Landscape, People, Economy

The future of Cornish Tourism. . .

Cotswolds AONB 18th Feb Jemma Robertsjemma@coastproject.co.uk

Rapid-fire background info:

Location. . . Awfully nice bit at the bottom of SW. . .

300 plus miles of coastline. . .

Inordinately large chunk of AONB (30%). . SSSI’s, SAC’s, CWT reserves, NT sites. . .

Shed-loads of culture, history, art. . . all linked directly to the landscape. . .

Outrageous beaches; astonishing light; stunning walks; a wealth of wildlife; tonnes high quality local produce. . .& ice-cream to die for. . .

And tourism is a big deal in Cornwall:

- 25% of our GDP- employs one in five of our population- brings in £1.5b pa

Important to note :

- SME and micro-heavy business sector- Population of just over 500,000 and rising

. . . and that we attract 4.5 – 5.5 million visitors per year(!)

Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plan 2004-2009

Working Landscapes – Tourism Priorities

WL7 Develop a sustainable approach to the management of the tourism industry in Cornwall.

Action: Make use of the AONB as a demonstration area for sustainable tourism projects.

CoaST – a small, independent, social enterprise founded 7 years ago. . .

Our job: to help ensure tourism becomes a sustainable industry.

…it’s about the triple bottom line…

…making sure that everything is working to the benefit of the people, the environment, and the economy – or you will be making money one way, and losing it another.

(hence the CoaST logo)

economy

environment community

people, place and prosperitywww.coastproject.co.uk

… we have over 1,000 members of a sustainable business network….in Cornwall …

across the south west …

…and now it’s spreading right across the UK.

…because anyone can join…

and they do!

We help our members face the problems . . .

climate change, resource crunch – oil, water, land and the credit crunch…no slack anywhere. . .

…then help our members to help their visitors make their impact a positive one -

socially, environmentally and economically.

So – how do we actually do ‘sustainable tourism’?

There are two useful rules of thumb for helping people change their behaviour. . .

One: give people the information and tools they need to become more resource canny.

Two: help them get their communication right.

So, all the things we are asked for help on. . .

Easy, inexpensive, but with a huge impact.. .

“they are a must for every hotel B&B and guesthouse in Cornwall! Down from 54 to 4 towels a day! Water, electricity costs down by 50% compared to friend’s hotel!

Customers absolutely love it! Thank you!” (Hundred House Hotel, Cornwall)

Eden B&B (2 bedrooms): savings of £250 a year.

Meudon Hotel : savings of £1,000 a month.

(not rocket science. )

The CoaST Visitor Charter…

… several hundred people qualified with a BTEC in Sustainable Tourism (the first in the UK).

- 3 day course

- includes writing an environmental policy

- starts writing a green certification action plan (eg for the Green Tourism Business Scheme)

All of which can help a business gain green accreditation ….

…to gain a marketing edge…

. . . and demonstrate sustainable practice. . . which more and more visitors want to see. . .

… two dozen Sustainable Tourism Ambassadors;

..and …

... making it part and parcel of the quality product…

…CoaST Ambassador Bedruthan Steps Hotel taking the Gold Award 2008 in VisitCornwall Awards for Sustainable Tourism (again!)

. . . working hard to get their tourism associations on board. . .

. . . working in clusters to share and support best practice. . .

. . .getting their communities on board. . .

. . . and their visitors. . .

www.coastvisitors.co.uk

…using their collaborative clout to create a whole new way of guiding our visitors to a low impact holiday…

just because they think it’s something that needs to be done…

Developing partnerships with land managers. .

Doing what they can to encourage and create wildlife areas. . .

Boasting about Cornwall's protectedlandscapes. .

Making the links to agriculture and local produce. . . understanding how hard our protected landscape works. . .

‘getting’ that high quality tourism is dependent on high quality produce. . .

…making it easy for visitors …

… “ edited choice”…

So, more and more businesses trying to reduce their impact . . . our visitors know about climate change, and resource depletion – they want to know what businesses are doing about it . . .

What Cornwall as a whole is doing about it…

A partnership between the Cornwall AONB and all those with

a stake in how tourism in the Cornwall AONB operates.

Elements of a quality label as the AONB commits itself to

producing a comprehensive strategy and implementing an

action plan for managing tourism.

The Charter believes Tourism Management:

"should be based on a consultative process involving

multi-stakeholder participation" (International Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism).

Partnerships are encouraged and strengthened.

Baseline information is collected and assessed for the protected area region.

Vision and goals are established to maximise the positive benefits of tourism on biodiversity, ecosystems, and regional development while minimising negative impacts.

Joint actions are taken to implement these overall goals.

Lessons we learned along the way . . . Who is carrying the process? Ownership needed.

Stakeholder engagement time consuming.

‘Europarc Charter’ not very sexy . . . beware of forgetfulness! Say it again & again & again . . .

‘Buy in’ the easy bit. . . commitment to delivery an ongoing challenge. . . STWG (possibly in a new guise?) our mechanism. . .

Don’t underestimate what are partners up to already.

Small steps. Big impact. As one CoaST member says, it now involves us all working together - Way Beyond Tourism. A valuable process. . .

We now have a 5 year sustainable tourism strategy & action plan (a new and improved STWG action plan) . . .

Protection and enhancement of natural & cultural heritage

Improving the quality of the tourism experience

Raising public awareness

Development of tourism specific to the area

Sustainable Tourism training

Protection and support of the quality of life for local residents

Social and economic development

Control of tourist numbers

The Cornwall AONB has now been awarded the European Charterfor Sustainable Tourism.. . it is already helping Cornwall AONB to:

Strengthen relationships with local tourism stakeholders and the wider tourism industry.

More joint working and partnership opportunities with all Charter Partners.

Increase understanding of the aims of the AONB and projects within the AONB.

Increased commitment to delvier sustainable tourism activity across the County.

Tap into a network of European parks in the Charter network to share best practice.

Raise the profile (especially in the European arena) of Cornwall as an area devoted to sustainable tourism.

The businesses are excited that the European Charter will help them gain:

Higher profile.Economic benefits.Sustainable communities.Wider understanding of the natural environment. Well behaved (!) and curious visitors.International connections

The Charter presents an opportunity to ensure that tourism development in Cornwall is sustainable. . . making sure that everything is working to the benefit of the people, the environment, and the economy

It’s all about leadership. . . an opportunity for the Cornwall AONB to really lead the way. . .

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economy

environment