The Impact Measurement System: A new tool supporting sustainable cycling tourism
The Impact Measurement System (IMS) has been created within the ICTr-CE project, co-funded by the Interreg Central Europe programme of the European Union and focused on EuroVelo 13 – Iron Curtain Trail. It is being used by the professional staff of the official EuroVelo 13 – Iron Curtain Trail booking centres. The IMS offers a practical and user-friendly way to understand how cycling tourism influences the environment, local economies and cultural heritage. It has been designed specifically for long-distance cycling routes and reflects the real experience of travellers and the services that support them.
The purpose of the Impact Measurement System
As cycling tourism continues to expand, it becomes increasingly important to know not only how many cyclists travel along a route, but also how their journeys shape the places they pass through. The IMS was created with this in mind, and it offers booking centres, tour operators and destinations a clearer picture of how their tour products perform in terms of sustainability.
Rather than looking at tourism in a general way, the system focuses on the tours themselves: how they are organised, what services are included and what cyclists encounter during their trip. Such detailed approach helps identify good practices as well as areas that could benefit from improvement.
How it works
The IMS considers the different elements that make up the cycling tourism experience: the work of booking centres and tour operators, the sustainability of accommodation providers, the types of food and services offered along the way, and the organisation of transport and activities. It also pays close attention to the role of tour guides, recognising that their knowledge, training and attitude can shape the visitor experience in meaningful ways.
To build a reliable picture of a guided tour, the system relies on a tour script outlining the itinerary day by day and including details about logistics, cultural stops, safety considerations and sustainability measures. If cycling tourists choose a self-guided tour, the IMS uses a short questionnaire that captures their impressions at the end of the tour. Users comments help reveal how well sustainability practices were implemented in practice. Together, these two sources of information – planned and experienced – make the IMS both transparent and credible.
Understanding the results
The IMS is designed to measure and compare the impacts of cycling tourism using a set of clearly defined indicators. It does not replace existing certification schemes, but instead, it provides a structured way to assess how a tour performs in relation to environmental, social and economic sustainability criteria.
The resulting score reflects the degree of alignment between a tour and these criteria. Higher scores indicate stronger performance across the measured indicators, while lower scores highlight areas for improvement. The scoring system supports transparency and learning, helping booking centres and tour operators better understand the impacts of their services and identify opportunities for improving the services they offer to the cycling tourists.
Supporting responsible tourism development
A key ambition of the IMS is to support the regions and communities that host cyclists. The system places importance on local ownership, environmentally responsible accommodations, regional food, fair working conditions and cultural sensitivity. It highlights the value of small businesses, heritage sites and local residents who help shape the character of EuroVelo 13 – Iron Curtain Trail.
By understanding how these elements contribute to the overall experience, booking centres and tour operators can continue to strengthen their offer and communicate their efforts more clearly to visitors.
The IMS will also contribute to the Good Impact Programme, an initiative that will allow travellers to support environmental or cultural projects along the trail. This programme will make it easier for visitors to give something back to the regions they explore, helping to preserve the natural and cultural richness that makes EuroVelo routes so unique.
A tool for the entire EuroVelo network
Although developed within the ICTr-CE project, the system has the potential to be applied to other long-distance routes in the future. As interest in sustainable travel continues to rise, tools like the IMS can help ensure that cycling tourism grows in a way that benefits both cyclists and the communities they visit.
