Report produced by Richard Harper

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Contextual summary

Statements from three provocateurs were based on a leisure/tourism issues, as no health representatives were present. The statements included:

1. a case-study on a local water park with high seasonal fluctuations in use and reliance upon day-visitors.
   
2. placing tourism and leisure in a geographical context that extended across the SW and Wales as well as reference to Europe;
3. a more focused introduction to the tourism industry in the SW and some questions relating immediately to this region in terms of planning and the operation of small businesses.

Dr Simon Pickering, Ecologist, Cotswold Water Park Society

Highlighted the recreational environment of the leisure and tourism business at Cotswold Water Park and some of the practices in response to 'weather', sustainable resource consumption, and consumer trends. Simon's main points were:

1. Aesthetic environmental component, water quality, and weather were all key components which made the destination popular with tourists
2. financial risk taking was typical of the leisure and tourism sectors
3. day trip activities was an increasing trend
4. sustainable management approaches were being adopted and businesses were being supported by a number of government agencies to this end
5. businesses were only just starting to get engaged in the climate change and its implications for management.

Nigel Adams, Wales Tourist Board

Highlighted inherent tensions arising from the inter-dependency of the industry upon both the environment and maintenance of present patterns of consumption and demand but also noted the tourism and leisure industries were subject to constraints and threats arising from economic and political factors beyond their control. Nigel extended the scope of his discussion to include a need to consider what was happening in Europe as major competitor for UK tourism. His main points were:

1. Realisation that the industries are majorly dependent on private transport, and if car use is discouraged tourists may find it more attractive to fly overseas. Flying generates more greenhouse and ozone depleting gases than private automobile use. UK based integrated transport options should be promoted as longer term solutions
2. predicted climate change scenarios posed both threats in terms of water shortages and exacerbated seasonality and opportunities as the UK regions would become more attractive over the summer months
3. policies and solutions had to consider a bigger picture whereby travelers should pay the full costs of their travel, eg place a tax on aviation fuel
4. challenges lie in convincing small business operators of the need and benefits to be gained from lower energy consumption, and issues concerning whether this should be done through voluntary action based on information and awareness programmes or coercion of some form of both strategies was open for debate
5. any response therefore had to be developed within a wider UK and also European context.

Delwyn Matthews, Development Manager South West Tourism

This discussion came back to the South West and highlighted the importance of tourism to the region in terms of the economy and local communities. Delwyn's statement raised a need for an integrated planning response to the challenge of climate change and some of the questions this might pose. His main points were:

1. The industry is already trying to develop within a sustainable tourism framework involving the environment, tourism and the community. However at all management levels, from leading planning agencies to SME, the industry has yet to engage in planning, developing and managing for climate change
2. a need to identify locations likely to be affected by climate change in terms of both physical environment and resource implications and also changes in leisure and tourism demand
3. how can businesses gain further information on climate change in order to plan financially for operational investment and product development?
4. advocating partnerships for action, but it was unclear who should take a lead role in this given the diversity of both those involved in the industries and others with roles concerning climate change. Any response needed to have a long-term vision but attainable short-term goals, given the leisure and tourism industries short-term time frames for financial planning and needs for immediate returns from investment.

Workshop Discussion

• There was agreement that the traveller should, in principle, pay the true cost of holiday travel, in environmental terms. Examples demonstrated that it was cheaper to fly between some UK destinations that travel by train. Solutions lie in i) taxing petrol and diesel appropriately, ii) putting a tax on aviation fuel, iii) developing real integrated transport options that include public transport components, where some aspect could be addressed through the planning application process of T & CP system.
  
  It was realised that these solutions are problematic both politically and realistically. Increases only in petrol and diesel would be a) electorally unpopular and perhaps serve to limit consumer choice by pricing opportunities beyond some peoples budgets, b) may promote a form of transport that was potentially more damaging in terms of greenhouse and ozone depleting gases, and c) may disadvantage domestic destinations against European competitors. Therefore aviation fuel also needs to be taxed.
  
  Integrated transport solutions required both major coordination and also financial investment from public and private sectors. The local Council GCC, as a component of its planning consideration, requires tourist attractions to consider access via public transport. Other examples highlighted include transport-attraction entrance packages inn Wales and SW Region.
  - How further partnership be forged? Are they in response to legislation? Who should take the lead in developing them further? How can good practice be successfully shared around in a competitive market place? Would finances be found to support them?
  
  
• The industries are just starting to engage in the implications of climate change on their management in terms of energy consumption, and product development to meet demand. As a consequence there is a real need to inform the industries about climate change scenarios and existing or developing government responses and also their roles within a general sustainable framework.
  - Business within these sectors therefore need advice on how to respond environmental change and government intervention. It was unclear who should take a lead role in this?
  

• It was highlighted that the industry has a prime opportunity to increase public awareness about climate change relationships with patterns of consumption and behaviour and roles individuals could play in responding to the highlighted challenges (and also other environmental and cultural issues). Such awareness should, it was argued lead to changes in personal consumption and behaviour. This is based on the assumption that visitors are relaxed and therefore more receptive to subtle messages on these matters.
  - What messages should be delivered by these industries concerning personal behaviour? Who should develop appropriate awareness strategies and packages? Who should pay the cost of doing this? What expertise is within the industry in delivering such awareness messages?

• The industry was already responding to some sustainability challenges with examples such as: an integrated transport and environment schemes such as The Tarka Project, industry accreditation initiative in Wales with Green Globe and RDC, ETB & BA's Green Audit Kit, and in addition planning guidance from the Regional Tourist Board's 2020 development strategy.
  
  The discussion raised a point that the environmental component of sustainability was fairly strongly represented but the community component, ie social and economic, was less obvious. Any future development guidance needed to ensure the community was included. Forum for the Future and ETC are about to issue some statements and guidance on managing for climate change for these industries and they take these elements (environment, economics, community and tourism) into consideration.

• The diverse nature of the sector means it its challenging to get everyone to work together both in terms of identifying who should be involved and also in terms of getting businesses who are in direct competition with one another to work cooperatively eg transport operators not wishing to give up perceived competitive advantages. Not withstanding, there was agreement that businesses within these industries had a moral responsibility to act in a sustainable way, in terms of their own patterns of resource consumption and involvement with the local community.

• SME, which make up the majority of businesses in the leisure and tourism industries, have very short planning horizons with many existing solely on high season takings. The implication of this are in terms of a) changes in seasonal patterns as a result of climate change, and b) planning for the medium to long term.
  
  Climate change scenarios were seen as an opportunity and threat by both industries. A warmer summer meant more consumers, but an abrupt autumninal change of wet and stormier weather would undermine existing strategies which seek to elongate the existing season. Increased seasonality would see businesses close early and result in unemployment in local communities outside of peak tourist times.
  
  Businesses operate on a short planning horizons out of necessity and there was a feeling that government representatives would be seen as less than welcome when they bring their messages about climate change. In addition, the businesses within the respective industries need to buy into a long-term vision, but they need to be given realistic short-term attainable targets to help them reach this goal.
  
  Business development was based on risk taking, and there was seen therefore for a need to have more information about climate change scenarios and implications. The impacts were perceived to be uneven across the region. Therefore some research needs to be conducted to identify climate change 'hotspots' and activities which are likely to be vulnerable to climate change scenarios.
  
  It was felt that the long-term vision would aid in product development and give the public a lead in what to expect from leisure and tourism opportunities. This might, it was felt, would counter any immediate threats of incompatible market demand long term vision.
  - What information should be shared? How can we present information with certainty? Who should conduct research into hot spots and vulnerable activities?
  - What is the long-term vision? Who should help shape it? How can we influence public demand to be compatible with this vision?

• Seasonality also places burdens on utilities, particularly on water, water treatment and waste management. There is increasing evidence that local reservoir and ground water resources are coming under increasing pressure in peak times and the Environment Agency's reluctant to extend abstraction licences
  - What should the industry response be to supply issues in these areas? Who should pay for increasing infrastructure in these important areas?

• Who should take the lead? The industries are already involved in some sustainable practices with a range of policy documents, guidelines, regional co-ordinated initiatives and individual action. None-the-less the industries have yet to respond to climate change and the various socio-cultural and economic scenarios resulting from the forecast of drier summers, wetter winters and increasing storm events.
  
  The diverse nature of businesses involved in these industries makes it an imperative that any solution is a co-ordinated one. Take for example the role of the Regional Tourist Board, which is a key leader in the tourism industry, but does this organisation have credibility outside the industry to enable it to lead on this matter? Other organisations with research interests in climate change and also other industry representative bodies also need to be involved, but what is their role?
  - Who should take a lead on this matter? What is the role of academic institutions? What is the role of industry representative organisations? What is the role of central government and also of local government? How can a creative response be generated? How does our response fit into the European theatre of leisure tourism and other economic activities?

Richard Harper
School of Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality Management
Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education
March 2001