Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 27/07/2023

Opportunity to grow cycling tourism

The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships is upon us. It will help raise the profile of Scotland as a cycling destination, highlighting our excellent (and growing portfolio of) facilities as well as the wide range of trails, tracks and routes that can be explored right across the country.

The event represents an exciting opportunity to grow cycling tourism in Scotland, encouraging more people to consider cycling as an activity, in turn boosting the nation’s health and wellbeing.

Hosting the Cycling World Championships allows us to shine a spotlight on all the work Scotland is doing to improve existing and develop new facilities, accessibility, and promotion of cycling tourism.

We want to position Scotland as a leading destination for cycling tourism and we’ve been doing that through our “Scotland. Made for Cycling.” marketing activity, which began in 2020.

 

Cycling marketing activity | July and August highlights

  • Consumer PR

    • we’ve produced a cycling routes across Scotland bundle on our media toolkit, which we’ll send to targeted media to inspire them to promote cycling in Scotland
    • focus is on “have a go” messaging as part of a broader holiday
    • we’re targeting travel and lifestyle audiences with inspiring routes to match abilities and interests
    • TOUR magazine (Germany) is visiting the event and planning some post-Championship rides
    • “Come on Barbie, let’s go cycling” photo release!

  • Social media

    • Instagram reels have been produced with Velocity Cafe and Bicycle Workshop Inverness, Glen Affric Bike, mountain biking at Nevis Range
    • we’ve created 360 degree cycling videos for Instagram / Facebook reels and TikTok’s – take a look at the one we did at the Kelpies.
    • images have been shared across our social media channels of Kinnoull Hill, Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Kelpies, Stirling, Loch Lomond – and we’ll continue to do this throughout the event and beyond!
    • Instagram and Facebook story planned to showcase ‘A day at the Cycling World Championships, Glasgow’ featuring various content from arriving in Glasgow, the buzz around the events, local food and drink businesses and footage from the events


    Adding cycling-focused content to your social media channels is a great way to attract cyclist visitors. If you want to get involved share our content and make sure you tag @CyclingWorlds and @uci_cyclingworlds and use #PowerOfTheBike.

  • iCentres

    • 16 iCentres are displaying Cycling World Championship video as well as the “Power of the Mike” video
    • iCentres closest to routes / venues are displaying Cycling World Championship flags, window signs, bunting and posters
    • all iCentres have useful information and FAQs to ensure our staff are fully briefed and ready to answer visitor enquiries

  • Content

    • our visitscotland.com homepage will be changing from 31 July to showcase cycling in Scotland
    • we’re updating content within the mountain biking, exploring Scotland and cycling Scotland sections
    • we’re working on some guest blogs from people who know cycling best
    • supporting the Cycling World Championship team on spectator guides
    • the event has been included into relevant top-performing pages, for example, Edinburgh Things To Do, Pitlochry Things To Do, Most Visited Attractions, Highland Games


    Take a look at some of this content and share it with your own visitors.

  • Email marketing

    • our emails reach just under one million consumers across the world and we’ve been promoting the event itself as well as cycling as part of a trip across all markets
    • cycling features in two wellness themed emails to UK outdoor / cycling-interested segments
    • cycling included within wider trip messaging for autumn and into 2024

Cycling World Championships | the legacy

The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships gives Scotland the opportunity to promote itself as one of the world’s leading cycling tourism destinations in the run up to, during and beyond this event. ​​

We must ensure that once the event is over, we build on the increased awareness of cycling tourism in Scotland. With significant investment being made to create new initiatives and facilities, promoting cycling tourism in Scotland will benefit communities right across the country.

Three cyclists look out over the Scottish Borders countryside

 


Our marketing activity will continue to:

  • target visitors who choose to experience cycling as part of a holiday promoting routes that are accessible to all
  • encourage visitors to give cycling a go and consider adding it to their Scotland experience
  • showcase the more challenging routes for cycling enthusiasts who come to do some serious cycling
  • promote routes and regional experiences to ensure geographical spread, collaborating with destinations to support communities
  • endorse cycling and its health benefits as well as benefits for our planet, encouraging our visitors to enjoy our landscapes on two wheels responsibly

 

 

Related links

06/07/2023

A focus on marketing

Our first quarterly marketing update created specifically for Scottish industry to keep you up to date with our markets and activities.