MEDiteranean CYcle route for sustainable coastal TOURism
Sparkling emerald seas, kilometres of golden sand, wonderful food and ancient cities…it’s not hard to find reasons to go cycling along the Mediterranean! Unfortunately, in the 8 countries covered by this project, the potential of cycling tourism has not yet been realised even though it prolongs the tourism season, reduces the environmental impact of travelling and can bring tourists to less visited areas.
EuroVelo 8 – Mediterranean Route is a long-distance cycle route that connects the whole Mediterranean from Cyprus to Cádiz. The overall objective of the project is to use this route as a tool to influence regional and national policies in favour of sustainable and responsible tourism, providing transnational solutions in coastal areas across the Mediterranean.  
The main outputs will be action plans and policy recommendations (to generate investments in the route conditions); pilot actions (to test the proposed developments); and updated information and promotion related to EuroVelo 8 (to attract visitors). In this way, the project will benefit national, regional and local authorities, service providers and, ultimately, cycle tourists. 
Taking a transnational approach will enable common challenges (e.g. lack of route infrastructure, missing cycling friendly services, weak branding and promotion) to be tackled together and best practices to be shared, thereby avoiding duplication and increasing the effectiveness and positive social, economic and environmental impacts.