Project Overview
Let’s Talk Cycling!
Tourism Cowichan has initiated a planning process to develop a cycling tourism strategy for the Cowichan Valley region.
Tourism Cowichan recognizes that cycling tourism continues to grow as an economic driver for the Cowichan region and supports healthy well-being for communities. As such, this project was identified and approved as part of the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) Tactical Plan to investigate tourism growth opportunities surrounding signature cycling routes, networks, and experiences.
Focused on improving collaboration and alignments essential for growth of this sector, a regional strategy will help maximize benefits for communities and residents, and position the Cowichan Valley for balanced cycling tourism growth.
The strategy will build from the region’s level of support for pursuing cycle tourism to propose which cycling disciplines hold the greatest tourism potential, and will outline strategies to further activate and leverage these opportunities to grow the visitor economy.
The Cowichan Valley Cycling Tourism Strategy will propose:
- Which cycling disciplines and assets hold significant potential for regional tourism growth
- Which cycling tourism experiences can attract visitors from short and long-haul domestic markets that would invite new private sector investment into the Cowichan region
- Strategies and actions that should be implemented to further activate and leverage these business opportunities to grow and diversify the visitor economy
Your input will help us understand:
- How the region’s cycling disciplines, assets and visitor experiences are positioned
- Where development opportunities and management challenges may exist
- What recommendations should be included in the strategy
Cycling Tourism Public Survey
Are you interested in cycling tourism across the Cowichan Valley? If so, we want to hear from you.
Cycling activity types have evolved and grown over the past decade, now involving multiple disciplines that provide a diversity of experiences on a wide variety of surface types. Mountain biking, gravel cycling, road cycling, bikepacking, cycle touring, leisure cycling and multi-modal travel involving cycling are all growing in popularity at a variety of scales. The broad system of cycling disciplines and cycling assets (trails, routes, roads and networks) being utilized have provided some of the most desired recreation experiences in BC and are often foundational to the quality of life of communities and its residents.
High quality, sustainable cycling experiences hold significant potential to grow and diversify our local and regional tourism economies. Well-planned and managed cycling tourism experiences can attract visitors from short and long-haul domestic markets and create appealing conditions to attract new private sector investment into a region. Furthermore, quality cycling experiences can foster active transportation and low carbon travel opportunities.
The input you share through this survey will help us understand how the region’s current supply of cycling assets and experiences are positioned, the degree of support towards cycling tourism, where opportunities and challenges may exist, and what recommendations should be included in the strategy.
We thank you in advance for helping to shape the future of cycling tourism in the Cowichan Valley region!
How Long Will the Survey Take to Complete?
20-25 minutes depending how detailed your responses are.
Do I Have to Answer All of the Questions?
You are encouraged to answer each question. For data analysis purposes, only some of the questions are mandatory.
When Does the Survey Close?
The survey will be open from February 24 – April 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM Pacific Time.
Who Do I Contact if I Have Further Questions?
For further information, please contact Kenzie Knight, Tourism Development Specialist at kenzie@tourismcowichan.com
