Cycling in Slovenia is booming, particularly thanks to the successes of top Slovenian cyclists, who have brought the country worldwide recognition in recent years. Standing out among them is Tadej Pogačar, who has mentioned several times that the climb to Krvavec is one of his favourites. In 2020 he set a record on the Grad – Jezerca segment that nobody has beaten to this day.
Across Slovenia, too, there is a noticeable trend of tourists demanding outdoor activities, including cycling, which has the potential to become one of Slovenia's key tourism products, as it combines sustainable development with responsible active holidays in a natural setting.
That is why this year we at the Cerklje Tourism Board are working to obtain the title of “outdoor destination”, as Cerklje offers excellent conditions for a wide variety of sports and recreational activities in nature. In winter Krvavec attracts visitors to its ski resort with a well-developed lift system, and in summer with a wide range of outdoor activities such as bike trails, paragliding, disc golf, an adventure park, an adrenaline park and much more.
DIGITALISATION OF ROUTES AND ENTRY OF THE DIGITISED DATA INTO THE OUTDOORACTIVE ONLINE PLATFORM AND THE SLOVENIA OUTDOOR APP
The measurements were taken in order to prepare suitable data for including the routes on the Outdooractive digital platform. The platform, which originated in Germany and has 14 million users, also provides the content and mapping basis for the website of Aktivna Slovenija GIZ/Slovenia Outdoor www.slovenia-outdoor.com and the Slovenia Outdoor app, as well as for the Cerklje Tourism Board website.
In recent years this platform has also become the main window on the world for digital presentations of Slovenia's outdoor offer and, together with the Slovenian Tourist Board website www.slovenia.info and local websites, it forms a powerful promotional and marketing “push” for hiking and other outdoor offers aimed at potential foreign and domestic users.
The route was measured by GPS with two different devices, junctions were located and recorded, a proposal was drawn up for installing additional waymarks, and working photographs were taken of the natural and cultural surroundings of the route.
To obtain the title of “outdoor destination”, we at the Cerklje Tourism Board have therefore digitised eight cycling routes. We have equipped each with its own GPX track, which users can download to their navigation devices. We have categorised the routes and described them in detail in Slovenian, German and English. This has put us on the Slovenian cycling map, and we are now bidding for the title of specialised cycling destination. The routes cover several sub-genres of cycling: “road biking” (routes for road bikes), “tour & trekking biking” and “trails & bike parks”. We have also enhanced the shop at TIC Cerklje (Tourist Information Centre) with essential cycling equipment.
Cerklje has five flat cycling routes and three more demanding climbs, as well as trails in the Krvavec bike park.
You can find all the route descriptions in German, English and Slovenian, as well as access to the routes via QR codes, on the Tourism Board's website, visitcerklje.si.
