The idea of having visitors exploring the Maltese Islands by bicycle was conceived by Karl Brincat and Sara Attard. Both were keen cycling enthusiasts and were even involved in competitive cycling. Nowadays they enjoy going around the towns and villages and the countryside. Their background got them in contact with many foreign visitors who like them enjoy cycling and whenever they visit each other they tend to go around using their bikes. It is from this that they conceived the idea of opening up a business whereby visitors may be able to explore various parts of Malta and Gozo on a bicycle. They were very much encouraged by their friends as the argued, it is not only a more sustainable way of travel, but it also encourages the visitor to take the time to get to know the area, meet the local people, and so on, all at the relatively relaxing pace, which they thought is the whole point of going for a holiday in today’s fast moving world.
However, when it came to implementing the strategy for this business, they realised that they would need to reach out to a larger pool of potential clients in order for the business to survive. They also realised that it would be difficult to attract the right type of persons for their business using the mainstream/traditional forms of advertising and marketing as that will not attract the ‘type’ of visitor that they are looking for.
Following a discussion with another operator in another niche market, the first thing that they thought to do was to get exposure in specialized fairs focused on sustainable type of tourism which would promote bicycle ‘tourism’. They also decided to see which countries and regions would be worth doing promotion. Unfortunately they also found out that this type of strategy does not come cheap and being in a start-up phase, funds were extremely limited. An analysis of similar operators in other countries made them discover that, they had to provide not only guided type of tours, but services for individuals who would like to go around on their own, thus requiring tips on climate, terrain, areas of interest, routes/maps and more. Their mentor suggested that one way to provide many of the requirements and at the same time not spending much was to go online. With a website, or even a mobile application, visitors would be able to purchase services, seek information, make bookings and so on, even before they even get to land in Malta.
THIS IS HOW THIS WEBSITE WAS "BORN"
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AJÁNLOM AZ OLDALT
