The Council of Majorca will be presenting sixteen cycling-tourism routes at this week's ITB travel fair in Berlin. An aim of this will be to demonstrate that Majorca is one of the best bike-friendly destinations.
The routes are those which start from some of the main tourism zones on the island: the Calvia coast; Playa de Palma; the bays of Cala Millor and Cala Ratjada; and the bays of Alcudia and Pollensa.
Vice-President Francesc Miralles says that the ITB fair is of great importance to Majorca in promoting the island to the German market. He adds that the cycling-tourism project brings together sporting, scenic and economic promotion. "It is an example of the good work being done to develop Majorca's economic activity."
From each of the four main centres there are four specific routes, classified according to their difficulty and varying levels of climb. The easiest routes are those which embrace villages, that are no more than one hundred kilometres in length, are mainly flat and are denoted on the island's cycling map in green.
Less easy are the lighthouse routes. These blue circuits are around one hundred kilometres but have more by way of climbs. The red routes are of similar length but have tougher climbs and descents. The most difficult are the black routes in the Tramuntana mountains. These are longer and are very much more up and down.
The Council of Majorca is also going to be launching a mobile app for users to consult the routes and identify them with GPS. The department of land and infrastructure is, in addition, working on a plan of forty improvements to increase safety for cyclists. Councillor Mercedes Garrido says that priorities are to provide the best road safety for visitors and the highest quality in order to consolidate Majorca's reputation for cycling tourism.