carbonneutraltourism.co.uk

24th – 26th June 2008

Tourism South East (TSE), supported by the Kent Tourism Alliance (KTA), is working with the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts travel arm, Wildlife Travel, to develop a pilot wildlife short break in the region. The Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is part of the area used by TSE to test a series of wildlife short breaks showcasing the south east’s richness and diversity of flora and fauna. The first break in Kent is scheduled for 24th – 26th June.

“Wild Flowers of the Kent Downs” has been designed by Ros Bennet with the Kent Wildlife Trust. This wildlife experience will centre on the wild flowers, and in particular the orchids, of the Kent Downs whose warm south-facing slopes are amongst the richest habitats in Britain. Ros will lead the trip which will involve visits to nature reserves such as Downe Bank, where Darwin developed his theories on the evolution of species by natural selection.

Visitors will stay at the Dog and Bear in Lenham.

The Project
Interest in UK wildlife has grown enormously in recent years, largely fuelled by an increase in wildlife programmes. The likes of Bill Oddie, Johnny Kingdom and Ray Mears have brought our natural world, via the television screen, into the living room and helped to inspire and improve awareness of our wildlife amongst an increasingly urban society.

Despite this, much of the UK has been slow to explore the potential of wildlife tourism. The majority of wildlife based activities are available for locals, taken advantage of by visitors if they happen to be staying in the area. Yet there is significant potential demand for visitors to take a wildlife themed break if there is the opportunity to experience wildlife that they would not normally see.

Accommodation providers stand to benefit from additional business and from the relatively high spend market sector able to visit outside the traditional high season. Each establishment participating in the pilot must be prepared to promote at least three wildlife breaks at times to suit their business requirements. The intention is that, where successful, the breaks will continue on an on-going basis.

The anticipated benefits to the Wildlife Trusts not only include increased membership from the accommodation providers, but also a direct financial contribution from each break taken.

The South East region will benefit from the increased viability and sustainability of its rural tourism businesses and will position itself as a wildlife rich region on the fringes of the capital and Northern Europe.