Contributions of Bicycle Tourism to Sustainable Development: A Review from the Perspectives of Environmental Management and Economic Strengthening

Abstract

Cycling tourism is regarded as a more sustainable approach than conventional approaches to tourism; however, there is still little scientific evidence about the contribution of this activity in terms of the environment and economy. The core problem of the research is in the absence of a comprehensive review that will help us understand the role of this practice in achieving sustainable development goals and reinforcing the regions. The aim of the present study was to conduct a review of the latest literature concerning the contributions of bicycle tourism to sustainable development, particularly focusing on environmental management and economic development. For this purpose, a systematic review according to the PRISMA protocol was conducted; it involved searching academic databases with high impact factor and filtering the information according to the pre-set inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results obtained indicate that bicycle tourism is associated with clean mobility, decrease in the carbon footprint, landscape preservation and economic revitalization due to job creation and entrepreneurship. Thus, bicycle tourism is a tool for sustainable mobility and territorial governance.