EuroVelo surpasses 2.5 million web sessions and 86,000 social media followers in 2023

Hi folks, do you remember last year's Digital Statistics Report? We spiced it up a bit (you are a true EuroVelo fan if you recall this – but never too late to give it a read). While the EuroVelo team has gotten comfortable with their alternative job titles over the previous year, and some new colleagues are waiting to be anointed with theirs, let's get into the latest numbers.

Download the EuroVelo Digital Statistics Report 2023

EuroVelo.com surpassed 2.5 million sessions for the first time in 2023. Our social media follower count reached more than 86,000 across various channels. Our monthly newsletter hit a peak of 40.1% click rate last July. Finally, the GPX tracks to navigate the routes were downloaded more than 340,800 times (+124%) during the year.

We’re thrilled about this! But look, just like a peculiar Oscar-winning thriller from 2023, there’s more to investigate behind the scenes.

Anatomy of a EuroVelo.com visitor

In cinema, a key theme when the story kicks off is to examine the way information reveals character, often informing us of several truths. Well, data does the same for us! It tells us our website had more than 1.5 million visitors last year. And sure, like in 2022, we can say the typical EuroVelo.com visitor is 24-44, probably identifying as a guy, finding the site on their phones or tablet (or Smart TVs, apparently), and sticking around for at least four minutes.

That's all good, but this is not all that we are building up to. How about this year we use data to really nail down who the typical EuroVelo.com visitor is? Take a look below.

EuroVelo 8 pushes to claim the throne

Let's dissect and peel back the layers on EuroVelo 8, the most popular route last year with over 150,000 web sessions. On the surface, this position was achieved with a whopping 75% growth in traffic. But there's more to the story: it’s the first time, since 2017, the EuroVelo 15 - Rhine Cycle Route is not at the top spot; a big chunk of traffic is from the host country of our 2023 conference; EuroVelo 8 appears the most often in the top routes frequented by visitors; and more – this is neatly presented below.

You know, there's always more to numbers than meets the eye. But we won't keep you here all day. To wrap it up, here are some other cool insights from the latest digital statistics report:

• Compared to 2022, web sessions increased by 28%, with help from +20.7% clicks through Google search.
• Mobile usage hit an all-time high at 58% across the website (yes, we're all glued to our phones)
• EuroVelo 15, 6, 1, and 19 were the other top-ranked routes in terms of web sessions.
• France was once again the most visited EuroVelo country page. Top origin countries of EuroVelo.com visitors are France and Germany.with French and German visitors leading the charge.
• Instagram saw a massive 52% growth in 2023, only surpassed by the 55% jump in members on the EuroVelo Facebook discussion group (thanks again, Zuck).
• Monthly newsletter subscribers now exceed 8,368 – still standing back and standing by at our beckoning in a library along a EuroVelo route near you.

We thank our committed partners and stakeholders for spreading the word about the network in 2023. And a special shoutout to our visitors for keeping the EuroVelo spirit alive!

Author: Omer Malak, [email protected]

^{Additional notes}

^{1. In 2022, to comply with GDPR regulations, ECF implemented a ‘cookie consent’ dialog to ask users to give permission to track their visit on EuroVelo.com. As such, data sets before 2022 cannot be compared and, going forward, 2023 becomes the ‘new baseline’ for future reports and comparisons.}

^{2. Related to the above point, EuroVelo.com migrated to Google’s new analytics platform (GA4) in 2023. This has significantly affected data tracking and various metrics, particularly adjustments to visitor numbers from 2022-23. Here is a good explanation of the changes by Michael Okada (for the marketing geeks).}

^{3. Gender identity data is determined by Google's algorithm based off a subset of web visitors who agree to the cookie policy. Google classifies this information into two categories: self-identified male or female users. ECF provides this figure with the aim to show diversity in cycling. However, this does not refer to any position taken by ECF on gender identities. Ideally, Google's platform should include a third, other and/or non-binary category.}