Needless to say, the Coronavirus crisis has indeed put a hamper on a lot of activities that were set for this spring, like participating in fairs that specialize in nature tourism, or planning fam trips (trips with tour operators). Many of the fairs have not been rescheduled, and in terms of the fam trips, despite the border reopening, the possibility of them taking place throughout 2020 will depend on the tour operators’ own financial situations. However, it was possible to take part in the Fiets and Wandelbeurs cycle-tourism fair, held on February 28-29 and March 1, in Utrecht, Holland.

The «BiciTransCat» project continues to work on developing the costal bike route that will link Figueres with Perpignan, connecting with public transportation. In fact, the application is being processed to get approval on the Castelló d’Empúries route, which, located at the Castelló Nou roundabout, will connect with Castelló d’Empúries and the natural paths in the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà. In addition, last Monday, July 6, the construction work began the bike path at the entrance to Roses.

The new project website (www.bicitranscat.cat) launched this past March as well, which provides updates on the progression of the project in four languages (Catalan, Spanish, French, and English) and also includes maps of the paths, suggested itineraries, and various tourist sites.

Also recently, the Diputació de Girona signed a collaboration agreement with the Girona Greenways Consortium, Figueres City Council and the Alt Empordà County Council to co-finance the project. Under this agreement, the Diputació de Girona, as an associated partner, will provide 25% (€504,567.31) of the total cost of the project (€2,018,269.25), for the partners that are south of the border.

Aside from this, the POCTEFA cooperation program has granted an extension of one year and three months to the “BiciTransCat” project so it may follow through with the action plan. In this regard, the anticipated end date of the project has been pushed back until December 31, 2021, instead of September 30, 2020, as was originally planned.

“BiciTransCat” has been co-financed 65% by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through the INTERREG V-A Spain-France-Andorra Program (POCTEFA 2014-2020). The goal of POCTEFA is to boost economic and social integration in the Spain-France-Andorra border region. The funding is directed towards developing cross-border economic, social, and environmental activities, through collaborative strategies that favor sustainable growth.

More info: bicitranscat.cat/en