Tourism Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitz, KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler, Jordan Valley Regional Council Head Yossi Vardi and Director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Moshe Rigler attended the inauguration ceremony for the new bicycle route. This route, along the Kinneret was paved by KKL-JNF, funded jointly with the Ministry of Tourism and facilitated by the Ministry of Trade. The section just completed is part of a long term project for cycling and hiking trails around the entire Sea of Galilee. 

 The route winds its way between rows of trees providing shade that turns the cycling or hiking experience into a safer sport combined with lovely day in nature.  In addition, all the partners to this project see this route as an important economic contribution to the development of tourism in this area.  Cycling trails have a direct positive effect on the amount of time that tourists will spend in the area.  Cycling routes represent a gradual change in the status of the Kinneret, as cyclists tend to have a higher than average socio-economic profile and thus proportionally greater spending power.   Stenzler pointed out:  "In recent years KKL-JNF has had a hand in shaping the culture of active recreation and leisure activities in Israel, including furthering the sport of cycling."

Regarding future continuation of this project Stenzler added: "The proposed trail is expected to include a number of secondary paths, leading to settlements in the area, thus bringing hikers and cyclist to visit them.  KKL-JNF will make great effort to ensure that this route, which is being constructed upon an existing infrastructure, will be completed and inaugurated by the end of 2008.  This route has been established to give its users a very special experience by combining the beautiful view of the Kinneret in the middle of nature with security for each hiker and biker."  Jordan Valley Regional Council Head Yossi Vardi pointed out that the cycling trail is not only an important tourist attraction for the area surrounding the Kinneret but also serves to get cyclists off the main roads.