29k Cyclists Participate in Vëlosummer, 2023 Edition Confirmed

On Thursday 6 October 2022, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mobility and Public Works, François Bausch, and Minister of Tourism, Lex Delles, presented the results of "Vëlosummer 2022".

Minister Bausch underlined: "In the National Mobility Plan 2035, the bicycle is the mode of transport which must see the greatest progress in the years to come", and added: "The idea behind this interdepartmental collaboration is to allow the public to discover our country by bicycle and thus promote the practice of cycling.”

Given the success of the 2020 and 2021 editions, a third edition of "Vëlosummer" was organised from 30 July to 28 August 2022. 56 municipalities participated in eleven cyclo-tourist circuits across the country, accumulating more than 450 km of cycle paths. Compared to 2021, this edition offered five new circuits. 110 km of roads have been reserved for cyclists, 90% of which were only for one or two weekends.

Minister Bausch was very satisfied with the number of cyclists counted on the various cycle tourism circuits of the 2022 edition. With 29,000 participants, this figure is a clear increase compared to the 20,000 cyclists counted in 2021 edition.

Minister Delles said: “promoting active tourism is one of our priorities and it plays a key role in our new tourism strategy. In this context, the 'Vëlosummer' is one of our flagship projects and encourages residents, cross-border workers and foreign tourists to discover Luxembourg and its tourist assets by bicycles. The 2022 edition of 'Vëlosummer' and its tourist promotion have succeeded in raising the awareness of many people for the rich and varied landscapes of the Grand Duchy as well as for the attractiveness and accessibility of our five diversified regions".

The “Vëlosummer 2022” tourism promotion strategy was based on several pillars in order to reach as many residents, cross-border workers and tourists as possible. With this in mind, 23,000 maps illustrating the eleven cycling routes and highlighting Horeca establishments, tourist points of interest and bicycle rentals, were distributed. The www.velosummer.lu site, which brought together all the useful information, counted around 123,300 clicks. Added to this is a stronger presence on social networks. The publications of the Ministry of Tourism, the national promotion agency Luxembourg for Tourism and the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works thus reached 456,000 people. In addition, 392 photos were submitted in the “#Vëlosummer” photo contest.

"We can now say that the 'Vëlosummer' has become an essential event in the summer tourist offer in Luxembourg", added Minister Bausch. The two ministers therefore announced that the fourth edition of “Vëlosummer” will take place from Saturday 29 July to Sunday 27 August 2023. In order to allow detailed and rigorous planning, a call for applications has already been launched for the 2023 edition. Until 16 December 2022 at the latest, groups of neighbouring municipalities, natural parks and regional tourist offices will have the possibility of sending to the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works proposals for cycle routes highlighting the tourist assets of their region. These cycle routes must be intermunicipal, meet road safety standards and be passable for all ages and all types of bicycles. If, however, a route that is particularly attractive from a cycle tourism point of view but cannot be achieved otherwise, the National Roads Administration will analyse whether a section of State road outside the locality can be reserved, on a temporary basis, for cyclists and residents of the said section in the framework of the “Vëlosummer 2023”.