will select the best tour operators promoting sustainability

ENIT is highlighting special content for the world of tourism via its website for the Giro d’Italia. The National Tourism Agency is an official partner of the event, together with the Ministry of Tourism in support of the Pink Jersey.

Preparations are underway between Enit and the Italian regions including a careful selection of national and international tour operators specialised in the cycling tourism product. The project aims to increasingly promote the Italian territory in the world and support businesses operating in the sector. It will also serve as a valuable tool for companies and destinations to develop a coherent and coordinated offer.

Enit recognises the flourishing bike-related market. In 2022 alone, 2.7 million bicycles were produced with a surge in e-bikes including 337,000 sold in Italy last year. This further strengthens the positioning of electric power packs, with as many as 36,772 currently in Italy and a growth of 41% compared to last year.

Also this year, Italy with Enit is competing until 28 May at GiroE, the eco-sustainable route on pedal-assisted bicycles on the same roads of the Giro d’Italia with a team that encourages the bike experience through the route of the Giro.

It is a way to promote awareness of lesser-known routes and a development opportunity through sport that acts as a vehicle for the promotional dissemination of Italy’s local and folkloric beauty through the active spirit of the participants.

The team is composed of highly varied and qualified profiles including entrepreneurs, influencers, journalists and personalities. The aim is to create a multi-platform debate on several communication channels.

This year’s team captain will be Lello Ferrara, one of the most successful cycling influencers in Italy and well-known host of ‘Lo Squalo’ on Twitch with Vincenzo Nibali. For the entire duration of the Giro-E, the team, whose members vary on each day, is followed by a team of professionals and a videomaker who are responsible for capturing the experience along the 18 stages across Italy.

The communication espouses the fundamental values of environmental sustainability, inclusiveness and protection of nature in line with the Enit promotion plan to spread a culture of respect and protection of the Italian territory.

“The Tour of Italy is a unique opportunity that the Ministry of Tourism, together with Enit, has enthusiastically embraced because it represents an extraordinary showcase of promotion for our country,” commented Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè.

“It is also a way to make known those places that are not classic tourist destinations. Those places that are more hidden but also more authentic, such as the small villages. A journey that must have a way of involving young people in this sport and in cycling, because cycle tourism is a fundamental tourist segment that is worth 5 billion, a segment that can and must grow in Italy, also in terms of deseasonalisation.”

The minister explained that sporting events of this magnitude “help tourism enormously” and increase the GDP, with fundamental spin-offs for the territory.

She added: “Just think that hotel bookings to follow the tour have reached 38,000. A very important number that makes it clear why the government believes so much in this event and in its success, also with a view to the awarding of Expo 2030, which is the big game on which we are working hard.”

Enit’s President and CEO Ivana Jelinic said it takes “an extraordinary means to make known the extraordinary nature of Italian places” and the locations less frequented by the public.

“It is incredible the role that a bike ride, a bike competition, can play in outlining an ideal Italian itinerary,” she said.

“But above all in making the whole patchwork of varied landscapes of the Peninsula with its characteristics and peculiarities breathe from the perspective of the lifestyle saddle.

“The scaffolding of Italy is also and above all formed by small communities and lesser-known places and this is a great opportunity to get to know them while having fun. It is possible to bring to light those places that are not crossed by the unusual.”