‘They are experiencing bike tours like the 10-day Bolzano-Mantova-Venice ride,’ she adds.

‘This is a combination of hotel-to-hotel style plus bike and barge, crossing the region from the alps to the ‘Lagoon City’. Also popular are week-long walking tours of the Dolomites and Lake Garda.’

Grant attended Buy Veneto last week to meet tourism operators of the region that extends from Lake Garda and Verona in the west to Venice, and north to the Dolomites with the Po River a natural boundary in the south.

‘Venice is stunning and arguably the most beautiful city in Italy.  However there is incredible value in the region that tends to be overlooked.’

She says train services in the region are excellent and connect Venice to historic towns and cities such as Padova, Verona, Treviso and Bassano del Grappa in 20 to 40 minutes.

For bike tours such as ‘Dolomites to Venice’ and the ‘Three Country’ from Venice to Istria in Croatia, which start or end in Venice, agents can book their clients pre and post tour nights just outside Venice in smaller towns. Prices are less and the standard often higher than staying in Mestre or on the island of Venice.

www.cycling-europe.com/index.php/tours/countries/italy

www.walkersworld.co.nz/index.php/tours/italy/98-tours/italy/212-dolomites-king-of-the-alps