Outdoor enthusiasts, cyclist, cultural and natural admirers, gastronomy lovers, tourist providers, local public authorities…
Public funding:
18 Municipalities - Dravograd, Muta, Vuzenica, Radlje ob Dravi, Podvelka, Lovrenc na Pohorju, Selnica ob Dravi, Ruše, Mestna občina Maribor, Duplek, Miklavž na Dravskem polju, Starše, Hajdina, Mestna občina Ptuj, Markovci, Gorišnica, Ormož, Središče ob Dravi.
Leading Partner and coordinator of all activities: Regional development Agency for Podravje - Maribor.
The purpose of the partnership is primarily a better integration of 18 municipalities along the river Drava in project execution, better cooperation with other stakeholders (e.g. service providers), and a stronger and more unified interaction with national authorities associated with the project. The partnership was established in June 2016. The tourist product Drava Bike is the result.
More info about Partnership for Drava Bike Route: https://dravabike.si/en/partnership-for-the-drava-cycling-route
Drava Cycling Route is considered as one of the most beautiful cycling routes in Europe due to its natural splendors and cultural diversity. The route stretches from the source of the Drava River in Toblach, Italy, crosses Austria to Slovenia and runs further on to Croatia. A section of 145 km Drava Bike runs through Slovenia (Drava valley among Pohorje and Kozjak Mountain and Drava plain) and with Croatian part offers a 210 km of adventures at every turn.
This 210 km are divided into six stages, which are between 30 and 50 km long. When taken in six stages or days, it is suitable for families and cyclists who enjoy their cycling adventures and like to visit the most beautiful corners, feel the pulse of the towns they visit and where they spend the night, and at the same time pamper their palates and indulge in the experiences they offer. Among other things, cyclists that take the route this way will encounter rafting, rowing, swimming, gold panning, natural attractions and cultural offerings of towns and places along the way.
We are planning to prepare a bookable route, first we start with the possibility to book different accommodation along the route and later adding also transfers and experiences. We are also working on establishing new products along the route like Drava Festival, Drava Nature, Drava Splash, Drava Kayak,…
With the help of our marketing activities and infrastructure novelties on the Drava Bike route we are each year having increased number of cyclists. This year we did build quite some new sections, put new info boards along the route and new resting places Drava Bike, prepared according to our guidelines. We are also working hand in hand with Slovenian Railway and several partners to combine cycling with the use of public transport and we are preparing a model for transfers on the route. We did notice increased number of visitors at our webpage Drava Bike and increased number of cyclists on the route itself.
We are succeeding in creating a good tourism product with the support of marketing and suppliers in the tourism sector.
Following the example of the Austrian association of Drauradwegwirte - providers along the Drava Cycling Route, we also have established an incubator for service providers along the cycling route in Slovenia and Croatia. Tourist providers can join and learn about the cyclists’ needs. That way they can improve their offer and services simultaneously with improvement of the infrastructure of the cycling route. There are 90 providers in the Drava Bike incubator (of which 13 are Croatian). We are building the strong community of tourist providers.
