Tourism

• Exploration- small numbers of visitors are attracted by something particular: good beaches; attractive landscapes, historical or cultural features. Local people have not yet developed many tourist services.
• Involvement- The local population sees the opportunities and starts to provide accommodation, food, transport, guides and other services for the visitors.
• Development- large companies build hotels and leisure complexes and advertise package holidays. Numbers of tourists rise dramatically. Job opportunities for local people grow rapidly, but this brings both advantages and disadvantages.

• Consolidation- Tourism is now a major part of the local economy, but perhaps at the expense of other types of development. Numbers of visitors are steady making employment more secure. However, some hotels and other facilities are becoming older and unattractive, so the type of customers attracted goes downmarket. Rowdiness becomes a problem.
• Stagnation- The resort becomes unfashionable and numbers of visitors start to decline. Businesses change hands and often fail.

The reasons for Growth of Tourism in the Lake District

• Physical: Unique geology
• Unique glacial scenery
• Highest, most challenging hills in England that attract up to the best rock climbers and mountaineers in the country
• Beautiful valley and lake scenery that can provide walks for all ability levels with open access to all hills
• Lakes for ferry cruises and water sports
• Ospreys have been reintroduced
•   Created as a National Park in 1951 to protect the environment and encourage access 

• Cultural: A fashionable place to visit from the c19th for poets and artists. Wordsworth and Ruskin’s house can be visited
•  In the c19th, many wealthy Manchester industrialists built large houses and gardens in the area to get away from the pollution. Some have been converted into hotels, some are open to the public             
•  Beatrix Potter lived here and owned large amounts of land ( which was later given to the National Trust) Her stories were written in and about the area.
• Rich in archaeological, farming, mining and industrial heritage
• The range of ‘indoor’ activities is growing that can attract people throughout the year, not just in the summer

• Transport: The M6 allows easy access from the Manchester and Liverpool areas within 2 hours drive
• Information: The internet means that anyone, anywhere in the world, has access to information about the area
• Anyone considering a visit can plan and book from home more easily now.

• Issues
•  Resident population: 42 000
•  Visitors: 12 million per year,   22 million visitor days concentrated in school holidays especially the summer
•  Traffic congestion: 89% of visitors come by car.
•   Most of the roads are small, narrow and winding so queues develop
• Settlements grew up in the 19^th century when traffic volumes were significantly smaller
• Car parks are often full to overflowing early in the day

• Parking on grass verges causes environmental damage
• Footpath erosion on the most popular hills (Helvellyn, Cat Bells)
• A large % of the houses are second homes which has put the price of housing up so locals cannot afford them and local services like schools have to close
• Bank erosion on the lakes that allowed power boats

• Strategies to cope with large numbers of tourists / Plans to ensure the continuing success of the tourism industry in the area
• In 1997 The lake District National Park Authority  Management plan
• 2010 Core Strategy of the Local Development Framework set out the NPA vision for the next 15 years and how they were to achieve this.
• Traffic. / parking
•  Dual carriageways have been built across the northern edge from Penrith to Keswick and beyond which keeps traffic moving and allows larger lorries to deliver supplies to larger shops and supermarkets in Keswick and to the industry on the coast.
• The main road south from Keswick through the centre of the Lakes has been improved but kept as a 2 lane road although there are sections of dual carriageway on some steeper sections
•  

Heavy lorries are kept off the smaller roads

• Size of car park is linked to size of settlement and the number of people it can cope with. Hopefully when they are full people will go elsewhere.
• Park and ride schemes from the outskirts of the Lakes into the centre.
• Provision of smaller hopper buses linking the main towns to the villages and main walking areas. They run frequently and are competitively priced. They go through areas where car parking is very limited

• The main footpaths and most eroded ones are reinforced and rebuilt.
• Routes are clearly signed
• Bollards are placed by the side of roads to prevent cars parking there
• New car parks and buildings have trees planted round them to ‘hide’ them
•  Where possible use ‘waffles in car parks rather than tarmac to reduce change to hydrological cycle
•  Add more litter bins and make sure they are emptied regularly
• Speed limits were enforced on Lake Windemere which stopped power boats using it   Improve signs so tourists close gates and do not affect sheep 
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• Housing

• · All new build accommodation must be made available for locals to buy

  ·Encourage timeshare style developments rather than second homes

• The Effectiveness of strategies to cope with the impact of large numbers of tourists
• The amount of tourist revenue continues to grow
• The number of people visiting and returning to visit continues to grow
• Footpath and bank erosion has been reduced

•  Up to half foreign exchange earnings  from tourism  (mining of bauxite and agriculture are also important)
• About 1.3 million foreign tourists a year
• Up to ¾ visitors from USA
•  9% increase in visits from ‘non-resident Jamaicans’
• Growing at 3-4% a year with bigger increases in some months
• Capacity over 24 000 rooms
• The positive and negative effects of mass tourism on the economy and environment
• Advantages
•  Lots of foreign money is coming into the country
•  Government money is being spent on improving housing and town centres
• Government money is being spent trying to bring down the crime rate
• Jobs are available in the big hotels

• Disadvantages / areas of resentment
•  Dominance of large, all-inclusive hotels  so ownership and therefore income is concentrated in a few, often foreign owners
•  Many informal jobs such as taxi driving and selling crafts are very low paid
•  Failure to use tourism / tax revenues for the good of the general population
• Migration of people to resort centres for low paid jobs  has led to squatter settlements
•  Lack of consultation with locals has led to resentment and crime.
•   Many beaches are reserved for the expensive hotels so locals unhappy. Other beaches can only be accessed by paying and the public ones are in a poor condition. The government cannot afford to clean all of them up so give permits to commercial companies who then charge for access to the 85 or so public beaches
• Differences in wealth between visitors and locals has led to harassment of tourists so putting them off
• Environmental damage around the main tourist centres

• Strategies for maintaining the importance of tourism in the area and reducing its negative effects.
• Political / social
• Government moving from seeing tourism as simply a way of making money to a way of promoting economic development. Recognised that local communities are at the heart of modern tourism
• Encourage small tourism businesses and community based ventures with government loans, provide more opportunities for local businesses to market goods to tourists, help farmers increase the supply to hotels
• Develop an integrated planning policy to involve all levels from national to parishes
• Shift to community based planning so more people are involved and benefits more widely spread
•  Linking to other sectors to sustain jobs and social stability e.g. assist the development of arts and crafts by providing finance 

•  Anti-harassment legislation and crack down on crime to make people feel safer and to improve visitor experience. These have been major constraints on growth in the past
• After success of Usain Bolt in 2008 Jamaica - major international advertising campaign emphasising Jamaica’s heritage refurbished its main tourist website as one stop shop for information on history, culture, attractions, facilities and booking with links to google maps and constantly updated information

• Geographical / spatial
• Zoning of the island. Kingston area to be developed mainly for cruise visitors and tours  and the South Coast to feature low density tourism based on their outstanding heritage for tours and independent travellers
•  Focus resources on 4 heritage sites of international potential – Port Royal, Spanish Town, Falmouth and Seville. Develop scenic routes and circuits and heritage trails across the country coordinating with local communities and their products
• National location strategy to concentrate accommodation in 3 major resort centres Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios (to serve the above) with Kingston as a resort centre but not in need of extra accommodation (The ribbon development along the N and NW coasts to be stopped to reduce environmental and social damage) Resources to mitigate environmental impact can then be concentrated in these areas. The rest of the country to provide visitor attractions and low density accommodation
•  2 airport strategy to speed up and spread out travellers

• Environmental
•  US$8 million spent on increasing the carrying capacity of the 3 main areas, especially in environmental management as pollution and other environmental damage has held back development in the past
• US$1.5 million is spent on maintaining and cleaning up tourist sites to help enhance the overall visitor experience
• Beach strategy: to improve non-hotel beaches as well as opening up hotel beaches. Commercial companies to work with large hotels to use revenues from beach access to continue to develop the services so locals and visitors can mix without harassment e.g. Doctors Cove and Breezes Hotel. Exclusive licenses to be phased out to prevent the best beaches being given to all-inclusive hotels that charge  for the use of amenities as this kills off small hotels and non-hotel accommodation
• Investment in improving water quality
•  Collect solid waste the pump remaining sewage beyond the coral reefs
• US$0.5 million to marine park trusts to develop eco-tourism, to improve environmental protection and operate new facilities

• —  At the bottom of the world!
• —  About the same size as Europe
• —  The coldest, windiest, highest and driest  place on earth. South Pole is a bone-chilling minus 45^oC today!
• —  No polar bears, rivers, or native peoples
• —  Antarctica has no permanent residents, but a number of countries maintain year-round research stations
• The Antarctic Treaty:
•   Territorial claims are “frozen” and new ones cannot be made
• —  Antarctica used for peaceful purposes only
• —  Freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation
• —  Scientific data and personnel freely exchanged
• —  Nuclear explosions and radioactive waste disposal banned
• All research stations and ships open to inspection at any time by any treaty nation

• Tourism in Antarctica:
• Tourism began in 1950s when commercial fishing took some passengers.
• 1969 was the first cruise
• Tourism is developing rapidly in Antarctica. Numbers have risen from 9000 in 1992/93 to 45,000 in 2008/09.This has led to major concerns about ship safety and environmental impact.
• Over 100 tourist companies are involved.
• 36% are from USA and 16% from the UK.
• Tourist usually fly to New Zealand or Argentina, then cruise for two weeks. Smaller boats take shorter trips.
• Activities include- walking, kayaking, skiing, climbing, scuba diving.
• Few visitors go on the ice

• Problems with tourism
•  Environmental impact of a tourist is far greater than that of a researcher.
• —  Landing sites are chosen for a special reason, so they become honeypots.
• —  Tourists spend a short time ashore but is often too great and uneven.
• —  Penguins and seals are easily disturbed by more than just a few people. If they leave then they abandon their young and eggs
• —  Ships have struck rocks and ice floes.
• Oil spills are becoming increasingly common

Managing tourism:

• All tour operators are members of IAATO, which directs tourism to be safe and environmentally friendly.
• —  In line with the Antarctic Treaty, tourism is acceptable, but it is the scale that needs to be controlled.
• —  Visitors are not allowed to visit Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in order to conserve precious wildlife and landscapes e.g. Bird Island on South Georgia.
• —  You must gain a permit for any activities on the continent
• —  In 2009, the Treaty nations agreed that large ships carrying more than 500 passengers will not be allowed to land people ashore
• —  From 2010, all ships sailing in the Treaty Area will be banned from using heavy fuel oil —  
• Visitors/ workers use powdered drinks and condensed food to reduce waste. Much waste is returned to the host country including human waste
• Rubbish is stored in caged bins to ensure it cannot be blown away
• Stations are subjected to environmental audits.

• atlas mountains, morrocco
• Mike McHugo, British trekker saw old ruins and bought in 1989
• he worked with locals, used local skills and materials
• power tools not used, materials carried by mules
• opened to paying customers as an ecological hotel in 1995
• A local villager and his wife manage the property
• 32 local villagers employed from nearby villages
• rooms decorated using local craft and skills
• food is all sourced locally
• 5% of accomodation costs is used by an Association for the village
• It has provided a rubbish clearance and disposal by small local incinerators, a 4x4 ambulance service and a bath house, and accomodation for school children to attend school
• Improved access for safe water, an internet and phone service

• Menorca is the second largest of the Spanish Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. It has a population of 67,000 and it has a total land area of 702km2.
• Mediterranean Climate - average temperature of 16oC with an average of 24oC in the summer months and little rainfall in the summer
• Menorca has a beautiul and varied landscape - Northern Menorca has an uneven and rugged coastline and in the south there are many white sandy beaches
• There are a wide range of watersports available (windsurfing; water skiing, scuba-diving etc.)
• Other outdoor activities include horse riding, cycling andpotholing.

• Job creation - tourism is the largest employer in Menorca
• - tourism has had a multiplier effectand helps to support many different sectors of the economy e.g. jobs in farming (providing food for hotels and cafes), jobs in the craft industry (providing locally made souvenirs) and it is recognised that ice-cream is a major business
• - tourism in Menorca has also raised awareness of the need to preserve the environment

• - as tourism is very much a seasonal industry - employment fluctuates at different times of the year
• - the demands of the tourists have led to changes in the local way of life and there is also resentment of the number of villas and other properties being bought up as second homes by foreigners
• - some of the earliest hotels which were built did not fit in with the local landscape and contrast dramatically against the beauty of the natural coastline
• - the local culture has suffered some 'erosion' as changes have been made to meet the demands of tourists