carbonneutraltourism.co.uk

The BBC reports that Scotland’s first carbon neutral bus route operated by Stagecoach, has been developed with 140,000 trees to be planted to offset CO2 emissions generated by journeys from Fife to Edinburgh.

A modern arts centre is to open in Aberdeen in 2010, costing £13 million. The new centre received £4 million in capital funding from the Scottish Arts Council and will be the first of its kind in Northern Scotland.  The development is a partnership between Aberdeen City Council and Peacock Visual Arts, and they hope to attract 200,000 visitors a year. The centre will exhibit contemporary arts, host exhibitions by world-class artists and run community outreach and education projects. Facilities will include galleries, printmaking, television/dance studios, workshops and space for film screenings and talks. The building will primarily be built underground and heated using geo-thermal and solar energy.

National tourism agency, VisitBritain, launches a new programme – Green Start – to help accommodation providers and visitor attractions in England take the first steps towards becoming sustainable businesses.

VisitBritain aims to encourage a rapid, widespread and significant increase in the adoption of sustainable tourism principles, while avoiding the burden of too much bureaucracy and, as part of a three-month pilot, is waiving the usual £25 cost for the first 500 businesses to register to the programme. Participation in Green Start provides tourism managers and operators with a stepping stone towards accreditation by a validated sustainable accreditation scheme.

Jason Freezer, VisitBritain’s sustainable tourism project manager, says: “VisitBritain is committed to encouraging sustainable businesses. However nearly two-thirds tell us they need more guidance on developing their business in that way. Green Start is an initial step in helping more of our tourism businesses improve their existing practices and signal to visitors that they recognise the increasing importance and value of sustainable good practice.”

Using a simple online self-assessment tool, participants must meet a code of conduct, commit to four fundamental sustainability requirements and, over a period of two years, meet or work towards at least 23 relevant ‘good practices’ from a total menu of 50. These could include insulating buildings and water tanks, using low-energy lighting, collecting rainwater, using locally-sourced produce or promoting eco-friendly travel such as cycling.

In return, participants will gain a basic identification on  and, signalling to consumers that they recognise the importance and value of sustainable good practice. VisitBritain will provide them with additional best practice guidance, drawing on advice from national experts and signposting businesses to regional resources. The agency aims to have 2,500 businesses signed up to Green Start in the first year.

By introducing the entry-level programme, VisitBritain aims to prepare businesses for more formal accreditation under an existing and well-established sustainable certification scheme, such as the Green Tourism Business Scheme (www.green-business.co.uk). VisitBritain will add its endorsement to businesses in these schemes and give their quality assessed participants full marketing benefits, both online and offline.

To mark the launch, consumers in the UK and abroad – who are increasingly exploring sustainable practices when planning their trips – can now search for around 750 of these ‘green’ accommodation providers and attractions on visitbritain.com and enjoyengland.com.

VisitBritain has also identified the few conflicts in its current national quality assessments standards and is addressing the process of integrating sustainable principles into them. Its activities in the sustainable arena are part of VisitBritain’s current strategy to promote sustainable businesses and encourage responsible visitors through marketing, industry engagement, leading by example and supporting Government’s sustainable agenda.

Glasgow Caledonian University were commissioned in 2007 to assess whether Government initiatives for wind farms in Scotland are likely to have an economic impact on Scottish tourism.   The report can be read here.

The Eco Lodge, in Lincolnshire has been recommended for the the Times Green Spaces award.

A new interactive experience ‘The Science of Survival’ at the Science Museum has opened.   The Science of Survival explores how our lives could be affected by changing climate and resource availability and how new applications of science and technology could affect how we live by 2050.  

The Science of Survival was developed in consultation with scientists and researchers across the UK, such as Dr Tim Wheeler of the Walker Institute for Climate System Research at the University of Reading, and Jacob Tompkins, hydrogeologist and Director of Waterwise.

Visitor use an RFID tracking system to interact with games and design activities. Visitors have an opportunity to apply science and technology to real life problems in a playful, hands-on way.  

You can find out more here.

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.

Chilham demonstrates successful ‘community led tourism’ with the launch of the Chilham Country Break on Tourism South East’s Rural Ways website.

As part of the Transmanche Sustainable Tourism Project, the Kent Downs AONB Unit has been working with Chilham’s tourism and retail businesses on developing a community led Country Break. With support from the Hidden Britain initiative, Chilham’s Country Break has now gone live at www.ruralways.org.uk/countrybreaks/  highlighting all that is available in the village and surrounding areas.

Creating a Country Break requires tourism and related businesses to work together and one of the greatest results of this local collaboration in Chilham has been the formation of the Chilham Tourism and Retailers Group (CTRG) – an informal networking group of local businesses and interested parties that are tackling other important issues such as the threatened reduction of train services. The British Eventing day at Chilham Park on 3rd August will see the Group exhibiting together under the CTRG banner for the first time.
Helen Kirwan of Monckton Cottages, a member of the CTRG, says “CTRG was formed to promote Chilham’s beautiful built heritage and surrounding countryside for visitors to ensure that they have a really fantastic experience in the parish. Our Country Break is a terrific boost for the community’s efforts to encourage tourism and will be a valuable contribution to the development of Chilham’s economy.”

Best described as ‘plugging the rural information gaps’, the aim of Tourism South East’s (TSE) Rural Ways website is to provide information on rural areas to the potential visitor. Too often, villages such as Chilham can become stop off points for a quick photo opportunity, resulting in little more than an increase in traffic and irritation for local residents!

The Country Breaks section of the website features a series of suggested itineraries, designed to encourage the visitor to spend longer in an area discovering its natural heritage and make use of local services. Covering all aspects of an area in terms of its landscape, attractions, culture, heritage, activities, food and drink, arts and crafts, accommodation and transport, it provides an opportunity for rural areas to describe what makes their area special and provide ideas on what visitors can see and do.

Developing a Country Break can bring a number of benefits to an area, by providing the vehicle through which stronger collaboration amongst local businesses and other interested parties is developed. Establishing a local network, such as the CTRG, can give a community a stronger say in how tourism is managed and promoted in their area. Lucy Frankel of Castle Cottage B&B says “the process has brought the tourism related businesses together and strengthened the community. I hope that this is the first step in a process which will help to make Chilham a magical place to visit as well as a wonderful place to live.”

Sustainable tourism development work supported by TSE, the Kent Downs AONB Unit and the Hidden Britain initiative helps identify and reduce any negative impacts of tourism on the environment, supports local tourism providers and increases the contribution to the local economy.

Rural Ways is featured, with links, on the Visit Britain and Visit South East England websites, as well as the TSE, Visit Kent and Kent Downs AONB sites.

Loch Lomond Seaplanes bring back the romantic past of air travel. Operating from March through to November they offer travellers an opportunity to explore Scotland using iconic seaplanes. Loch Lomond Seaplanes have also won a number of awards including a Scottish Thistle Award. They also have good information on seaplanes and the environment here.

The AONB Unit in the Kent Downs has been developing sustainable tourism since 2004, when EU funding was first secured to work with communities and tourism businesses in the Mid Kent Downs. This was a pilot project – one of a few working across the region supported by Tourism South East (TSE).

It all came about because of Foot & Mouth, which many will remember had such a devastating affect on our rural areas. With the countryside, in effect, closed down, it immediately became apparent how important tourism is to the UK’s rural economy.

The principles of sustainable tourism sit perfectly with the primary purpose of the AONB designation – which is to ‘conserve and enhance the natural beauty’ of these nationally important landscapes.

To us, developing sustainable tourism is about benefiting the very resources upon which it depends – the natural landscape and local communities – whilst providing a fulfilling experience for the visitor. We also have a strong focus on providing support to tourism businesses in developing sustainable business practice.

Over the past few years we introduced the Green Tourism Business Scheme in Kent and now have over 25 members which include a range of accommodation, pubs, visitor attractions and the holiday operator Walk Awhile, who is also a member of responsibletravel.com. See the full list at www.kentdowns.org.uk. We have worked with many local communities to help encourage ‘community led tourism’, provided ongoing business support and advice, conducted visitor research and a range of awareness raising activities.
We’re currently partnering the Parc Naturel Regional Caps et Marais in the Nord Pas de Calais to further develop sustainable tourism in each respective area. Through this work we will see the launch of the Kent Sustainable Tourism Network, further development of the GTBS, new training opportunities for tourism businesses, a range of new publications and promotional activities. Go to www.kentdowns.org.uk for more information on our work and the tourism businesses that we work with.

Sarah Loftus
Sustainable Tourism Officer
Kent Downs AONB Unit