With our gravel expert Vanesa Gorgal and the know-how of our Allegra Nordics Our teams develop gravel riding offerings throughout Europe. From Graubünden to Iceland and Finland, we've already written several success stories. The experience gained in the Nordic countries, where gravel riding has been firmly rooted in the tourism industry for years, flows directly into our projects and concepts.
Vorab: Every destination presents different challenges. Some regions already have an established biking infrastructure, while others are still in the early stages of development. Our task is to leverage existing strengths, a clear strategy, and strong partnerships to create an authentic and competitive gravel biking offering.
The following three development steps, complete with a practical example, illustrate what this path to a compelling overall experience looks like in practice. Let's go:
1. Potential analysis:
Where are the opportunities for gravel riding?
Not every destination needs to become a dedicated gravel destination. Often, the greatest opportunity lies in meaningfully integrating gravel riding into the existing tourism offerings.
In our potential analysis, we therefore consider not only existing MTB trails or cycle paths, but the entire cycling ecosystem of a region. We analyze infrastructure, landscape, target groups, market potential, existing services, and tourism development opportunities.
Gravel riding often opens up new perspectives, especially in remote regions. While traditional mountain biking infrastructure sometimes requires significant investment, existing paths and roads can be used for attractive gravel riding experiences. This creates new tourism opportunities with comparatively little infrastructure effort.
Together with tourism organizations, service providers and public partners, we answer the central question:
Does gravel road fit your destination? If so, what potential can be developed from it?
Potential analysis for Graubünden
Inspiration close to home is worthwhile. With its rich cultural heritage, stunning landscapes, and history shaped by significant agricultural use, Graubünden offers ideal conditions for unforgettable gravel riding experiences. It's no wonder that we, as part of Graubünden Bike, have taken a closer look at the potential of gravel tourism.
2. Concept development:
Potential becomes strategy
One or two well-signposted routes are usually not enough these days to generate significant tourist traffic. Likewise, there may already be many routes, but without a convincing overall concept, it simply doesn't work. Visitors don't just come for any old gravel route: they're looking for unique experiences, a sense of adventure, and freedom.
Therefore, based on the analysis, we are developing a concept with a clear methodology:
Together with the destination, we define:
- What are the goals of the gravel road offering?
- Which target groups should be addressed?
- What role does gravel play in the tourist positioning?
- What experiences and products are necessary to generate demand?
Some regions are specifically positioning themselves as gravel destinations. In others, gravel riding is becoming an important part of a diverse range of outdoor activities. Both approaches can be successful; the key is choosing the right strategy.
Concept development in Iceland
Few countries offer as much untapped gravel potential as Iceland.
Iceland is currently experiencing a boom in popularity. However, these tourist flows are not evenly distributed, but rather concentrated in certain seasons and hotspots. One of the challenges lies in better managing these flows and distributing the added value accordingly.
With precisely this goal in mind, we conducted a cycling and mountain biking analysis in the Northwest Island region. This analysis, which is crucial for gaining a comprehensive understanding of the situation, yielded initial insights that can then be incorporated into a concrete business model and an action plan.
3. Product development:
Creating experiences that delight guests
An important step occurs during product development. Once the routes are defined as the basis of the overall learning process, we develop the services and identity.
Together we can achieve:
- attractive gravel experiences
- suitable services along the customer journey
- A marketable brand concept
- A clear marketing strategy
Product development in Ruka-Kuusamo
How about discovering the land of the happiest inhabitants by gravel? In Ruka-Kuusamo, Finland, we developed a marketing strategy based on a gravel route concept, including branding, personas, channels, a roadmap, and integrated key stakeholders into the development process. By the way: The vastness of Finland may seem remote at first glance. In fact, Ruka-Kuusamo is just a few hours' flight from Zurich.
Ask VANESA
Hardly anyone at ALLEGRA is as deeply involved with this topic as our tourism and mobility expert, Vanesa Gorgal. Together with our teams in Switzerland and the Nordic countries, she supports destinations in developing genuine tourist experiences from the potential of gravel roads. Her work demonstrates how gravel roads can become successful destinations.
