Understanding the sport of mountain biking requires a lot of experience and a fair amount of specialist knowledge. The sport is too segmented and too agile to be understood after a quick bleach. Even the experts do not always agree on many relevant aspects. This is why the Ride Congress was launched six years ago. It has since become the central platform for the exchange of specialist knowledge on all aspects of mountain biking. The event is considered a must for all those who (want to) take mountain biking seriously. So much for the theory.

Little interest from tourism directors, mountain railroads and hoteliers

In practice, however, it's a different story, and the Ride Congress brings this to light: we mountain bikers are and remain a marginal phenomenon. The list of congress participants always consists of the same segments and the same people. Trail builders, product managers from tourism and bike guides exchange ideas on site, supplemented by a few representatives from the authorities. What is interesting, however, is who is conspicuous by their absence at the congress. For example, the tourism directors. Although the destinations are now actively courting mountain bikers, they are still not a matter for the bosses, but have remained stuck on the marketing floor.

The Ride Congress was also a yawning emptiness for the mountain railroads. Mountain bikers are not important enough for a single rail company to send a representative to the most important specialist conference once a year. Even for the local mountain railroads at the congress venue, the effort involved is too great to change sides of the road. The list of participants at the Ride Congress shows: Mountain bikers continue to play a secondary role for the Swiss mountain railroads. Without exception.

You will also look in vain for hoteliers at the Ride Congress. Alongside the mountain railroads, they are one of the few who can make money directly from mountain bikers. There is a unanimous opinion that the homo mountain biker is one of the few sustainable prospects for warm beds in the summer months. And yet, when it comes to seriously engaging with the target group, there is always something more important in the calendar for them, even in the off-season on the exact date of the congress.

Mountain bikers are nice but uninteresting

The Ride Congress itself should not be overrated. There are many reasons not to attend. Nevertheless, the list of participants over the years is an indicator of how mountain bike tourism is doing in reality: We are and remain a tourist wallflower. A pretty little flower that everyone thinks is nice, but that nobody really wants to take care of. Because all the attention is not focused on the flower, but still on the big oak tree next door. However, this is in danger of toppling over soon due to climate change. That's why a retraining from tree care to floriculture is urgently needed.
 

More blog posts by Thomas Giger

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