'The challenge of the next few years is, above all, to close the gap and to optimize the existing bicycle path network. When regions plan new bike routes that meet the necessary criteria and to develop them into exciting products, naturally there can also be further support for new bike paths for tourists. After developing an extensive base network with various levels of construction quality, the main objective should then be optimization of the existing main bicycle routes.
Another critical requirement, as a complement to the infrastructural measures, is to develop (or further develop) the bike paths into tourist products and exciting theme paths, together with the contributing partners (tourism organizations, businesses, other service providers…).
In the summer of 2004, a “Bicycle Path Coordination Group” was set up by the State of Lower Austria with representatives from tourism (Lower Austrian advertising, ecoplus, Department of Tourism), the Department of Roads and regional planning to exchange information between departments, for development discussions and to coordinate thematic areas of action (construction, planning, development of tourism offers and advertising, measurement of frequency of use, marketing research...)'.