Romania wants to lure more tourists with cycling routes

Romanian could soon have cycling routes, similarly to Western European countries such as Germany and Austria. Officials in Romania's Ministry of Economy, which also coordinates the National Authority for Tourism, believe that cycling routes would attract more tourists to the country. There are many sources of funding for creating bicycle routes, including non-reimbursable funds, according to the Ministry, reports local News.ro. However, funds can’t be accessed because there isn't yet legislative support for standards, methodology, design, implementation and approval for this type of tourist routes. The ministry is working on legislation which would also set fines of up to RON 20,000 (some EUR 4,500) if, for example, County Councils fail to organize county commissions for cycling routes. These commissions would be in charge of giving the OK for the development of new routes, and for changing or closing the existing ones. One of this project’s advantages is that cycling tourism requires a relatively low investment that can be recovered quickly. According to the authors of the draft decision, there is a high interest and demand for marked and certified cycling routes from both cycling associations and travel agencies in Romania and abroad, and from local authorities. Cycling routes would be established on bike lanes, public roads on which car traffic is banned, private roads open to cyclists, or areas where the speed limit is 30 km per hour. The project is currently under debate. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com