Elbe—A Tourist Line Cycling Through Europe

The Lower Elbe region, the last part of the Elbe River on Czech territory, has been a major tourist destination for several hundred years, an important development element in the past and today. It is not only the river that is important, but also its hinterland. The Elbe has influenced the geological development of this landscape, giving life and livelihood. It motivates tourists to visit the area and discover the unique local landscape. Today, the Lower Elbe area is protected by several special protection areas with a relatively high degree of protection—Bohemian Switzerland NP, NPR Elbe Canyon, number of Natura 2000 sites. The Elbe is also followed by one of the most important cycle paths in Europe, which runs from the source of the Elbe up to the estuary of the Elbe. Not only with the development of the cycle path, a concentration of tourist destinations, activities, and services, as well as visitors, is emerging in the Lower Elbe area. However, tourism is not an isolated activity, but also affects its surroundings, residents, and landscape, and influences local life, economy, and culture. The main question of this thesis is how residents perceive tourism development in the region and whether they perceive a conflict between tourism, development, and conservation in the area. This study is based on a case study of tourism in the Lower Elbe and it used content analysis of media, development documents, interviews with key actors, and field research. The research shows that the cycle path is important for the municipalities, however, its potential is much higher than the municipalities are currently able to exploit.