ETC section intro · 2018. 6. 12. · As a concept, sustainable tourism’s underlying principles...

IntroductionContents

Foreword

Contributors

Introduction

Strategy and service improvements plans

1 What is sustainable tourism?

2 Delivering real change at destination level

3 VICE: a model for sustainable destination management

4 Developing and implementing your destination management plan

5 What you will find on the CD-ROM

6 How the handbook will help you

7 Taking sustainable tourism forward

Case studies

Sources of information and help

Implementing a destination management plan (table)

© ENGLISH TOURIST BOARD AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE 2003

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ForewordThis handbook is designed for the use of tourism destination managers and their staff. Theterm destination refers to a significant land area managed for the development of tourismby Local Authorities, National Park Authorities, Public/Private Partnerships, AONBManagement Teams or Private Sector Businesses.

It is being increasingly understood that destination managers have a very significant role toplay in delivering successful and sustainable tourism solutions, both on the ground in eachlocal destination and as a collective UK network of professionals. Furthermore, they are inthe unique position of both being able to play the role of honest broker with visitors,tourism businesses and communities where tourism happens (the local destination) and atthe same time are linked into the regional, national and international tourism picture.

Destination managers can therefore make a significant contribution in establishing thecomplex local and sub-regional relationships and networks that deliver consistentnational/regional policy actions at the coalface, where they actually count. This is particularlypertinent in light of recent international tourism issues and the need to make solutions workquickly and effectively for the benefit of tourism throughout the UK.

A fundamental requirement for this vision will be the consistency of approach adopted bydestination managers to establish a coherent national framework for destination management:a framework which at the same time creates the flexibility to respond to the differentdestination circumstances that make the UK such a hugely diverse international tourismproduct. We all have a piece of the jigsaw; the trick will be for us all to work together tocreate that bigger picture to benefit the tourism offer of the UK as a whole.

This is just a start. We hope that the evolving nature of the handbook will provide thecatalyst to develop this common approach and by working together, identify and promote best practice in all aspects of destination management. We want this handbook to become the fundamental resource of every destination manager, so it will be developedand updated regularly. Each component will be ‘edited’ by a fellow destination managerlisted in section 5, so keep them informed of things we’ve missed or any relevantdevelopments in that subject. Together, destination managers can make a huge difference.

ContributorsThe following organisations and individuals have contributed to this handbook:

Tourism Management Institute/Local AuthoritiesSu Beswick, South Hams District Council; Anthony Climpson, New Forest District Council;Peter Lane, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council; Sarah Osborne, Royal Borough of Windsor& Maidenhead; Colin Potts, Chester City Council; Amanda Shepherd, Chair of TMI IT Panel.

English Tourism CouncilDavid Lunn, Board member; Andrew Daines; John Dent; Claire Dinan; Jane Fletcher; Helen Ford; Stuart Heath; Paul Jeffries; Chris Veitch.

Tourism for All ConsortiumJenny Stephenson

Regional Tourist BoardsChristopher Howard, East of England; Neil Warren, East of England; Peter Colling, Southern;Liz Craven, South East England; Jo Jury, Heart of England.

Disability Rights CommissionMarie Pye

Resource – The Council for Museums, Archives and LibrariesMarcus Weisen

Other contributorsGraham Barrow, Independent consultant; Tamsyn Butler, English Nature; Becky Collier, Island2000 Trust; Annabel Grant, SBS; Rebecca Hawkins, independent consultant; Jeremy Roberts, independent consultant; Matt Todd, independent consultant

© English Tourist Board and Tourism Management Institute 2003

Published by the English Tourism Council, Thames Tower, Black’s Road, London W6 9EL in partnership with the Tourism Management Institute, c/o Anthony Climpson, New ForestDistrict Council, Leisure Services Department, Appletree Court, Lyndhurst, Hampshire SO43 7PA, tel 023 8028 5102; fax 023 8028 5457; email [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

IntroductionThe English Tourism Council (ETC) and the Tourism Management Institute (TMI) have workedtogether to create this handbook. We hope that it will help provide destination managerswith the tools for implementing a sustainable approach to tourism and thereby secure asuccessful future for tourism at a destination level throughout the UK. We also hope that the approach taken in this handbook will form an enduring framework for the ongoingdevelopment of destination management, recognising that inevitably this work will need toevolve further to achieve a fully comprehensive approach. In order for this to happen, wewould be grateful for your participation in helping shape its future.

Strategy and service improvement plans

The handbook seeks to deal with enhancing professional development in destinationmanagement as a whole. It is important to draw a distinction between each of the elementsof a sustainable and integrated destination management plan. The primary component isthe strategy itself, which encompasses drawing individual stakeholders together and creatinga framework for their interaction and collective animation. Integral to this is the managementprocess and the arrangements put in place to deliver and monitor the service and itsperformance. This service delivery process forms a key part of an authority’s approachtowards performance management and the process of continuous improvement required as part of the Best Value and Comprehensive Performance Assessment initiatives.

We have included some work of the National Tourism Best Value Group in the followingcomponents, and in future editions of the handbook we hope to join all the performanceand service delivery outputs in one publication. Best value is covered in more detail inSection 4 Monitoring performance.

The following points are covered in this introduction below:

1 What is sustainable tourism?2 Delivering real change at destination level3 VICE: a model for sustainable destination management4 Developing and implementing your destination management plan5 What you will find on the CD-ROM6 How the handbook will help you7 Taking sustainable tourism forward

1 What is sustainable tourism?

A logical starting-point for this handbook is to consider the meaning and importance of asustainable approach to tourism. As a concept, sustainable tourism’s underlying principles are well understood: it is about managing visitor impacts on the local destination’s economy, communities and environment to benefit all stakeholders both in the present and the future. The principles of sustainable tourism apply to all tourism destinations,wherever they are, and to all forms of tourism, whether niche or mainstream. Indeed,sustainability is necessary for the successful future of tourism itself.

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The key importance of this approach has been recognised for some time. In 1999, theGovernment published Tomorrow’s Tourism, which identified the pursuit of sustainabletourism as a priority, and gave the ETC lead responsibility for developing policy in this area.With the help of a sustainability taskforce, the ETC developed its Time for Action strategy,which identified three objectives for sustainable tourism:

• to benefit the economy of tourism destinations• to support local communities and culture• to protect and enhance the built and natural environment.

The challenge for developing tourism sustainably is to find the optimum balance betweenthese interrelated objectives, whereby no one objective is disproportionately favoured to thedetriment of the others. If this can be achieved, the benefits will be significant, as asustainable approach to tourism will help create:

• Economic growth Tourism is the fifth largest industry by employment and accounts for7.6% of employment in England. Between 1995 and 2000 tourism was in the top five job-creating sectors, responsible for nearly 10% of all new jobs. Tourism uses more locally-produced goods and services than other industries and brings revenue into remote or peripheral regions where there are few alternatives.

• Better facilities Tourism can be a good reason to preserve and protect the built andphysical environment. It relies on clean beaches, attractive natural environments, beautifullandscapes, well-preserved historic sites and interesting buildings for its success; moreovermany of these assets are maintained by visitor income.

• An engine for regeneration Tourism is an increasingly important element in driving social,economic and environmental regeneration. Related developments can provide a new leaseof life for disused buildings and help to regenerate neglected areas.

These factors will lead to an improved visitor experience, a higher quality tourism productand benefits for the local community in terms of an enhanced local economy, employment,amenity and environment. The value of this approach is further illustrated by the researchfindings summarised below, showing that visitors themselves are becoming increasinglyaware of sustainability and the benefits it brings by influencing their behaviour.

The ETC recently carried out research to investigate domestic tourists’ attitudes tosustainable tourism. The results suggest that UK residents have a positive attitude andawareness of the issues.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of consumers stated that a well-managed environment was animportant feature in choosing the destination of their last holiday or short break in England;76% thought it important that their holidays in England should benefit local residents at theholiday destination.

Interestingly, the respondents backed up these attitudes by stating that they would bewilling to pay more for accommodation providers that followed sustainable tourismpractices:

• 63% of consumers said they would be willing to pay extra to stay with a provider whichtries to buy local products.

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• 63% of consumers said they would be willing to pay extra to stay with a provider thattries to employ local staff and pays them good wages.

• 65% of consumers said they would be willing to pay extra to stay with a provider that wascommitted to good environmental practices.

The potential marketing advantage that sustainability offers is just one of many goodreasons why destinations should address the issues presented within this handbook. Thechallenge for us all will be to initiate and maintain the real changes that are necessary toadopt a more sustainable approach.

2 Delivering real change at destination level

In order to develop a national approach to sustainability that will promote real change at alocal level, we need to recognise that destinations collectively represent a hugely diversegrouping. The challenges and solutions for tourism may differ from one destination to thenext, although there will be common factors. For example, seaside resorts may faceindividual problems such as the maintenance of sea defences, which would not be a problemfor landlocked spa towns. However, they may share the same problems in terms of decliningvisitor numbers and capitalising on local distinctiveness. Meanwhile, areas of outstandingnatural beauty and historic towns and cities may be more concerned with reducing visitornumbers whilst increasing economic benefits.

National policies, strategies and targets will therefore be vital to establish common prioritiesand create a consistent policy framework and infrastructure that will support nationalsustainable development. However, it is only at the local destination level that real changecan be brought about. Local destination managers will be the drivers of this change but it isimportant to remember that these changes cannot be brought about by them alone. To besuccessful, destination managers must work with a wide variety of stakeholders includinglocal land managers, businesses, communities and the visitors themselves. The importance ofthese partnerships in bringing about a sustainable tourism future is stressed throughout thehandbook.

Trying to address these many interrelationships makes destination management about ascomplicated a management activity as there is. We all know how difficult a subject it is tocommunicate and resource – this is at the heart of destination tourism’s main problem: a lack of understanding of what it actually is. TMI have therefore developed a destinationmanagement model, which is simple, comprehensive, consistent but flexible and providesboth the simple explanation and the means of integrating the many stakeholders, which will benefit from local, regional and national sustainable management solutions.

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3 VICE: a model for sustainable destination management

The VICE Model identifies destination tourism as the interaction between Visitors, theIndustry that serves them, the Community that hosts them and their collective impact on,and response to the Environment where it all takes place:

It is the job of the sustainable destination manager to make sense of their own specific set oflocal VICE circumstances and through an array of collective partnerships create a destinationmanagement plan which:

• welcomes, involves and satisfies Visitors• achieves a profitable and prosperous Industry• engages and benefits host Communities• protects and enhances the local Environment

The VICE equation can also be applied as a simple check against the future viability(sustainability) of any tourism decision. How will this issue/decision affect the visitor? Whatare the implications for industry? What is the impact on the community and what is theenvironmental effect? If you cannot find a positive answer to all four questions, theproposition is likely to be unsustainable.

It is the aim of TMI to develop the VICE concept locally and sub-regionally as a means ofmaking tourism a catalyst for regeneration everywhere and recapturing a sense of localcommunity control, financial independence and pride that will improve both the localquality of life and the visitor experience in every destination throughout the UK. However,sustainability is a complex mission that takes a long time to achieve and a lot of organising.

The TMI destination management model builds on this concept to create a simple, flexiblematrix for the engagement, construction and delivery cycle of collective tourism solutions in any local setting.

The model integrates the basic work areas of destination management (eg research andquality) with the four basic stakeholder groups, Visitors, Industry, Community andEnvironment. The consistency comes from the overall approach (VICE) and the commonmethod of measuring the performance outputs/indicators of the overall plan. Flexibilitydevelops through the various means employed to integrate destination management and thefour stakeholder groups and in the detail of the objectives which come out of this process.

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Environment

Industry

Visitor

Community

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Local Destination Management Model

Destination management services

Each destination management service will have its own approach to the way it organises itswork and in the way it engages its own stakeholder groups. The local model lists the broadareas of responsibility likely to be of significance to the work of any destination managementservice. The problem for most tourism officers is that resources and/or organisationalstructures normally make it difficult for them to coordinate this wide range of activities.

It is likely that initially you won’t be able to engage in all the work areas listed in the model, so fit in what you’ve got, or, if you are responsible for them, add new work areas such as event management/public buildings/museums. The important thing is to integrate all your areas of work with your four stakeholder groups in delivering your destinationmanagement plan.

Stakeholder groups

The model identifies four distinct groups of stakeholders: Visitors; Industry; Community;Environment. The main problem is that they cannot all be engaged in the same way. There isalso the confusion of some people being in more than one group; for instance, visitors caninclude large numbers of local residents. Overall, however, the public sector and industry willdirectly benefit by encouraging community and environmental interests to help influencethe overall visitor experience and the way in which the destination area is managed.

In making any destination plan work, the stakeholders therefore divide into two types:

• Public sector, agencies, landowners and industry, who must lead and set an example bytaking co-ordinated action and facilitating the participation of the remaining stakeholders.

• Visitors and local residents, who should not be expected to initiate action of their own,but whose engagement and participation is still essential for the success and sustainabilityof any plan.

Stakeholder engagement

There are many ways to organise stakeholders into the four VICE groups and this will dependon the nature of the destination, the level of commitment/resource provided by the localauthority/agency/landowner and the current state of local tourism.

If you are starting from scratch it’s important to begin with your local industry. The mosteffective means is to establish a single cross-sectoral industry partnership/association. This willtake a huge effort for a couple of years but the benefits are enormous if you are successful.If this isn’t possible, then at the very least create an annual cross-sectoral forum to act as acollective sounding post and for industry to feed into your management plan process.

With the industry on board and working with you, you can start to set about establishingthe four programmes which are most likely to engage the interest and input of eachstakeholder group.

• Visitors: visitor stewardship programmeThis is the means by which you engage your visitors in the destination strategy. It can beas simple as a set of key messages in a leaflet or as complex as a comprehensive packageof visitor media, interpretation, information, payback and accreditation, linked to everyaspect of your destination strategy.

It doesn’t really matter what approach you adopt as long as it is owned and consistentlydelivered to visitors by all appropriate destination stakeholders. A visitor stewardshipprogramme will reflect and interpret the destination’s values, cultural heritage andlandscape in a way that communicates your local distinctiveness and fits with the policiesand actions of your overall strategy.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure you consistently replicate the messages/themes ofthe programme in all your visitor communications and in your promotional and productactivities; eg visitor information centres, public buildings, industry sites or bedroombrowser. If you operate a local distinctiveness/LA2I/sustainability scheme and logo, thevisitor stewardship programme is a powerful tool to incentivise industry take-up. However,the main benefit is to get the visitor to actively play their part in making the destination abetter place to live and visit by having a more personal involvement through an improvedwelcome and a greater understanding. To achieve this, the programme needs to bedeveloped by getting ownership and input from your industry and community groups,with overall leadership coming from the environment group.

• Industry: destination marketing and product development programmeThere are many aspects of destination management that provide you with the opportunityto engage with your local industry. However, there is nothing more effective than asuccessful joint public sector/industry destination marketing programme. This approach has the added bonus of potentially being totally inclusive of all your local visitor-relatedbusinesses and a major source of investment and product development that’s in keepingwith the wider needs of the destination.

If you follow the VICE model you will be able to develop that total ownership by feeding in all four stakeholder groups’ needs to the destination’s marketing programme. Such aprogramme then becomes a tool to promote, sell and reinforce the values, culture and

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heritage of your destination to both your stakeholders and your visitors. This can be verypowerful, particularly if you tap into those local residents who are regular visitors.

The marketing programme can also be used as an incentive for the industry to sign up to quality/local distinctiveness/LA21/sustainability schemes. If you can provide successfulreturns from your marketing programme, it will become the glue which holds yourindustry and your destination strategy together. The levels of success from your marketingprogramme will be hugely improved if you have a cross-sector tourism partnership/associationor forum to represent the industry group and help devise and deliver it.

Time hasn’t allowed us to pull together a comprehensive marketing component for thisfirst edition of the handbook. Section 3J is a summary of how to construct and promote asustainable marketing plan.

• Community: local tourism plansIf you want to operate a sustainable destination, then you need to fully involve yourdifferent communities. Some destinations already have well-established tourism networks,linking community interests into the VICE model via community tourism groups (CTGs) orforums. An effective way to get the ball rolling is to bring any community’s local industrygroup reps, parish/town council, chamber of trade and resident groups together to devisea local tourism action plan for that community area. These can simply be a list ofprioritised issues to tackle, or a more comprehensive community tourism developmentplan. There are many ways these can be created using the Four-stage Plan from thehandbook; the important thing is that they add value and link into all the principles andactions of the destination strategy.

The Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) is an ideal vehicle for destination managers to link incommunity support with their own work. The best way to do this is to use the LSP to forma Community Action Network for tourism, made up of CTGs representing each community.Each group could undertake their own Four-stage Plan and be linked in to yourdestination strategy process via a community action team for tourism, itself linked to theLSP Board. Local members of your industry partnership/association can often provide theinitial leadership to get a CTG going and it’s surprising how often residents eventuallytake over the role in the long term.

• Environment: LA21/Sustainable Tourism ProgrammeWhatever setting your destination enjoys, urban, coastal, rural, or a combination, itsenvironment is without doubt its most important asset. Managing the impact of tourismand visitors on this fundamental asset is a key responsibility of any destination manager.The environment is a huge management subject and there are many interests, agencies,landowners and individuals involved, some of whom can be somewhat ‘anti-tourism’.

So how do you get the environment working for tourism and tourism working for theenvironment? As this handbook demonstrates, the answer is that we are only just startingto find out. Without doubt the best way a destination manager can make a start is bygetting all the many interests together in an LA21 tourism group or similar and gothrough the Four-stage Plan to produce an LA21/sustainable tourism programme inputinto your destination strategy. Using the VICE model this would include the creation of alocal distinctiveness programme or participation in the proposed national sustainabilityaccreditation scheme. Other key roles could include overseeing the visitor stewardship

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programme, the tourism input to: local produce, biodiversity, planning/development,transport and the environmental elements of tourism research, quality, training,marketing, information and ICT.

The creation of an LA21 tourism group brings together a myriad of cross-cutting issuesusually out of the direct control of a destination manager both within the local authorityitself and throughout the destination. Ideally, because of the large number of peopleinvolved, an LA21 tourism group would only meet occasionally maybe once or twice a yearbut keep in regular contact through sub-group action and email. Members of the groupshould be drawn from within the council: eg Corporate Planning, Environmental Health,Public Services, Public Relations, Planning, Development Control, and from outsideorganisations: industry representatives, community representatives, Highway Authority,transport operators, National Parks/ AONBs, RTBs, environmental agencies, landowners.This process provides the means to get an environmental stakeholder input into thedestination strategy and action plan whilst engaging those interests which mightotherwise work against you either by chance or design.

The above programmes should be linked with all the other elements of the local model to form your overall destination management strategy and action plan along with agreedperformance indicators and identified responsibilities for delivery. The outputs of the planand P/Is are reviewed and fed back to the stakeholder groups to start the nextcycle/modification of the strategy/plan and its process. Wise growth, like best value, is aboutcontinuous improvement.

Sub-regional modelNo destination is an ‘island’ and we all have much to gain by working with neighbouring or like-branded destinations. So the local model links to a sub-regional model, which in turncan link into the regions and beyond. Assuming the destinations that make up the sub-region are all using the VICE model, then each destination plan’s output is collectively fedinto the policies and actions of the sub-regional steering/strategy group providing thecontinuity of the VICE (sustainability) concept in all sub-regional tourism management anddevelopment activity.

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This is just an example of a sub-regional structure. There are many ways to organise yourapproach as long as you remember to feed up, down and across to create benefit for alldestinations in the partnership and link with your neighbours. There is no doubt, from theexperience of destinations that already work in this way, that a collective sub-regionalapproach allows many of the bigger issues to be tackled far more effectively by usingeconomies of scale and collective resources. This is particularly important for individualdestinations given the new focus on regional government.

4 Developing and implementing your destination management plan

Having identified the national and local importance of a sustainable tourism approach andhow it can work in practice, the next step is to make it happen by developing and deliveringa destination management plan/strategy.

In principle this plan should aim to incorporate the national actions identified from the Timefor Action strategy, where they are relevant, whilst addressing the destination’s own prioritiesthrough stakeholder engagement achieved through the VICE approach. Flexibility is requiredhere in order to successfully meet the needs of each specific destination, whilst allowingthem to interact with national programmes and initiatives. The planning process should aimto identify and effectively address any conflicts that may exist between national and localpriorities, and seek to benefit from common issues.

In line with all effective managerial systems, destination management should be viewed as aprocess of continuous improvement to increase the quality of the overall product, followingthe key steps of the business planning cycle; ie audit, plan, develop and monitor/evaluate.Not only is this necessary for the overall approach, but the same principles also apply to theindividual components within this handbook. As a result, these four stages are a commontheme throughout this handbook as they provide the structure to aid development andimplementation. The following table illustrates the key aspects of each stage. It is important to remember that each of these stages must be carried out in partnership with the relevantVisitor, Industry, Community and Environmental stakeholder group.

Beyond this process, there are many ways to consider the actual activities and elements thatmake up the overall management plan. This handbook identifies a suggested framework ofactivities that can be used as the building blocks for your plan; it is your task to fit them toaddress your own circumstances. The many case studies included will provide good examplesof how this can be achieved.

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5 What you will find on the CD-ROM

The CD-ROM inside the back cover of this handbook contains all the components for sections1 to 5 in pdf format. These can be browsed in Adobe Acrobat Reader on PC or Apple Mac,and printed out as and when needed and inserted into the handbook binder. This meansthat components not currently within your plans can be left on CD, and components whichare used more often can be reprinted if necessary.

There are quick links to individual components from the Contents page, and you cannavigate easily around the documents by using the clickable buttons on each page. Thereare live links to websites for references and case studies to enable you to follow them upeasily. If you don’t already have Adobe Acrobat Reader, the CD-ROM also contains a facilityto install Acrobat Reader. (Please note that Acrobat Reader can be downloaded or installedfree of charge.)

As mentioned in this introduction, sustainable destination management is a developing and growing area. The Tourism Management Institute’s website, www.tmi.org.uk, willcontain updates on the existing components and information on further areas in sustainabledestination management for you to download in the future. Live links to the TMI websiteare also included on the CD-ROM.

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Stage

Audit and research

Destinationmanagementplanning andpartnership

Development and delivery

Monitoring and evaluation

• Where are we now? – demand, the product, impacts andperceptions. Research and analysis are fundamentally important in order to identify the key issues and find the right approach.

• The ‘partnership’ develops a mutually owned strategy and actionplan. Starts with a shared vision, in order that all stakeholdersunderstand and agree the desired outcome. The strategy will beguided by the agreed vision and will work around issues andopportunities identified. The strategy must incorporate actionpoints with deadlines that are allocated to specific individuals ororganisations.

• Partners deliver elements of the action plan and work is co-ordinatedby the destination manager. This is where the concept of partnershipis particularly important. Those involved in the delivery of the planmust have ‘bought in’ to the vision in order to have the necessarycommitment to achieve the strategy.

• Once the strategy has been implemented, the work does not stopthere. It is essential to keep monitoring the work throughout toensure that it continues to achieve what it set out to achieve.Performance is measured against mutually agreed targets and fed back into the cycle by adjusting future plans.

http://www.tmi.org.uk

6 How the handbook will help you

This handbook is designed to take you through the key stages in the process of creating asustainable destination management plan, from initial audit to performance monitoring and evaluation.

In doing so, it also makes the connections with the work of the National Tourism Best ValueGroup and the Time for Action strategy, in which a range of sustainable tourism issues wereidentified as benefiting from clear guidelines for destination managers. These issues havebeen developed as components, with reference to the VICE approach to local engagement.

The handbook is therefore a collection of practical components/tools to help destinationmanagers tackle common national issues in line with their own circumstances. Each componenthas been designed to be read individually or as part of the wider planning process and theinteractions between them have been illustrated throughout. Extra components will beadded in time as the handbook develops. The overall relationship between the planningprocess, the activities covered by the handbook components and the interrelationship withstakeholders is demonstrated in the two-page table which follows this introduction.

Some of the components also provide information specifically relevant to others, particularlytourism businesses, thus recognising the need for a joined-up approach in every aspect ofsustainable tourism. We hope that destination managers will use this information to helplocal enterprises develop sustainable tourism practices in all aspects of their business.

In terms of their structure, the components themselves provide a background explanation, a‘how to’ practical section and lists the key determinants of success and failure. Case studiesare provided to illustrate possible approaches. Finally, each section ends with a collection ofreferences and contacts to help you to find further information on that subject. Section 5 is acomprehensive list of reference and contacts found througout the handbook. We hope thatthose who become familiar with the contents of the handbook will find the final referencesand contacts section a useful resource that can be referred to quickly and easily.

7 Taking sustainable tourism forward

We hope that this handbook won’t stay on your shelf but will be a valuable and practicaltool in helping you employ and encourage more sustainable tourism at your destination. This work has been, and will continue to be, a collaborative effort and we would like tothank those who have helped so far in its development and those yet to get involved.

Sustainable tourism is a responsibility shared by government departments, national andregional agencies, local authorities, destination management groups, not-for-profitorganisations, tourism businesses and ultimately everybody. The future of tourism in the UKdepends on our collective ability to manage and develop it responsibly. The English TourismCouncil and the Tourism Management Institute are committed to a sustainable approach totourism and believe that only by implementing its principles today – through this handbookand many other initiatives – will we all have an environment that can be enjoyed tomorrow.

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yThis has been a simple introduction to destination management, outlining the stakeholdersto be engaged, the range of issues to be addressed and the process that can be applied. Formore information on each element, please now turn to your required component.

Case studies

Ecosert Ecosert was a three year 2.5million euro project, supported by the European Union topromote sustainable tourism. Three European regions are working together to developaction plans involving everyone affected by tourism in their rural areas. The three Europeanregions are:

Provincia di Avellino – Italy Magnesia – Greece Dee Estuary Partnership (local authorities serving Chester, Ellesmere Port,

Neston and Wirral plus British Waterways) – UK

In each area those involved included: • local residents • visitors • local services • attractions and accommodation • transport operators • food producers • environmental groups • landowners

The main output of the project was a Regional Environmental Sustainable Tourism Plan foreach area, prepared to a common format. Each area has developed a number of pilotprojects to test different aspects of encouraging sustainable rural tourism. The sustainabilityof the projects has been ensured by the application of EMAS. For further information visitwww.ecosert.org.uk or contact Mike o’Kell at Chester City Council.

Greater Manchester District Tourism ForumThe ten districts are: Tameside, Stockport, Rochdale, Manchester, Oldham, Wigan, Bury,Salford, Trafford and Bolton. The organisation was formed following the dissolution of theMetropolitan County Councils. Without an organisation in place to deal with countywideissues, the districts could not hope to compete with other destination for tourism business.

At the same time the former County Conference office was re-positioned to form theGreater Manchester Visitor and Conference Bureaux and this subsequently becameMarketing Manchester.

Marketing Manchester remit is the promotion of the city region in particular as aninternational destination; the Tourism Forum is more focussed on the domestic market. Theten districts pay in the order of £300,000 per annum to Marketing Manchester. The AirportAuthority, which is also owned by the Ten District, has been making a contribution of inexcess of £1 million per annum, a limited amount of private sector income made up of goods

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in kind and membership income. The district also contributes £2,500 per annum and thisprovides an operational budget for the Forum of £25,000.

Collectively, Marketing Manchester and Tourism Forum have substantial funds, which enablefurther funding opportunities as they provide the necessary match funds.

The work undertaken by the forum includes:

• establishing thematic partnerships• publications• website development• training• familiarisation trips• lobbying• support to the private sector• market research and Economic Impact Studies.

The forum meets regularly and the forum members are joined by representatives fromMarketing Manchester, North West Tourist Board, Arts about Manchester and North West Vision (formerly the film and television commission) These are interesting and oftenlively meetings.

Taking the destination management approach in the way that the forum does, enables apositive response very quickly. Major initiatives like the Commonwealth Games, and criseslike FMD and September 11, are more effectively dealt with if everyone is pulling in thesame direction with shared information and workloads. Working together reducesduplication and improves the probability of success.

The forum enjoys a good relationship with Marketing Manchester and together they makethe marketing of Greater Manchester as a destination a very strong international product.

Sustainable Tourism Management in the New ForestFor the last 12 years, New Forest District Council has worked with a wide range of localinterests to improve the management of tourism in a way that resolves conflicts, minimisesadverse impacts and brings benefits to all concerned. The approach adopted by New ForestDistrict Council with each of the groups of stakeholders representing visitors, the tourismindustry, the local community and the environment is as follows:• to understand and address their individual needs first, so building up their trust and

confidence• to encourage them to understand the concerns of the other constituencies and to take

action to meet them• to help them appreciate that this wider action can very often also be of direct benefit to

themselves, and to help them gain this benefit• to establish an agreed plan and work with all partners to deliver it, undertaking regular

review on the way.

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For further information, please see: Our Future Together II 2003-08 – A Tourism and VisitorManagement Strategy and/or Sustainable tourism management in the New Forest: ACountryside Agency case study. Leisure Services, New Forest District Council, Appletree Court,Lyndhurst, Hampshire, SO43 7PA Tel: 023 8028 5102; email: [email protected]

Sources of information and help

British Tourist Authority. Sustainable Tourism Strategy: A Strategy for the Sustainable Growthof Tourism to Britain, 2002.www.tourismtrade.org.uk/pdf/sustainable_tourism.pdf

Countryside Agency. South Hams Tourism and Marketing Strategy 2000-2005. Please contactThe Countryside Agency, John Dower House, Crescent Place, Cheltenham, GL50 3RA www.countryside.gov.uk

Countryside Agency. The Green Audit Kit. Countryside Agency, Cheltenham, 2001. Details canbe found above.

Denman J and Denman R. Big Apple ’89: An Initiative in Green Tourism, Insights, Vol. 11(3).English Tourism Council, 1990, p.263-264.

English Tourism Council. Green Labels for the Travel and Tourism Industry: A Beginner’sGuide. Insights, Vol. 9. English Tourism Council, A11-19.

English Tourism Council. The National Accessible Scheme, 2002. www.accessibletourism.org.uk

English Tourism Council. www.englishtourism.org.uk

Exmoor National Authority Park. The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism.www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/Projects/Euro_Charter/Report_Evaluation.htm

Fieldfare Trust, 67a The Wicker, Sheffield, S3 8HT.Tel: 0114 270 1668, Fax: 0114 276 7900. www.fieldfare.org.ukThe Fieldfare Trust works with people with disabilities and countryside managers to improveaccess to the countryside for everyone.

Holiday Care Service, Holiday Care, 7th Floor, Sunley House, 4 Bedford Park, Croydon CR02AP www.holidaycare.org.uk Holiday Care Service is a source of travel and holiday information and support for disabledand elder people, families, friends and carers.

Tourism Management Institute Regional Network. Contact details about regionalrepresentatives may be found at www.tmi.org.uk

INTRODUCTION


INTRODUCTION

PAGE 16

http://www.tourismtrade.org.uk/pdf/sustainable_tourism.pdf

http://www.countryside.gov.uk

http://www.accessibletourism.org.uk

http://www.englishtourism.org.uk

http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/Projects/Euro_Charter/Report_Evaluation.htm

http://www.fieldfare.org.uk

http://www.holidaycare.org.uk

http://www.tmi.org.uk

mailto:[email protected]

INTRODUCTION


INTRODUCTION

PAGE 17

Process Component Key actions and stakeholder relationships

Visitor Industry Community Environment

Des

tin

atio

n a

ud

it

1A Visitor satisfaction

Undertake visitor satisfaction survey

Take part in visitor satisfaction survey

Take note of results and implement changes

accordingly


accordingly


accordingly

1B Local economic

impact

Develop local economic model for tourism

Relate model outputs to visitor management plan, thus informing

overall strategy

Return information on visitor spend and occupancy levels

Relate model outputs to community

development, thus informing overall

strategy

Relate model outputs to environmental

management, thus informing overall

strategy

1C Community attitudes

Undertake community attitudes survey

Address community attitudes within visitor

management plans where relevant


accordingly

Take part in the survey


accordingly

1D Carrying capacities

Incorporate study within visitor management plan

Take part in survey work

Take part in survey work and take note of results

Take part in the survey

Take part in survey and take note of results

Des

tin

atio

n p

lan

nin

g

2A Tourism within local authorities/destinations

Produce local authority tourism strategy/destination management plan

Develop visitor management plan as

key component of overall strategy/plan

Participate in consultations



2B Tourism partnerships

Establish stakeholder meetings and public/private partnerships

Participate in visitor stewardship programme

Participate in trade associations/forum/

partnership (for all sectors of the tourism industry)

Participate in community tourism action network (for all interests in each destination community

including industry/residents/retailers/parish)

Participate in LA2I tourism group

2C Micro-businesses

Create development framework and incorporate within strategy/management plan

Promote small business role

and importance to visitors

Engage with tourism offi ce and local TIC

Importance of small businesses to

communities needs to be refl ected in tourism

management plans

Promote environmental principles through

guidance; eg Green Audit Kit and certifi cation

2D Land Use planning for

tourism

Tourism guidance for planning department and agreed tourism/planning department relationship


Liaise with planning authority

for applications


Participate in consultations and ensure that the

bio-diversity action plan is referred to when

planning applications are consulted upon

2E Visitor management

Develop visitor management plan


Take part in consultations and

implement the actions stated in the visitor management plan


Take part in consultations and

implement the actions stated in the visitor management plan

Implementing a destination management plan

The table below demonstrates the process for developing and implementing a destinationmanagement plan in partnership with key stakeholder groups. The activities making up thedestination management plan are also identified, as covered by the handbook components.

For each activity/component, a key action is suggested and the involvement of eachstakeholder group identified.

INTRODUCTION


INTRODUCTION

PAGE 18

Process Component Key actions and stakeholder relationships

Visitor Industry Community EnvironmentD

esti

nat

ion

dev

elo

pm

ent

Quality

Adoption and promotion of National Quality Schemes, and/or participation in relevant transitionary initiatives such as Stepping Stones or Fit For Purpose

Raise awareness through through visitor information

material, marketing campaigns and e-business

Participate in relevant quality scheme

Quality schemes should incorporate community relationship; eg through

certifi cation

Quality schemes should incorporate environmental

principles; eg through certifi cation

3A Business training and

support

Business training and development programme

Visitor satisfaction survey and other forms of

visitor feedback to assess standards

Participate in all sector destination training/

business development programme





3B E-business

Create IT-based destination management system and website

Promote destination website to visitors

Encourage contributions to and links with

the destination website and destination

management system

Consider community use of and representation on

destination website

Encourage contributions to and links with

the destination website and destination

management system

3C Transport

Inclusion of tourism needs in local transport plan and or visitor transport intitiative

Encourage visitors to use alternative forms or

public transport

Encourage visitors to use alternative forms or public

transport; liaison with transport providers


public transport


public transport

3D Visitor payback

Promote and support visitor payback scheme/s

Encourage participation in visitor payback schemes



to enable funding of community schemes


to enable funding of environmental schemes

3E accessibility

Develop local accessibility action plan

Take part in survey work to ensure visitor needs

fully refl ected in management plan

Take part in consultations and implement the actions stated in the accessibility plan, participate in the

National Accessible Scheme

Action plans must incorporate community as

well as visitor needs

Take part in consultations and implement the actions stated in the accessibility plan; participate in the

National Accessible Scheme

3F Local distinctiveness

Destination branding strategy and local producer group, events, festivals and programmes

Encourage participation in visitor payback

schemes, local events, and the purchasing

of local produce

Encourage participation in visitor payback schemes,

local events, and the purchasing of local

produce. Ensure that new developments are in line with local distinctiveness

guidelines


schemes, local events, and the purchasing

of local produce


schemes, local events, and the purchasing of

local produce

3G Biodiversity

Develop local Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for tourism

Assess visitor impact when developing BAP and communicate plan

to visitors

Take part in consultations and implement the actions

stated in the BAP

Address community needs within BAP


stated in the BAP

3H Waste management and tourism

Waste management initiatives, certifi cation and incorporation of tourism business needs in LA waste management strategy

Promote visitor awareness through campaigns,

certifi cation

Engage through waste initiatives and certifi cation

Co-ordinate activity with community-based

initiatives

Engage through waste initiatives and certifi cation

3I Sustainability awards and

schemes

Participate in destination awards and promote/develop industry certifi cation

Market designations to visitor and assess response

through surveys

Promote industry participation, supporting

underlying activities and training

Ensure community needs are identifi ed and addressed and benefi ts

realised through schemes

Work with environmental groups and stakeholders

to maximise local environmental benefi ts

through schemes

3J Marketing

Develop destination marketing strategy


Take part in and implement marketing/product

development programme





Mo

nit

ori

ng

an

d

eval

uat

ion

4 Measuring performance

Develop local benchmarking programme



recommended in the programme

Community interaction incorporated in

benchmarking approach

Take part in consultations and implement the

actions recommended in the programme

Best value audit programme and performance measures


Supply information for the industry-specifi c

performance measures

Supply views on community-specifi c

performance measures

Supply information for the environment-specifi c performance measures

ETC section intro · 2018. 6. 12. · As a concept, sustainable tourism’s underlying principles...

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