Abstract
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has altered conventional systems including mobility. Between the mobility limitation imposed by the pandemic and the increasing demand for tourism and travel, the interest in bike recreation is peaking as the importance of health and well-being is being realized. In this light, landscape development for bike use is called for. Timely knowledge to cater to this demand comes from academic studies which are continuously produced for a better understanding of landscapes for cycling. Ideally, through research, current developments are properly investigated, reviewed, and enhanced. Unfortunately, in the case of the Philippines, only the latter statement holds. While there has been an interest in bike recreation, local research generated toward bike mobility is still limited. This slows down progress toward suitable cycling infrastructure development as managers lack guidance with the knowledge of literature to support their mobility strategies. Additionally, as the country relies on tourism as a major source of growth, the potential of active mobility to improve the local tourism industry and the lives of the people are stunted. This research investigated the emerging cycling landscape in the Philippines. Since the Philippine research on bike recreation is limited, academic studies globally were critiqued toward their practicality in the local context. Research data were then cross-referenced with practical experiences from seven Filipino cyclists through a focus group discussion. The discussion revolved around six emergent themes from Scopus-indexed journals (N = 148) during the past decade on bike recreation. Six themes (primary bikeway character; immediate bikeway environment; landscape impacts; policy and regulations; cyclist preparation; cycling activity) provided points for conversation. The participants were asked to also provide images of what they define to be a bike landscape for verification with content analysis. A better context of the emerging cycling landscape was formulated which could hopefully guide future development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Doubleday, A., Choe, Y., Isaksen, T.B., Miles, S. B., Errett, N.A.: How did outdoor biking and walking change during COVID-19?: a case study of three U.S. cities. PLOS ONE, 16(1), e0245514 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245514
Lagerstedt, E., Svensson, H.: Do tourists dream of electric bikes? Electric Bikes as a mean to improve sustainability of tourism in Rural Sweden. In: 25th International Academic Mindtrek Conference (2022). https://doi.org/10.1145/3569219.3569350
Rolando, A., Scandiffio, A.: Multimodal Access to minor places in heritage-rich landscapes: GIS Mapping to define slow-tourism routes from the stations in the railway networks in-between Turin and Milan. Sustainability 14(23), 15723 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315723
Khajehshahkoohi, M., Davoodi, S.R., Shaaban, K.: Factors affecting the behavioral intention of tourists on the use of bike sharing in tourism areas. Res. Transp. Bus. Manag. 43, 100742 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2021.100742
Bhatta, K., Gautam, P., Tanaka, T.: Travel motivation during COVID-19: a case from Nepal. Sustainability 14(12), 7165 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127165
Smith, I., Velasquez, E., Norman, P., Pickering, C.M.: Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the popularity of protected areas for mountain biking and hiking in Australia: insights from volunteered geographic information. J. Outdoor Recreat. Tour. 100588 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2022.100588
Xu, F., Mayuga, K.: From crisis to opportunity: how the Philippines built 500km of bike lanes in less than a year. World Bank Blogs. https://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/crisis-opportunity-how-philippines-built-500km-bike-lanes-less-year. Last accessed 10 Mar 2023
Filipinos are cycling their way through the pandemic. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2021/climate-manila-biking/. Last accessed 10 Mar 2023
At least 200K commute on bikes each day, according to tally in key cities. Philstar. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/10/31/2220571/least-200k-commute-bikes-each-day-according-tally-key-cities. Last accessed 10 Mar 2023
PHL secures back-to-back nominations at the 2023 World Travel Awards—Be part of the fun! https://beta.tourism.gov.ph/news_and_updates/phl-secures-back-to-back-nominations-at-the-2023-world-travel-awards/. Last accessed 10 Mar 2023
Cuyco, J.: PH needs more bike lanes, but gov’t slow in building them. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/business/philippines-needs-more-bike-lanes-government-slow-building-them/. Last accessed 10 Mar 2023
Marzan, J.: Iloilo City named country’s top bike-friendly city in 2021 Mobility Awards. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/nation/iloilo-city-bike-friendly-philippines-mobility-awards-2021/. Last accessed 10 Mar 2023
Mugas, J.M.: Ilocos Norte spruces up bike trails to boost tourism. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/nation/ilocos-norte-spruces-up-bike-trails-to-boost-tourism/. Last accessed 10 Mar 2023
Clark, R., Stankey, G.H.: The Recreation opportunity spectrum: a framework for planning, management, and research. In: General Technical Report PNW-98. U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, U.S. (1979)
Perez, R.E., Ng, A.C.L., Tiglao, N.C.C.: Enhancing policy capacity through Co-design: the case of local public transportation in the Philippines. Policy Design Practice 1–19 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/25741292.2021.1930689
Gao, J., Kamphuis, C.B.M., Dijst, M., Helbich, M.: The role of the natural and built environment in cycling duration in the Netherlands. Int. J. Behav. Nutrit. Phys. Activity 15(1) (2018)
Kwiatkowski, M.: Metropolitan bicycle-sharing system in the Polish context of various needs of cities, towns, and villages. Bull. Geogr. Socio-Econ. Ser. 54(54), 97–111 (2021). https://doi.org/10.2478/bog-2021-0036
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bimbao, J.A., Ou, S.J. (2024). The Image of the Emerging Cycling Landscape in the Philippines and Its Challenges. In: Gartner, W.C. (eds) New Perspectives and Paradigms in Applied Economics and Business. ICAEB 2023. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49951-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49951-7_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-49950-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-49951-7
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)