Healthy holidays – Reunion Island style

The exhibition “Velo City” in the French city of Nantes is one event Reunion Island Tourism (IRT) is sure to attend.

The exhibition “Velo City” in the French city of Nantes is one event Reunion Island Tourism (IRT) is sure to attend.

The main aim of the trade show is to promote cycling in cities across France, across the rural areas of the French mainland, and also to cycle across the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, where hundreds of kilometers of trails wait for the outdoor adventurers on their mountain bikes.

The current Bike Magazine ranks Reunion Island as number one of the top five cycling destinations surveyed, and for those who ever were on the island, it is obvious why. Were it not so far, surely the annual Tour de France would have a day or two dedicated on the island, but other cycling events regularly take place on Reunion.

The crowds which jammed the corridors of the exhibition were able to learn about cycling on Reunion Island by watching some thrilling DVD videos from the destination. Among them were policymakers from France and other countries keen to learn about the French approach to making cycling a safe method to commute, and also to transport and environmental consultants, urban planners, health professionals, scientists, and, of course, manufacturers of bikes.

While commuting by bike is still low, in percentage terms, on Reunion Island, biking is done for leisure, and adventure cycling ranked very highly. Veloroutes et Voies Vertes, in short VVV, is presently developing a cycling lane in the north area of the island – the first such regional cycling route under development.

With over 24 million French citizens, and tens of millions more around the world, along with keen cyclists, this is a niche market Reunion Island Tourism is going to work hard on to get more visitors to the island.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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