GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCE - THE MANAGEMENT OF A TOURIST DESTINATION

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  • Created by: Frances
  • Created on: 14-04-18 20:57

INTRODUCTION

The English Lake District lies entirely within the county of Cumbria in north-West England and attracts about 16 million visitors a year, many of them international tourists. This figure refers to the Lake District National Park and would be larger if the whole county of Cumbria were considered. Like London, Stratford upon Avon, Oxford and Cambridge, it figures prominently on international package tours of the UK.

In 1949 the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act established the concept of National Parks, in order to protect the UK's areas of natural beauty and ensure that people could enjoy them. The UK National Parks are different from those in other  countries in that they are not enclosed areas and normal economic activities such as agriculture and industry go on within them. In each one, a National Park planning authority exists in addition to the normal  local government arrangements and has additional responsibilities and powers.

The Lake District National Park is the largest of the UK parks and covers over 2000 km2. Tourists go to the Lake District to admire the scenery of mountains and lakes, and for hill walking, rock climbing, mountain biking, fishing, boating, seeing historical buildings and vernacular architecture and visiting the locations made famous by writers and artists such as William Wordsworth, John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter.

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INTRODUCTION #2

The National Trust  owns about a quarter of the land in the park, the water and electricity company United Utilities owns 8 per cent and the Lake District National Park Authority owns 3.9 per cent. The National Park Authority is based at offices in Kendal. It has a visitor centre at Brockhole near Windermere. There is no restriction on movement inside the Park along public routes, but access to cultivated land is usually restricted to public footpaths, bridleways and byways. Much of the park is uncultivated upland which has statutory open access.

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GROWTH

It was in the period between 1750 and 1800 that the natural beauty of the Lake District started to be appreciated. This coincided with the age of romanticism (the movement which emphasised aesthetic experience) and the picturesque (an aesthetic ideal which encouraged travellers to examine the beauty of a country).  This was popularised by the Lake Poets Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey and the art patron and social thinker, John Ruskin. It was the preserve of the rich, leisured classes. The poets also popularised walking as a pursuit.

In a separate development, the pursuit of rock climbing began to be developed and Wasdale Head became a spiritual home of the sport. 100 km or so to the south, Manchester and Lancashire were at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, and its related development of the factory system and urbanisation. Wealthy industrialists started to buy land in the Lake District and build mansions in places such as the shore of Lake Windermere.

Proposals for the development of railways were the first sign of mass tourism allow access for all. The coming of the railways made the area accessible and led to the growth of hotels and guest houses in Keswick, Windermere and Bowness.Tourists could use the railways and lake steam boats to tour the area.

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DEVELOPMENT

Because the natural and historic landscape is the principal attraction of the Lake District, there is a constant tension between conservation and economic development. From these early beginnings the growth of the Lake District as a tourist destination has been through a series of separate developments. The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA), introduced in 1951, is now the planning body for the area and has to approve any developments.

The National Trust is a UK charity concerned with the preservation of areas of natural beauty, historic buildings and monuments for the benefit of the public. It was and mon founded in 1895 with a Lake District resident, Hardwicke Rawnsley as one of the founder members. It owns or leases most of the central mountain area and the major valley heads, 91 farms and 24 lakes and tarns (owning around a quarter of the Park in total). It has raised funds through national campaigns (e.g. to purchase of Brandelhow on Derwentwater in 1902), donations (e.g. the mountain Great Gable was presented by the Fell and Rock Climbing Club in 1923 as a memorial to members who had been killed in the First World War, the author Beatrix Potter donated income from her children's books which helped purchase Monk Coniston Estate, 1929) and the subscriptions of members. As well as conservation work, the National Trust owns holiday accommodation and car parks.

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DEVELOPMENT #2

The other developers of the industry are the private landowners and property owners, from the smallest guesthouse keeper to large landowners such as Lowther Estates which owns farms and forestry, a castle and gardens, luxury holiday cottages, and claims the largest outdoor event venue in the Lake District National Park. In 2014 one of the Lake District's highest mountains, Blencathra, was put up for sale by the Lonsdale Estate with a guide price of £1.75 million, to help settle a £9 million tax bill.

Despite the emphasis on conservation, some small tourist honeypots have developed, where tourist shops and food outlets dominate, and crowded roads and pavements result. One of these is Bowness on Windermere with cruise boats on the Lake, the Old Laundry Theatre and the World of Beatrix Potter tourist attraction (the latter much favoured by Japanese visitors). Conserving the traditional built environment has been a concern for the LDNPA, be it the former homes of famous residents such as Wordsworth, Ruskin or Potter, the vernacular architecture of white-washed slate roofed cottages, or dry-stone walls and bridges. The LDNPA requires that all new buildings and repairs are in local stone - adding significantly to their cost.

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DEVELOPMENT #3

Planning restrictions have led to some developments to be outside the National Park, although close to it. Rheged near Penrith is a visitor centre situa Britain's largest grass-covered building. It hous six-storey-high cinema screen, shops, restau conference centre, children's play areas and entertainment events. Also just outside the Centerparcs' Whinfell Forest resort complex.

The climate of the Lake District is wet and rather unpredictable with the central areas receiving over 2000 mm of rain a year. Despite this, there is a limited range of wet-weather, all-year tourist attractions. The winter season is much quieter than the summer, but winter weekends are still relatively busy with day visitors and people on short breaks. The most recent surveys of the age profile of visitors to the Lake District show that significant numbers of tourists are over the age of 45.

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BENEFITS & SUSTAINABILITY

Economic value of tourism: 2008 -  £949.7million | 2009 -  £952.7 million | 2010 - £934.9million  | 2014 - £1.146billion

Number of tourism-related jobs: 2008 - 15488 | 2009 - 15244 | 2010 -  14865 | 2014 - 16031

Economic value of tourism Source: STEAM Tourism (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor), Cumbria. As the Table shows, tourism has a great and growing economic impact in the district. In addition to direct income for businesses and providing the main source of employment, the fact that the people are employed and do not need to leave the area helps to maintain other essential services such as schools and hospitals. In addition, the services based on the tourist industry such as leisure facilities, restaurants and public transport also benefit local people.

Sustainability: Tourist numbers in the district are growing; in Cumbria as a whole, between 2013 and 2014, a 4.7 per cent increase was seen. At some point the district will reach its carrying capacity and if more people are attracted it will detract from the peace and tranquility that people seek. Today even some of the mountain paths can become busy at peak periods.

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CONFLICTS

Housing

Local people, particularly the young find it difficult to access the housing market. The 2011 population census showed that 17 per cent of houses in the National Park were second homes, but the figure is even higher some areas within the National Park. House prices increase due to the national house price increase, people seeking a desirable retirement area and the demand for second homes. School leavers often leave  the area because people on low wages cannot afford the high house prices. This causes rural depopulation.

Employment

Some of the employment in the industry is seasonal, working conditions such as split shifts are unattractive, and wages are low. In the 1990s many young Australian backpackers were employed in the district but today they have been replaced by eastern Europeans, e.g. one hotel has an almost exclusively Romanian staff. Local shops such as newsagents, butchers or greengrocers which are barely profitable often close to make way for more profitable gift shops and tea rooms. This leaves local people without essential services.

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CONFLICTS #2

Conflicts over resource use

There is a long history of mining and quarrying in the district and the old workings and spoil heaps may be considered to be a source of visual pollution. In the past copper, lead, zinc, graphite, barytes and tungsten have all been mined. Slate quarrying is still active in many parts of the district. Because these industries were established long ago, limited planning permission for their continuation is given as long as visual impact and the impact of road traffic is minimal. Aggregate Industries UK Ltd have a large roadstone Aggregate Industries un quarry near Millom. Significantly, this quarry is outside the National Park.

In the years after the Second World War, the Forestry Commission established extensive areas of forestry in the area, notably in Ennerdale. The regimented rows of dark-green, non-native sitka spruce were heavily criticised, particularly for their visual appearance. Today planting is less regimented and includes native species.

Much of the Lake District is grass-covered hills but the dark-green, evergreen conifers have been criticised. Increasingly, deciduous trees like those in the foreground are being planted or allowed to generate naturally.

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CONFLICTS #3

The Lake District is an area of hill sheep farming, supported financially by various agricultural policies. How can agriculture coexist with tourism which has open access to land? In the past there have been conflicts with farmers complaining about tourists' dogs chasing sheep, tourists leaving gates open and damaging walls, etc. On the other hand there were complaints about some farmers blocking access to footpaths.

The roads of the Lake District are narrow, lined with stone walls and not well-suited to coaches or heavy traffic. They are considered to be part of the landscape and wider roads are not likely to be given planning permission. These roads can become heavily congested with traffic at peak periods. In some valleys it is difficult to find parking spaces in summer. The number of hikers on the mountains has led to footpath erosion which is expensive to repair.

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HISTORICAL BATTLES

The potential conflicts described above have sometimes developed into issues which attracted national media attention.

The lakes have been used by a variety of craft some argued that powerful speed boats were at odds with the peace and tranquillity of the Lake District (world water speeds records were established in the area in 1930 and 1955). A 10 mph speed limit on Windermere came into force in 2005. The lake had been heavily used by powerboats and water skiers, causing noise, spoiling the lake for sailing and canoeing, causing shore erosion, contributing to water pollution and the disappearance of reed bede Speedboat and water-ski and marina companies are the lake had their businesses affected, and have had to change to new markets.

A similar debate about the nature of tourism in the Lake District surrounded plans to build a zip wire at the Honister slate mine. This was turned down by the the LDNPA in 2013, as not being in keeping with the tranquil surroundings.

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HISTORICAL BATTLES #2

In 1894 the level of Thirlmere was raised to provide a water supply for Manchester. The water was so pure that people were kept away from the lake so that it did not require processing. In 1941 the process was repeated at Haweswater, drowning the village of Mardale. Since then plans to raise the level of Ullswater (1962), Ennerdale (1978) and Wast Water (1981) have been turned down.

It has already been mentioned that the building of railways opened the district to mass tourism. Some like Wordsworth and Ruskin, strongly opposed railway developments as they found the working classes and uncouth and thought that the proletarian hordes would not appreciate the scenery. The working classes of Lancashire lived in slums and fortunately more enlighted thinkers realised that areas like the Lake would offer a healthy recreational outlet for factory workers. In 1844 the building of the railway from Oxenholme was forced to stop at its present terminus at Windermere. When railways became unfashionable in the UK, several Lake District lines closed. Today attitudes have changed and two railways run by volunteers, the Ravenglass and Eskdale, and the Haverthwaite to Lakeside lines are big tourist attractions.

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HISTORICAL BATTLES #3

The Lake District has often had an uneasy relationship with its near neighbour, coastal West Cumbria which has gone through the difficult process of deindustrialisation. One example of this was the proposal in the 1960s to build a major road, the A66, from the M6 motorway to the coastal belt at Workington. Proponents argued that the road would help employment and the economy of socially-deprived West Cumbria. Opponents were worried about the effect on the scenery and of bringing yet more traffic to the Lake District. The road went ahead.

Attitudes today are similar regarding the giant Sellafield nuclear plant, the major employer in West Cumbria. Plans to build an underground storage facility have been supported in West Cumbria. Plans to build an underground storage facility have been supported in West Cumbria but opposed by people in the Lake District who fear its effect on tourism.

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SOLUTIONS

  • Proposals to restrict the number of cars and visitors in some valleys have never got off the ground.

  • The National Trust and other conservation groups have undertaken footpath maintenance and rebuilding.

  • Bus transport has been improved and subsidised and Borrowdale and Langdale have regular services, however the number of private cars is still an issue.

  • Restricted parking zones have been set up in some villages, e.g. Elterwater. Carparks have been established by the National Trust and the LDNPA itself.

  • Posters and leaflets at tourist information centres raise awareness of conservation issues.

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SOLUTIONS #2

  • The areas of forestry are now used as assets with laid-out trails for walkers and mountain bikers, and adventure sports activities in areas such as the Grizedale and Whinlatter Forests.

  • The relationship between farming and tourism is now more comfortable. Sheep farming preserves the existing landscape by preventing the regeneration of the native woodland and requiring dry-stone walls to be maintained. The National Trust owns 91 farms and many farmers have diversified into bed and breakfast accommodation and camping sites.

Where these developments are commercial enterprises, private capital is available but who should pay for footpath maintenance and other general conservation work?

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THE NATIONAL PARK TODAY

In 2012 the LDNPA State of the Lake District National Park report established a series of targets for 2015. These refer to:

  • The percentage of new businesses surviving for three years

  • The percentage of people who are unemployed

  • The median earnings of employees in Cumbria

  • The amount of additional employment floor space developed in the National Park

  • The percentage of visitors rating the overall experience of their visit as good or very good

  • The percentage of planning applications in the National Park receiving approval

  • The percentage of repeat visitors

  • The percentage of visitors who stay in the National Park for at least five nights

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THE NATIONAL PARK TODAY #2

  • The percentage of visitors whose main mode of transport during their visit is a private motor vehicle

  • The percentage of accommodation providers in the National Park that have a quality rating

  • The number of parishes in the National Park which are covered by Community Action Plans

  • The number of additional affordable and local needs homes in the National Park to be developed

  • The number of settlements in the National Park with four, five or six services from: convenience store, meeting place, primary school, public house, post office, doctor's surgery

  • The percentage of working age people in the area who have access to employment by public transport, cycling or walking

  • The percentage of wildlife sites and important geological sites in the National Park in conservation management

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THE NATIONAL PARK TODAY #3

  • The percentage of sites of special scientific interest in the National Park in a favourable or recovering condition

  • The area of land in relevant agri-environment schemes in the National Park

  • The percentage of length of public rights of way the National Park easy to use by members of the public

  • The percentage of rivers and lakes in the National Park in good ecological condition

  • The number of cultural heritage assets at risk in the National Park.

Cumbria Tourism identified the following goals for 2018:

  • Increase visitor spend from £1.1 billion to £1.5 billion

  • Increase the volume of trips from 15.2 million to 17 million (with the majority of this growth coming to areas outside the Lake District National Park area)

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THE NATIONAL PARK TODAY #4

  • Increase the proportion of accommodation providers with a quality grading from 53 per cent to 80 per cent

  • The Lake District is identified as the number one rural destination for a holiday or short break by the UK population.

The Lake District National Park works in partnership with many organisations to manage the Park. Cumbria Tourism, the destination organisation for Cumbria is a key partner as they perform a range of marketing and development services for both the public and private sector who operate in the National Park. Cumbria Tourism undertakes market research with visitors and tourism businesses and much of the data referred to this section is from Cumbria Tourism.

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