Verona Garda Bike intercepts families

Slow tourism on two wheels is increasingly proselytising. Verona Garda Bike, the business network set up in 2012 on the initiative of seven organisations (Europlan, Bellatrix, Museo Nicolis, Turri Fratelli, Masi, Gardaland and Parco Natura Viva) interested in promoting cycling as a privileged means of getting to know the territory, is promoting ad hoc routes and equipped facilities, broadening the range of users to include the disabled, groups and families with children of all ages. Set up with the support of Confindustria Verona through the Coverfil consortium, the network has for some time been working on the development of a thematic app that allows geolocation of points of interest included in the dozen or so suggested cycling routes, which wind along over 500 kilometres of tracks and white roads between the lake and the hinterland, as far as the Custoza hills, Verona and Mantua. It is an Android application, capable of guiding the cyclist also thanks to images and an interactive communication system, which pinpoints his position and suggests the directions to take.

This year the focus of the network companies is on families. It starts with the concrete results of an analysis entrusted to Remoove, a company based in Arco, Trentino, which deals with inclusive mobility, from the design of routes to the supply of vehicles: pedal-assist bicycles, tandems, cargo bikes or family bikes. 'In Italy, the trend that has been established abroad for some time is consolidating: parents are starting to travel on two wheels with their children and want to do so on holiday too. However, it is necessary to coordinate the offer with respect to three targets: couples with children up to five years old; families with teenagers; and with reference to the growth of multigenerational travel, in which mums and dads also travel in the company of grandparents,' explains CEO and co-founder, Mattia Bonanome.

The study presents the ranking of the most popular destinations nationwide: the Veronese region wins easily with Gardaland, the first amusement park in Italy. "This year families have one more reason to consider the routes we offer, because the cycle path connecting Peschiera to Castelnuovo has been completed and leads straight to the park resort," says David Berti, president of the network.