Managing T ourism I mpacts

1. Managing Tourism Impacts Macro and micro approaches TOMG200 Tourism Management & the Environment

2. Impact Measurement / Indicators Impact assessments Visitor flows data Carrying capacity Indicators of crowding Acceptable limits of change

3. Indicators of change - measures Car parking capacities – Number of car parking spaces divided by average length of stay multiplied by average number of passengers per car indicates possible capacities. =100 Number of car parking spaces Average stay = 30 minutes If mean number of passengers per car is 1.80 – then 360 tourists Per hour mean of 200 cars If attraction open for 10 hours = 3,600 tourists per day

4. Further indicators Host: Visitor ratios New Zealand 4.0 mill population 2.0 mill international visitors Ratio = 1:0.50 Mallorca 600,000 population 20 million visitors Ratio =1:33

5. Categorisation of Policies • Micro policies • Are at specific site level • Macro policies • At a national, regional or district level • Policies should relate to each other as a coherent whole

6. i. Micro policies – some examples • Zoning and permit usage • Pricing policies • Use of Visitor Centres • Building permissions/consent requirements • Footpath design • Use of car parks

7. Zoning activities Jet skiers Sailors Swimmers Anglers

8. Use of visitor centres As sources of information they can be used to: Influence decisions as to what to see Influence behaviour by indicating what is appropriate behaviour Utilise visitor time

9. Use of footpaths Are specific ways of controlling access and directing flows of people.

10. Park car and ride Involves waiting for transport Entrance comes part of the visit experience Opportunity for novelty ride Enables car park to be at some distance from entrance Enables control to avoid long queuing times at entrance point Implies pricing on per person (not per vehicle) basis Permits greater landscaping of entrances and approaches to attraction

11. Use ‘park like’ car parks! • Trees provide shade in summer • Aesthetically pleasing • Plants can hold water due to rain • May be more harmonious with natural or other attractions • May provide landmarks to help find car • May create favourable impression of attraction • May reduce litter • May offer wind shelter

12. ii. Macro policies – some examples • Honey pot vs. dispersal • Regional zoning • Controlling accessibility • Taxation and grants policies • Persuasive approaches – e.g. eco-labelling • Encouragement of ‘Ecotourism’ • Green belt and country park approaches • UNESCO World Heritage Site designation

13. Honey pots Set up popular destinations to relieve pressure on more fragile areas Examples include: Queenstown, NZ? Stonehenge, UK Blackpool, UK?

14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn4BWSl8Fyc

15. Honey Pots - problems • Become focal point as an origin for day trip activities • Reach into further areas • Subsequently develop needs for accommodation and infrastructure • Development by creeping in new locations

16. Over time • Nature of the place changes • Nature of the market changes • The first market moves onto new places • The process repeats itself • Tourism consumes more places! Honey pots Do not like crowds Require crowds! Tolerant of crowding Volume Time

17. Rejuvenation techniques

18. Dispersal policies Advantages Spreads the tourist load and economic gains / benefits over wider area • Spreads problems over a larger area • - needs more transport infrastructure • might impinge on communities and physical environments • government intervention Problems Increases number of attractions and thus generates more traffic

19. Controlling Access Airport construction Airline routes Airline schedules Bilateral agreements Pedestrianize city centre – e.g. Oxford, UK

20. Zoning Policies Purposes: Conservation and Protection • Basis: • identify land use • degrees of restricted access • permitted land uses. Permission for activities Determine nature of development • Requirements: • a legal framework • process of implementation • reinforcement and monitoring.

21. Zoning policies in New Zealand Conservation Act, 1987 Part IV, sections 18-23. Mt Pirongia Forest Park, Waikato Conservation Parks (51) Managed for protection of natural and historic resources and to facilitate public recreation and enjoyment.

22. Wilderness Areas (7) Managed for preservation of indigenous natural resources. Buildings, machinery, livestock, vehicles, aircraft, roads and tracks are excluded from such areas except for management, scientific or safety purposes. (also under National Parks Act 1980) Ecological Areas Managed for protection of the particular values of each area.

23. Sanctuary Areas Managed to preserve indigenous plants and animals in their natural state and for scientific and other similar purposes. Watercourse Areas Land already under some form of protection (whether under the Conservation Act, Reserve Act or QEII National Trust Act) which adjoins inland waters. The land together with the adjoining waters also has outstanding natural or recreational characteristics and is managed to protect these characteristics. Maungatautari Ecological Island Rangitata River

24. Marginal Strips – part IVa section 24 Strips reserved from the disposition of land by the Crown adjoining the sea, lakes or rivers held for conservation purposes and protection of waters, water life and water quality they are also held to enable public access to the waters and for public recreational use.

25. Stewardship Areas – Part V. section 25 Other areas designed for the protection of historic and natural values. While they can be disposed of, such disposal is subject to public process. Tongariro forest conservation area

26. UNESCO World Heritage Sites 962 designated WHS inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list) Highly formalised designation process through WHC; strict Operational Guidelines of UNESCO; Management Plan required 2 sites nominated every year from within Convention parties’ territory ‘World Heritage Convention’ approved by UNESCO in 1972 to identify, protect & conserve cultural & natural heritage of outstanding universal value

27. Case study:New Lanark WHS, Scotland • Designated WHS in 2001 • Industrial conservation village http://www.newlanark.org/ 350,000 visitors p.a. 180 residents

28. - Watch the YouTube tour of New Lanark World Heritage site http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XisMRpcKpEw&feature=related

29. Management of tourism impacts at New Lanark WHS • Management: • Events programme, new product development, redevelopment programme • Car park above the village • Visitor signage, orientation, passport ticket • Revenue generation through hydro-electricity • Management Plan to pull stakeholders together with a common aim (WHS Coordinator) Impacts: Seasonality Long queues Difficult access Visitors do not visit whole site Visitors use free-access areas only Traffic congestion Visitor/Host balance

30. Individual Study Question (5) What are the benefits of UNESCO World Heritage Site designation?

31. Readings: Chapter 4 in Hall & Lew (2009) (pages 143-148) Chapter 10 in Garrod & Fyall (2011) Beeho & Prentice (1997) – see recommended readings