Malcolm Bell Head of VisitCornwall. Background and Depth of The Indicators Influenced by: Concept of sustainable development based on 1992 Rio Declaration.

Malcolm Bell

Head of VisitCornwall

Background and Depth of The Indicators

Influenced by:• Concept of sustainable development based on 1992 Rio

Declaration on Environment and Development’s Agenda 21 - a comprehensive plan of action adopted by 178 governments.

• EC reported on basic orientations for the sustainability of European tourism (2003)

• UNWTO and UNEP identified an agenda of 12 aims for sustainable tourism (2005)

• EU Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) developed three key objectives given above activities: economic prosperity; social equity and cohesion; and environmental protection.

Work to Date

• Tourism Sustainability Group (TSG) set up by EC (2004) to address:o Importance of tourismo Aims to make tourism more sustainable & challenges to achieve aimso Recommended processes to overcome challengeso Create a framework for action (indicators) and initiatives to be taken

• Mandate for action with stakeholders included providing guidance for local Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) to use indicators and monitoring systems

• Considerable work into the development of the TSG indicators since 2007

• Testing feasibility in NECSTouR and EDEN destinations (2010)• NECSTouR evaluation and report• EDEN evaluation and report by University of Barcelona• Improvements made by TSG

EC Tourism Sustainability Group

• Established in 2004

• Representatives from Industry, Stakeholders and Destinations

• 2004-2007 Development of Sustainable and Competitive Tourism Report

• 2007 adoption at Algarve European Tourism Forum

• 2009 Working Groups – W/G A Sustainable Tourism Indictors

Indicators - The Challenges

• Gaining Agreement on which indicators are core

• Ensure they cover all three pillars

• Establishing which are practical and achievable

• Can procedures be developed for those that do not exist yet

• Gaining partners to pilot

• Evaluating application and results etc

The Prize

• To set Destination level targets

• Use for Regional/National Bodies

• A Benchmarking system

• Measuring progress

• Trend analysis possible

• Assist in the justification of public investment in tourism management

Sources of Data

• Official Statistics/source

• Visitor Surveys

• Business Surveys

• Host Community Surveys

• New techniques

The Indicators

1. Tourism Volume and Value

2. Tourism Enterprise Performance

3. Customer Satisfaction

4. Community and Social Impact

5. Quantity and Quality of Employment

6. Gender Equality

7. Equality and Accessibility

The Indicators

8. Reducing Transportation Impact

9. Climate Change

10.Sustainable Tourism Management Practices

11.Solid Waste Management

12.Water Management

13.Energy Usage

The Indicators

14. Sewage Treatment

15. Landscape and Biodiversity Protection

16. Light and Noise Management

17. Inclusive Management Practices

18. Development Control

19. Tourism Supply Chain

20. Protecting and enhancing local cultural identity and assets

Study to assess the feasibility of a European Tourism Indicator System for Sustainable

Management at Destination Level

The SUSTAIN System

SUStainable Tourism And INdicator system

St Ives 6th September 2012

Work to Date

• Tourism Sustainability Group (TSG) set up by EC (2004) to address:o Importance of tourismo Aims to make tourism more sustainable & challenges to achieve aimso Recommended processes to overcome challengeso Create a framework for action (indicators) and initiatives to be taken

• Mandate for action with stakeholders included providing guidance for local Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) to use indicators and monitoring systems

• Considerable work into the development of the TSG indicators since 2007

• Testing feasibility in NECSTouR and EDEN destinations (2010)• NECSTouR evaluation and report• EDEN evaluation and report by University of Barcelona• Improvements made by TSG

The purpose of this project

…is to investigate the feasibility of a Europe-wide system of tourism indicators for the sustainable management of destinations

and

To make recommendations to European stakeholders for its implementation.

The importance of this project

This is a key element of the work of the European Commission to promote an internationally competitive tourism industry and to enhance the sustainability of destinations across Europe.

Benefits to Your DestinationGeneral• Creates vision and guidelines for destination sustainable tourism development; • Creates framework for benchmarking, communications & good practices learning exchange

Economic• Identifies resource and financial savings (e.g. energy, waste, water, etc.)• Identifies data supported resource reallocation needs based on destination goals• Protects destination as a tourist attraction• Develops opportunities for funding • Enhances branding, marketing and communications

Social• Improves quality life for locals; Improves relations between residents and tourists• Supports LT well-being of residents by informing policy / management decisions (E.g.

resource reallocation for bringing tourists from resort to rural areas)

Environmental• Preserves ecological integrity of destinations; • Emphasises value and conservation of natural and cultural resources

The importance of the Workshops

Purpose :• To introduce you to the SUSTAIN process and indicators• To test the SUSTAIN system• Part of an exclusive group of European pilot destinations

Outcomes:• General stakeholder understanding of SUSTAIN and the process• Generate feedback the project team can use to refine the system• Launch a process that is ongoing and crucial for your destination• Receive data response from destinations 2 weeks after workshop

To develop the SUSTAIN System we have:

• Researched 35 indicator systems from across the world; Narrowed down to 20 systems and analysed 8 in depth for EU relevance

• Included GSTC (future consideration)• Assessed TSG indicators based on expert experience• Assessed NECSTouR and EDEN feasibility reports• Interviewed a sample of NECSTouR and EDEN DMOs• Integrated lessons learned and made recommendations to

EC (TSG) based on above assessments for improvements and final Toolkit

• Result given significant destination support - a comprehensive system including process and methodology rather that just list of indicators - SUSTAIN

The SUSTAIN System – Key Principles

• Flexible• Inter-sectoral• Integrated approach• Comes with a toolkit• Simple - with a concise core of indicators• Driven by the Destination Management

Organisation (DMO) working with a group of stakeholders

SUSTAIN: The 7 Steps

Step 1. Raise Awareness

Step 1. Raise Awareness

Step 2. Create a Destination Profile

Step 2. Create a Destination Profile

Step 3. Bring together a Stakeholder Working Group

Step 3. Bring together a Stakeholder Working Group

Step 4. Allocate Roles and Responsibilities

Step 4. Allocate Roles and Responsibilities

Step 5. Collect and Record Data

Step 5. Collect and Record Data

Step 6. Results Analysis and Benchmarking

Step 6. Results Analysis and Benchmarking

Step 7. Ongoing Development and

Continuous improvement

Step 7. Ongoing Development and

Continuous improvement

“Destination” DefinitionOne of the first things your Stakeholder Working Group will need to do is determine the geographical boundaries of your destination.

For the purposes of this study, a destination can be defined as:

•A geographic area that is currently or potentially attractive to visitors/tourists. •A place/area which is recognised and can easily be defined as a visitor destination and has a range of facilities and products in place for tourism purposes. •A place/area which is promoted as a destination and has management processes for visitor related and tourism purposes. •A place/area where it is possible to measure the supply of and demand for tourism services i.e. the visitor economy.•A place/area where the visitor management process usually includes a range of public and private sector stakeholders together with the host community

The SUSTAIN Process Steps 1,2 & 3

STEP 1: Raise Awareness• Get involved• Spread the message

STEP 2: Create a Destination Profile• Provides a snapshot of your destination• An overview for you• A summary for those less familiar STEP 3: Bring together a Stakeholder Working Group (SWG)• Invite stakeholders from relevant sectors• Convene a participatory workshop• Identify core issues and indicators

The SUSTAIN Indicators

Divided into 4 categories based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC)

A - Sustainable destination managementB - Economic valueC - Social and cultural impactsD - Environmental Impacts

Approach • Clear and simple• Tailor the System to your destination through selecting

optional indicators• Start with what you can and build up. Lack of data for some

indicators is not a problem but shows where work is needed.

Some Examples of Core IndicatorsSection A: Destination Management Core IndicatorsA.1 Sustainable Tourism Public Policy• Indicator A.1.1 Percentage of the destination with a sustainable tourism

strategy/action plan, with agreed monitoring, development control and evaluation arrangement

Section B: Economic Value Core Indicators B.1 Tourism Flow (volume & value) at Destination • Indicator B.1.1 Number of tourist nights per month• Indicator B.1.2 Daily spending per tourist (accommodation, food and drinks, other

services)

Section C: Social and Cultural Impact Core Indicators C.1 Community/Social Impact • Indicator C.1.1 Number of tourists/visitors per 100 residents

Section D: Environmental Impact Core IndicatorsD.1 Reducing Transport Impact • Indicator D.1.1 Percentage of tourists and same day visitors using different modes of

transport (public/private and type)

Some Examples of Optional Indicators

Section C: Social and Cultural Impact • Core Indicator: C.1.1 Number of tourists/visitors per 100

residents• Reason for measuring The density of tourists/visitors in

comparison to residents offers a suitable indicator for understanding the social impact of tourism on residents. This is referred to as the ‘penetration ratio’.

Optional Indicators you could also consider:• Optional Indicator C.1.1.1 Percentage of residents who are

satisfied with tourism in the destination (per month/season)• Optional Indicator: C.1.1.2 Number of beds available in

commercial accommodation per 100 residents• Optional Indicator: C.1.1.3 Number of second/rental homes per

100 homes

Group Exercise

To start to form a picture of the indicators most relevant to your destination, stakeholders will be dived into groups and asked to undertake the following exercise:

1. Identify all the optional indicators relevant to your destination

2. Of those identified as relevant, prioritise which you would most like to see included

The 7 Steps (continued)

STEP 4: Establish Roles and Responsibilities• Responsibility is shared so no one is over-burdened • Members collect indicator data according to role• DMO acts as central point of contact for data collation

STEP 5: Collect and Record Data• Members have an allocated amount of time to obtain the

data for the indicator they are responsible for• Feed data and any comments back to DMO

The 7 Steps (continued)

STEP 6: Results analysis and benchmarking• Toolkit has built-in Dataset to collect and store results• Results will show up areas of concern• Agree priorities, benchmarks and a plan of action to

achieve them.

STEP 7: Ongoing Development and Continuous Improvement• Meet regularly to review progress against targets• Make longer-term plans, with timelines and agree

responsibilities

Next Steps…

• Responsibility for relevant data collection will be allocated by DMO

• Data should then be collected and passed to DMO• DMO collates and records data to generate results

for destination• Stakeholder Working Group can meet again and

set benchmarks - aim for continuous improvement• Feedback Form should also be returned to DMO• Your collective feedback will be used to develop

and refine the final SUSTAIN system for a launch next year.

Thank You

Malcolm Bell

[email protected]