We heard from tourism departments of New Zealand, Japan, Tasmania, Flight centre's active travel direct, councils from Australian country towns all discussing the economic benefits of Cycle Tourism to their communities and the economy.
As you can imagine Cycle Tourism comes in an assortment of flavours. I've broken them down to 4 major areas:

Going to a conference where you don't know anyone is like starting at a new high school half way through the year. People already have their clicks, they all seem to know each other, they know how things work and they know the local lingo. 

I found out about the Asia Pacific Cycling Congress on the Thursday before the conference started. By Saturday I had made the decision that I would apply for leave at my I.T job, and fly up for a week of learning and networking with people in the Cycling community. There was a lot of hesitation because I wasn’t confident, I didn't know anyone at the conference and the whole trip would cost me a pretty penny. But as someone on the last day of the conference made me appreciate, there's no other investment that would return you the same amount of targeted marketing for that price. 

My strategy consisted of:

1. Twitter
   
2. Elevator pitch
   
3. Introduce yourself
   
4. Remember names
   
5. Attend the social events
   
6. Have fun

Through twitter I was able to engage with people at the congress and exchange ideas and conversations while attending a presentation. From there I was able to introduce myself in person and continue the conversations outside.

My elevator pitch is still not solid. I can’t figure out if I should introduce myself as Jules from Sydney making a career change. Or Jules the organiser of Sydney Night Rides a social bike riding group. I'll keep working on this one. But be prepared to brand yourself. Launch yourself as the person you want to be identified as.

How to use twitter 1:01
Before the conference

1. Create an account
   
2. Follow some influential people in your field
   
3. Search for Hashtags that you’re interested in
4. If you have the handle of people you already know follow them

• Follow hashtags and conversations

During the conference

1. Find out the hashtag for the conference "#APCC15"
   
2. Always add that hashtag to the end of your tweet
   
3. Follow the hashtag and engage in conversations
   
4. Ask questions
   
5. Add photos
   
6. Tag people into conversations you’re interested in "@sara_stace"
   
7. Add hashtags for the major topic of conversations, e.g. “#cycletouring”, “#foodporn” so other people can find your conversations

Notes for next time

• Have some business cards ready!! So many connections I missed out on because I didn't have a business card
• Bring your phone charger
• Find out if there's free wifi available

The best place to get a Vietnamese Pho in Sydney is in Cabramatta. The same Cabramatta that was deemed a no-go zone in the 1990's because of the heroin issues and the Vietnamese ganstas. But that image is not reality these days. What Cabramatta should be known for is its amazing Vietnamese food and cycleways.
Also its home of the most amazing vegan food. Since a lot of Vietnamese people are buddahists it's only natural that the biggest Vietnamese community has atleast 5 vegan friendly restaurants. So perfect, as an Asian vegetarian who loves cycling, Cabramatta is the ultimate weekend day trip. Did I mention how amazing all the cycling routes in this area is? No? Well they're some of the most extensive in Sydney.

2. Organise a group ride
So I organised a ride out to Cabramatta along the cycleways to eat amazing Vietnamese food and started blogging about the amazing adventure. Through some social media magic a twitter conversation caught the attention of the local newspaper journalist. This then subsequently led to an invitation to be photographed for a story to promote Cabramatta cycleways and Cabramatta as a food destination.

The killer formula
In summary how to convert your town into a food destination:

1. What foods are you promoting? 
2. Who are you foodie champions?
3. Are you using social media to promote 1 & 2?
4. Ban cars in the city centre
5.  Create amazing cycling, public transport infrastructure which encourages people to walk about and explore the region

So what you've got some of the most amazing architecture in Australia. So what you have free trams in the city. So what you have some crazy 

The Cyclist's priority section

• Traffic light button on the right hand side that's reachable from the bike without getting off.
  
• A resting bar so that cyclists aren't stuck standing and helping them to start up when stopped.
  
• Traffic light just for cyclists

The Bike Sharing Scheme

• Cheap bike hire all over the city
• Easy to access
• Get a helmet for $5 from a convenience store

Protected bike lanes

• Bike lanes everywhere
• Bike lanes along tram lines
• Bike lanes protected from traffic

Signage everywhere

• Want to explore Melbourne? Just follow the signs to all the fun places