Speakers

Andreea Staicu is head of the tourism sector in the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission. Andreea is a lawyer, specialised in EU law and policies.

Ádám Bodor is currently the Deputy CEO for Mobility of the BKK Centre for Budapest Transport. He is the former director of the European Cyclist’ Federation and the vice-chair of the European Tourism Manifesto. His carrier in the mobility sector started in The Budapest University of Technology and followed as cycling commissioner of the Hungarian national government between 2005-2010.

Tilman, MD of absolutGPS, is an international expert in adventure and cycling tourism. He founded the German MTB Forum, co-founded Digitize the Planet, and serves on the cycling jury of the German Sustainability Award. He currently works on Germany’s national cycling tourism strategy and created the TOUDAY index to measure outdoor tourism success.

Spiros Papageorgiou is the Founder and Director of Cities for Cycling NGO in Greece, an official ECF member since 2013. With over 20 years in cycling media and event organization, he focuses on urban mobility, cycling tourism and international collaborations, promoting Greece as a cycling-friendly destination through projects, advocacy, and strategic initiatives.

Manager with a legal background working in public administration and tourism development projects. Former President of the Hungarian Cycling Association (2017-2024). The project to develop cycling tourism services in Lake Balaton was implemented under Péter’s leadership (2019-2023). The outcome is the BalatonBike365 visitor management system. He currently heads a non-profit limited liability company responsible for maintaining the results of the BB365 project and now also for the destination management of the Balaton region. He is a year-round Balaton enthusiast and a supporter of the four-season tourism economy in Lake Balaton.

Alice Bögli is member of the management board at SwitzerlandMobility, the official network for active mobility for leisure and tourism in Switzerland. She coordinates the route network for recreational cycling and mountainbiking. She holds a degree in public management and spatial development and has professional experience in economic development and urban planning.

Omer’s work at ECF focuses on creating compelling narratives and brand identities to strengthen the voice of cyclists. Backed by an MBA, he also mixes this creativity with business insights to support fundraising and strategy. Off the clock, he’s often behind a camera lens, mixing music, or exploring design, tech, and fashion trends.

Miklós Berencsi graduated as a civil engineer and has been working in different fields of transportation. From 2013 he was working solely on cycling issues. In 2019 he joined the Centre for Development of Active and Ecotourism focusing on cycling tourism and EuroVelo coordination. He is a father of 3 children, a passionate gravel cyclist and runner

Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Public Administration and Regional Development, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for European Strategy Research of the University of Public Service, Professor at the University of Public Service, and Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Science of the Faculty of Law and Political Science of ELTE.
In 1990, he obtained his degree in law, followed by his PhD in Political Science from the ELTE University Faculty of Law in 1999. From 2006 to 2014, he served as a Fidesz Member of Parliament and parliamentary group leader. During the period from 2010 to 2014, he held the positions of Minister of Public Administration and Justice, as well as Deputy Prime Minister. In 2014, he assumed the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. From 2014 to 2019, he served as the European Commissioner for Culture, Education, Youth, and Sport.

Graduated as regional developer, then supplemented it with postgraduate training in development policy consultancy. He has been working in the field of cycling since 2016, actually as head of Department for Active Mobility. He cycles to work every day, does bikepacking tours and considers himself as an amateur road cyclist.

Born in 1964 in Veszprém. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University. Since 2002 he has been the Mayor of Balatonfüred, and since 2010 he has been co-chairman of the Balaton Development Council.

Florence has been working since 2018 at the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) on EuroVelo, the European long-distance cycle route network. She holds the title of EuroVelo and Projects Officer, leading on the work for more quality cycle routes, the route network management and the European Certification Standard (ECS) methodology for cycle routes assessment. Florence is also a founding member of the Women in Cycling network. She holds Master’s degrees in Physics and Philosophy. Besides work, she enjoys writing, reading novels and exploring music, and she likes to discover places by bicycle because this is the perfect way to feel the atmosphere and meet people along the way.

Born in Trbovlje (Slovenia), on September 2, 1960, Samo Grošelj holds a M.Sc. in Civil Engineering with major in Hydro-technique obtained at the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Ljubljana (Slovenia).
He began his professional career in 1984 as a project designer specializing in water and wastewater systems, including wastewater treatment plants. Prior to his current role, he served as a project designer and project leader at a design company based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Since July 3, 2006, he has held the position of Deputy Secretary for Protection of Waters and Aquatic Ecosystems at the International Sava River Basin Commission, headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia. In this capacity, he is responsible for coordinating and implementing plans and programs related to water management in the Sava River Basin.

Natalie Maroun, PhD, is CEO & Founder of Element, a crisis management and communication company, Training Manager at INSP, and EU Climate Pact Ambassador. With 15+ years advising organisations such as WHO, World Bank and GIZ, she also champions resilient crisis management strategies in cycling tourism in France.

Nino Sharashidze is a Programme Manager at the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health in Bonn, Germany. She coordinates the WHO Regional Office for Europe participation in the joint WHO/UNECE secretariat of the Transport Health and Environment pan-European programme (THE PEP), with a special focus on the promotion of active mobility. Before joining WHO, Nino worked at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and in the past she had worked as a Deputy Minister of Environment of Georgia. With more than 20 years of work experience in the governmental and inter-governmental sectors at the national and international level, Nino’s areas of interest and expertise are streamlining environment and health aspects into different sectoral policies.

After graduating from general medical school, Dr. László Babai did his PhD research on the protective effect of physical activity against severe arrhythmias during myocardial infarction, its neural and humoral mechanisms.
During his professional work, he was exposed to and committed to “lifestyle medicine” as a new branch of evidence-based medicine. In the early 2000s he started to lay the foundations of lifestyle medicine in Hungary based on international literature, by organising graduate and postgraduate courses, founding the Hungarian Lifestyle Medicine Association, publishing a specialist book on lifestyle medicine, organising professional conferences, participating in the national and international professional and scientific life, and linking the fields of health and other fields (sports, tourism).
In addition to the theoretical and professional foundation of lifestyle medicine, he also place great emphasis on practical implementation. He launched and operate the first national Lifestyle Medical Center clinic, and under his direction he has launched the national programme named ‘Recipe for Movement’.

Pinar Pinzuti is a cycling advocate at Bikenomist, director of the Cycle Tourism Show, and ambassador of the Women in Cycling initiative. A EuroVelo Council member since 2022, she received the UN World Bicycle Day Award for her efforts in promoting cycling as a tool for inclusion, mobility, and joy.

A communication and marketing specialist by profession, Valentin Hasler is passionate about active lifestyles and making cities more liveable. As a Cycling for All coordinator at the UCI, his role is to promote cycling as a low cost, safe and socially positive activity, whether it is to tackle climate change, air pollution, urban congestion or obesity and physical apathy. He thinks that elite cycling acts as a catalyst to inspire even greater mass participation and get many more people using bikes as part of their everyday lives.

She works for the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, where she serves as Director of the “Organisation, Planning and European Projects” service within the Central Directorate for Infrastructure and Territory.
As part of her role, she oversees various European projects, with a particular focus on sustainable mobility and cycle tourism.

Olivér studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Building on more than a decade of experience in consulting and leadership, he further expanded his professional background with an Executive MBA from the University of Oxford.
He has extensive experience in strategic business consulting, corporate governance of multinational companies, business development, and building innovation ecosystems.
From January 2022 to June 2024, he led the innovation department of the Austrian National Tourist Office, passionately working on transforming the tourism sector.
Since July 2024, he has been the CEO of Visit Hungary Plc., with the aim of strengthening Visit Hungary through successful teamwork and a growth-oriented approach, ultimately positioning it as one of Europe’s leading tourism marketing organizations.
Olivér’s multicultural background—spanning Hungary, the United Kingdom, Ghana, Slovakia, and Austria—has provided him with a unique perspective in which he views change as an opportunity for continuous development. He is actively involved in ecosystem research and education.

He has been dealing with active lifestyle and promotion of active tourism, and also coordinating the development of this area as a government commissioner since 2016, and as a state secreatary since 2022. He believes that daily exercise is important regardless of age and gender, and that the quality of life is basically determined by regular physical activity. In everyday life, he cycles, runs, skis, swims, does via ferrata, picks up garbage in the Tisza and the Bodrog, and educates his four children and his environment to love the active life.
Many fundamental developments in Hungarian cycling transport and tourism are linked to his name. In 2016, a dedicated department within the ministry responsible for cycling was established – something that had not existed before. He played a key role in relaunching the Tour de Hongrie, creating the EuroVelo 14 route, and developing the EuroVelo 6. In 2020, the bridge between Tiszafüred and Poroszló was completed, closing the cycling circuit around Lake Tisza, which resulted in a threefold increase in cycling traffic around the lake.
Under his leadership, the reconstruction of the Balaton cycling circuit also began: out of the 206 km route around the lake, 126 km has already been renewed, and plans are in place for the remaining sections. Another major achievement is the Budapest–Balaton cycle path, completed in 2022, which provides a new route connecting the capital with Lake Balaton.
Thanks to his work, a funding package of 4+1 billion HUF was made available for cycle path planning, resulting in the preparation of plans for 1,200 km of new cycle routes. The e-bike support programme, which provided two rounds of 1 billion HUF each to support employees in purchasing e-bikes, leading to 14,000 electric bicycles finding new owners. From January 2021, it became possible for companies to provide bicycles to their employees tax-free. A proposed amendment package to the Hungarian Highway Code (KRESZ) was also prepared under his guidance to better protect vulnerable road users, including cyclists – the current draft amendment largely builds on this proposal.
Reaching out to young people is especially close to his heart: since 2018, the cycling camps he helped launch have given children the opportunity to discover the beautiful landscapes of Hungary on two wheels.

Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Lael started riding in her early 20s to get to work. Within months, basic transportation turned into long distance travel and Lael spent the next 7 years riding around the world before entering her first race. She worked half of the year in restaurants and bike shops to fund her travel. Since 2015, Lael has been balancing ultra-distance racing, travel and creating opportunities to encourage more women to ride. She hosts women’s bikepacking rallies, scholarships and GRIT, a middle school girls mentorship program to build up to adventure camp out rides. For Lael, no time on a bike is wasted. She fits in as much as she can. Last year, she set the Guinness Record for riding around the world– 29,170km in 108.5 days.

Christian Weinberger (born 1968 in Vienna, Austria) has specialized in the development of cycling tourism, building on his experience in tourism organizations, tour operators, and the hotel and gastronomy industry. He is currently active in regional development, primarily in Lower Austria, and also serves as a co-initiator and member of the Austrian working group on Cycling Tourism (Arbeitsgruppe Radtourismus), coordinated by the Federal Ministry (bmwet.gv.at).
From 2005 to 2015, he was the EuroVelo Coordinator, during which time he supported Radlobby in taking over the National EuroVelo Coordination (NEC). In 2021, this initiative evolved into the National EuroVelo Coordination Centre (NECC), which he continues to support as a senior advisor.
He has been a speaker at numerous European conferences and has played a key role in initiating several projects, including the Bed & Bike scheme, route inspection systems, and various development initiatives in Austria.
Since 2022, he has also been a member of the EuroVelo Council.

Anouk van Eekelen is Director Destination Development at the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions. With her team, she wants to drive innovation and stimulate sustainable development. Previously, Anouk was a politician and business owner, she studied International Relations at Leiden University. With her family of 4, she owns 7 bikes.

Jesper Pørksen has been the director of Danish Cycling Tourism since the organisation was etablished 10 years ago. He is a historian and journalist by education. He started his cycling tourism career back in 2006 as a bicycle guide for a German tour operator. In his spare time he enjoys long distance cycling and cyclocross.

Alessandra Tormene has a background in European projects and financing. She is national councilor of FIAB, the Bicyclist and Environment Italian Federation and a member of the team that deals with the development of the EuroVelo Italian network. Since 2022 she is the EV Italian coordinator and has worked to establish the NECC.

Joanna Matuszczyk has been associated with the Marshal’s Office of the Małopolska Region for over a dozen years. Since 2019, she has been the Head of the Cycling Development Team in the Department of Tourism. Personally, she is passionate about travel, design thinking, and network intelligence.

As ECF Official Route Inspector, I am involved in the promotion of JapanVelo. President of the Japan Cycle Tourism Promotion Association: as a Cycling UK-accredited trainer, I train cycling guides and cycle instructors, and currently have over 300 certified guides and instructors. President of Planet Adventure, a specialist cycling travel company.

Since 1999 with Ö.T.E. to work on sustainable tourism development in and around protected areas in CEE countries. From 2006-2014 he has worked for UNWTO giving advice to member states. His key expertise is coaching of tourism planning processes, capacity-building of local communities and entrepreneurs and sustainable tourism product development.

Tamás Andrejszki, PhD, is a transportation engineer and active mobility expert at Értékterv Ltd. His 2017 dissertation focused on demand-responsive transport systems. He participated in the “Danube Cycle Plans” project and leads traffic estimation around Lake Balaton.

Robin Ranjore, Export Consultant at Eco-Counter, advises global authorities on pedestrian and cyclist counting. With a Master’s in International Business and 10+ years abroad, he returned in France in 2016 with the will to promote active mobility. An avid cyclist and former bike instructor, he co-founded the Bike Cooperative “La Sonnette” in Redon.

Biologist specialized in conservation biology and ecosystem restoration with more than 5 years of experience coordinating European Nature Conservation projects. Marta currently coordinates the LIFE Steps for LIFE project, which is developed in the Camino Lebaniego in Cantabria and Camino de Santiago in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.

Agathe Daudibon is in charge of the transnational coordination of the European cycle route network and of cycling tourism in general together with her dedicated team to contribute to ECF’s goal for more and better cycling. She has worked in project management related to cycling and cycling tourism for 10 years in France before that.

András Munkácsy, PhD Civil Engineering, MSc Economics, is the head of the Transport Development Research Centre at KTI in Budapest, Hungary. His main fields of interest are mobility management and planning, travel behaviour, active mobility modes and transport–tourism interactions.

Max is a passionate mountain biker who was able to combine his love for the sport with his professional career early on.After studying economics, he gained valuable experience in the bike industry working for a bike manufacturer in Switzerland and a bike publishing company. For nearly five years,he has been part of Europe’s largest outdoor platform.

A passionate hiker and nature lover. Her hobby became intertwined with her work when she started working on the Horizont Bicycle Adventure Route. As her grandfather founded the National Blue Trail – the most popular hiking trail in the country today – it is even more of an honor for her to contribute to its cycling version.

Tomasz is passionate about outdoor activities, eco-tourism and mobile map solutions for cyclists. He leads a group of wonderful people who design spatial information and outdoor navigation systems for regions, and NGOs and firms from the tourist sector. He is proud that these solutions enable his team to contribute to achieving carbon neutrality.

Marketing Lead at OsmAnd and an avid cycling tourism enthusiast. Passionate about sustainable travel, they actively promote cycling-friendly navigation solutions within the company, ensuring that digital mapping tools support accessibility, exploration, and a better experience for cyclists worldwide

Feridun Ekmekci, is a long-distance bicycle tourer and bicycle strategy development expert, preparing awareness studies and projects. He is an academic staff at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. He is a long-distance bicycle tourer, planning and implementing cross-border bicycle tours. He cooperates with local, national and international institutions.

Alexandra joined ECF within the EuroVelo team in May 2022 after graduating with a Master’s in Environmental Sciences and Management. Alexandra is working on the Baltic Biking Upgrade project (EuroVelo 10) and the European Certification Standard, ECF’s methodology to assess the quality of cycle routes, as well as other GIS topics.

Hans Stoops is the advocacy officer at the IMBA Europe. For six years he worked as a project manager with responsibility for recreational cycling, mountain biking and cycling tourism at Cykelfrämjandet, the Swedish national cycling advocacy organisation, where he now sits as a board member. He is also a board member of the Warmshowers Foundation.

Jasmina Fiasse is in charge of cycling tourism projects for Pro Velo and the coordination of the Belgian NECC. Prior to this, she has been working for Pro Velo for 10 years in a variety of roles: firstly, developing services for cyclists, and secondly, helping public authorities and businesses to develop their cycling policies.

Michael Maier has studied “Sustainable Regional Management” (B.Sc.) and “Sustainable Tourism Development” (M.A.). In 2020 he became Bicycle Tourism Officer at the German Cyclists’ Association (ADFC). In his position, he is responsible for the certifications: ADFC premium cycle routes & cycle holiday regions.

Working for the Alsatian tourism board, Dimitri LETT is cycle tourism Manager since 2016. Based in Strasburg, he is strongly involved in the institutional partnership « Cycling in Alsace » which tend to develop and promote cycling tourism in Alsace following 4 different axis : infrastructures, services, marketing, assessment.

Abelovszky Tamás is responsible for development and implementation for different cycling educational programs, trainings, etc. as the project manager of Bringasuli, the Hungarian cycling educational program since 2013. He is committed to cycling since his childhood, and has been involved in different cycling related projects in the last 20 years.

Tibor Polgár has been involved in EU Funds management in Hungary since its accession to the Union. In the last 12 years he has been working in the nonprofit sector. At Westpannon Agency, he coordinated lead partner tasks of several transnational and cross-border projects. Many of them are about cycling policy development, working closely with ECF .

Belén Calahorro, ConBici Technical office. I develop technical projects at national level to promote cycling. I coordinate the Eurovelo National Center, the Iberian Congress of the Bicycle and the City and the Pedal Spain project.

Urška Dolinar is director of Iskriva, Institute for Development of Local Potentials, with 15 years of experience in regional development in the Danube region, fostering local culture and sustainable tourism. She coordinates the development of Amazon of Europe Bike Trail within the first-world UNESCO 5-country Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube.

Dr. Ioannis Pappas, Founder & CEO of GREEN EVOLUTION, is a Mechanical Engineer with a PhD in Applied Mechanics and over 33 years of experience in engineering, advancing sustainability and climate change solutions. As GSTC Director for the Mediterranean Region and EU Destinations Stewardship, he is a prominent advocate for sustainable tourism, guiding destinations, hotels, and tour operators in adopting global sustainability standards and practices. He is focusing on Sustainability and Climate Change related Services in Tourism, Energy and Environmental Efficiency in Infrastructure and Buildings, Advising in standardization of companies and technological implementation of climate adaptation and mitigation methodologies. He is a GSTC Assessor for Destinations, Consultant for Sustainable Tourism Certification Standards, focusing on Hotels, Tour Operators and Destinations, and Approved Trainer and Assessor for GSTC in South East Europe Region. Dr. Pappas focuses on integrating environmental efficiency in infrastructure and buildings, promoting energy efficiency, and advising organizations on ESGs and Net Zero strategies. Since 2025, he is European Climate Pact Ambassador and EUI-IA Expert, working to enhance climate resilience across Europe. His expertise has made him a sought-after speaker at high-level events organized by the European Commission, governments, universities, and global platforms such as Google and GSTC.

Alexandra Dörfler is employed in the Austrian Federal Ministry for Innovation, Technology and Infrastructure and is responsible for activities relating to sustainable mobility in tourism. She is the co-organizer of the Austrian annual Tourism Mobility Day and the Platform for Sustainable Tourism Mobility.