The Mountain Bike Monitor – The basis for successful
mountain bike tourism

Sound knowledge of the target group is the be-all and end-all in offer and product development. The module "Target Groups and Recreational Behaviour" includes the most important information on the demographic characteristics of mountain bikers. In addition, findings on central attributes and the perception of biking, on the frequency of biking during free time, on riding skills, on the ownership of different types of bikes or the practice of other sports are bundled here.

In addition to existing mountain bikers, there is a large target group of people who are fascinated by the activity and the scene, but who are not (yet) active participants. Instead, they usually begin by informing themselves about the activity, for example through forums or special interest magazines. From a destination's point of view, they represent a particularly interesting group, especially since being the location of initial engagement with mountain biking can facilitate a high level of loyalty and attachment to a region.

For the first time, the Mountain Bike Monitor 2022 provides information on this target group and explores, for example, what has kept them from active biking so far. The results are valuable starting points for destinations.

The expectations and demands of mountain bike segments for holiday and free time riding vary greatly. In addition, these segments are also very different in terms of their demographic characteristics. A detailed look at each of the segments helps to understand the target groups and develop a plan to fully adapt to them. In this module, the four mountain bike segments are examined in detail:

• How can they be characterised?
• What distinguishes them from the other segments?
• What infrastructure is suitable for their needs?
• What makes a destination attractive for them?

All of the data of the Mountain Bike Monitor 2022 can be broken down into the individual segments. This means that complete profiles are available for each segment.

Whether as a trail or a facility – there are numerous types of infrastructure for mountain bikers. Not everything is attractive for everyone and the specific requirements for good infrastructure are sometimes very complex.

With the module on infrastructure, we are focusing precisely on these requirements in the Mountain Bike Monitor 2022:

• Which infrastructure is suitable for whom?
• What makes a good track, trail or bike park etc.?
• From the mountain bikers' point of view, where are the best examples of different types of infrastructure?
• What distinguishes them?

Building on the findings of the previous editions of the Mountain Bike Monitor, we have significantly expanded our core module travel behaviour in 2022. It includes all important information on mountain bike guests along the travel chain:

• How often do they take different types of bike trips?
• Which media and apps do they use to plan trips and tours?
• What motives do mountain bikers have for bike trips?
• What do the optimal tours look like on site?
• What proportion of biking trips do they take and what kind of bike do they use?
• What offers and criteria are important besides biking?

Of course, we also have data on tour guides, accommodation, catering, etc.

To get an accurate impression, we have collected data on the most recent bike trips:

• When and where was the last biking holiday?
• What was the basis for the decision?
• What influences did the Corona pandemic have?

Based on the previous surveys on supported and unsupported awareness of destinations, we have newly developed the brand funnel module for the Mountain Bike Monitor 2022. It allows comparison with important studies such as Destination Brand and provides information about ...

• the awareness of a destination: what proportion of mountain bikers associate the destination with biking?
• Interest in a destination: What proportion of mountain bikers would like to go biking in the destination?
• Experience with a destination: What proportion of mountain bikers have already been biking in the destination at least once?

Data is available on various regions for the European countries included in the survey, including 38 in Germany, 21 in Austria, 11 in Switzerland and 17 in South Tyrol.

All data can be filtered according to segments, countries of origin or other criteria and placed in a direct benchmark with other destinations.