BML313: Rural Tourism
Topic 2: The Business of Rural Tourism
Supply and Demand
Learning Outcomes Aims § To iden(fy the rural resource base and related stakeholders § To evaluate the role and characteris(cs of SMEs and micro
businesses as part of the rural resource base
§ To iden(fy the demand for the rural tourism product, and the
wider public a=tudes towards the countryside
§ To cri(cally evaluate the factors influencing the demand and
supply of rural tourism
§ To evaluate the ways in which the demand for rural tourism has
been conceptualised, and iden(fy typologies of rural tourist
Rural Tourism Ac9vity 1: 1. What is the rural tourism product? (A to Z) 2. Who are the key stakeholders (providers) and facilitators?
Facilitators – Policy, Strategy and Business Support
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Central Government
DEFRA
NATURAL ENGLAND
DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Central Government
DEFRA
[DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS]
FORMERLY MAFF
[MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD]
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Central Government
DEFRA
[DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS]
Structural Reform Priori9es: • Support and develop Bri(sh farming and encourage sustainable food produc(on • Help to enhance the environment and biodiversity to improve quality of life • Support a strong and sustainable green economy, resilient to climate change
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Central Government
DEFRA
[DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS]
• England Rural Development Programme 2000-‐2006 • Rural Development Programme for England 2007-‐2013
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Central Government
NATURAL ENGLAND
FORMERLY: ENGLISH NATURE
FORMERLY: THE COUNTRYSIDE AGENCY
FORMERLY: THE COUNTRSIDE COMMISSION
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators
Responsibili9es:
§ Central Government
• Managing England’s green farming schemes • Increasing opportuni(es for everyone to enjoy the wonders of the natural world • Reducing the decline of biodiversity and licensing of protected species across England • Designa(ng Na(onal Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty • Managing most Na(onal Nature Reserves and no(fying Sites of Special Scien(fic Interest
NATURAL ENGLAND
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Central Government
COUNTRYSIDE AGENCY ARCHIVE
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Central Government
DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Central Government
DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators [Policy/Strategic Support] § Visit Britain/ Visit England (English Tourism Council)
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators [Policy/Strategic Support] § Regional Tourist Boards/DesDnaDon Management
OrganisaDons §
Welcome Farmer
§
Welcome Walker and Cyclist
§
Rural Tourism Advice Pack [www.ruralways.org.uk]
§
Green Audit Kit/Green Advantage
§
Green Tourism Business Scheme
§
South East AONB Sustainable Tourism Project
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators [Policy /Strategic Support] § Local AuthoriDes/Tourism Partnerships § New Forest Tourism Partnership [Beacon Status] § South Hams Tourism, Devon [Beacon Status]
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § NaDonal Park AuthoriDes & Areas
of Outstanding Natural Beauty
§ Na(onal Park Management Plan § AONB Management Plan § Tourism ini(a(ves (e.g. Dartmoor
Moor Care Less Wear)
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Regional Development Agencies (closing March 2012) § Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs) § Local Area Partnerships/Business Groups § European Union – Leader Programme
The Rural Resource Base Facilitators § Market Towns AssociaDon § Country Landowners AssociaDon § Council for the ProtecDon of Rural
England
§ Ramblers’ AssociaDon § Regional Food Groups
The Rural Resource Base Providers and Facilitators § The rela9onship between providers and facilitators is
dependent on geography, and changes from locale to locale, region to region
§ Therefore a local understanding is essen9al set against a
regional and na9onal context
Case Study: Rural SMEs and Micro-‐businesses
The Rural Resource Base SMEs and Sustainable Rural Tourism § Micro-‐businesses § Constraints on (me, financial resources, and limited
knowledge and experience § Environmental management ac(vi(es are considered ‘messy’,
‘complicated’, accentuated by a ‘lack of adequate support infrastructure’, ‘limited business resources’ and the low availability of sustainable goods and services
The Rural Resource Base SMEs and Sustainable Rural Tourism § Establishment for non-‐financial reasons, with li`le interest in
developing their business
§ Opera(ng on margins of commercial viability and are more
concerned with day-‐to-‐day survival than planning long-‐term environmental conserva(on
The Rural Resource Base SMEs and Sustainable Rural Tourism § Li`le confidence in the market for sustainable tourism § Limited knowledge of the market that they operate within § Limited IT skills § Limited networking skills and poor knowledge of available
support
§ Yet, SMEs/micro-‐businesses cons(tute the main providers of
rural tourism products
§ SMEs/micro-‐businesses provide a high quality visitor,
experience
The Rural Resource Base
The Rural Resource Base Goodall (1995): Adop9on of Sustainable Tourism by Accommoda9on Providers on Guernsey § 5% ‘Green Champions’ -‐ businesses that regularly reviewed their
environmental performance
§ 30% ‘Worthies’ -‐ businesses that had reviewed their
environmental performance and made changes as a result
§ 20% ‘Conven9onals’ -‐ business providing a tradi(onal
hospitality service and adop(ng few sustainable prac(ces other than for economic reasons
§ 45% ‘Under-‐performers’ -‐ low technical and environmental
ability, and surviving through the provision of a low-‐cost service
The Rural Resource Base Vernon and Essex (2001): Adop9on of Sustainable Tourism by Providers in South East Cornwall § Of a sample of 197 businesses, 55% of respondents aged over 50 § Only 13% commenced business to maximise income § Most had a limited understanding of their own impact on the
environment
§ 70% adopted measures that required li`le commitment (e.g.
publicising local events)
§ Only 25% adopted prac(ces requiring more specialist exper(se/
financial outlay
§ Overall low levels of pro-‐ac(ve innova(on
The Rural Resource Base Vernon and Essex (2001):
“We tend to be so busy trying to actually, you know, making
the beds and cleaning toilets and doing your VAT return, and everything else’
“Because I am running a business, I’m too busy to do anything else’
“I tried to set up a policy of buying locally produced and we
ended up going to a wholesaler at St Agnes who then this year refused to con(nue our account with us. They said ‘oh, we can’t be bothered to deliver up to Looe’, so we had...we nearly went back to a wholesaler that is based in Kent’
The Rural Resource Base Vernon and Essex (2001):
“On your own it is no good thinking, ‘oh well I’d like to do this
this’, because you have not got the resources: it is all stacked against you as a small business. If you’re a big business you’ve got the funds, you’ve got the knowledge, you’ve got the contacts and everything, and you put a person, ‘right well you can do all this’. And one person...’
“But if you look at the payback (me on this sort of thing, you’d be well dead first. You know, it is well down the priority list’
Vernon and Essex (2001)
Rural SMEs
Vernon and Essex (2001)
Rural SMEs
The Demand for Rural Tourism
The Demand for Countryside Recrea9on
The Demand for Countryside Recrea9on
The Demand for Countryside Recrea9on
The Demand for Countryside Recrea9on
Rural Tourism Ac9vity 2: 1. What factors have influenced the demand for rural tourism?
Understanding the Demand for Rural Tourism § The Con9ngent Use of the Countryside [Shaw and Williams, 1994]
§ Rural Opportunity Spectrum §
Different rural areas are appropriate seZngs for different tourism ac\vi\es
§ Accessibility §
Dependent on spa\al varia\on, social factors and poli\cal ownership of the countryside
Understanding the Demand for Rural Tourism § Space-‐Time Budget Constraints § The enjoyment of some types of determining the loca(on
and nature of tourism ac(vi(es in the countryside
§ This approach relates demand to the ability of tourists to
exploit or consume the countryside for any variety of ac(vi(es thereby reinforcing the role of the countryside as a des(na(on
§ This approach relates demand to the ability of tourists to
exploit or consume the countryside for any variety of ac\vi\es thereby reinforcing the role of the countryside as a des\na\on
Understanding the Demand for Rural Tourism
Understanding the Demand for Rural Tourism
Understanding the Demand for Rural Tourism
Developing Typologies § Frochot (2005): Rural Segmenta\on in Scotland § ‘The Ac9ves’ § Seek all benefits, with a preference for ac(ve
sports
§ Young visitors (62% under 44yrs), few re(red
visitors and slightly higher social classes
§ They take longer holidays (8.18 days) and have
a higher propor(on of families with children
§ Slightly higher preference for camping but a
lower preference for self-‐catering
Developing Typologies § Frochot (2005): Rural Segmenta\on in Scotland § ‘The Relaxers’ § Seeking relaxa(on and have a lower
par(cipa(on rate in most ac(vi(es apart from golf and fishing
§ They take shorter holidays but have a higher
recurrence of countryside holidays, and have slightly more Sco=sh visitors than average
§ Slightly higher preference for camping but a
lower preference for self-‐catering
Developing Typologies § Frochot (2005): Rural Segmenta\on in Scotland § ‘The Gazers’ § Interest in the outdoors mixed with an
aspira(on to relax and enjoy the countryside (driving around, short walks, picnics and nature study)
§ High propor(on of domes(c visitors, above
average use of hotels and self-‐catering but are less interested in B&B
§ They take longer holidays (8.08 days) and have
a higher propor(on of families with children and are from higher social classes
Developing Typologies § Frochot (2005): Rural Segmenta\on in Scotland § ‘The Rurals’ § Mostly interested in the rural dimension of
their holiday, they are older visitors and the lower classes of all clusters
§ They do not dis(nguish themselves through
their ac(vi(es apart from a higher visi(ng rate of historic sites
Developing Typologies § Frochot (2005): Rural Segmenta\on in Scotland § Overview § The no(on of the ‘rural tourist’ hides several
sub-‐segments of customers, based on ac(vity and socio-‐economic and behavioural variables
§ The term ‘rural tourist’, sugges(ng that tourists
are recep(ve to rural issues’ is not appropriate as only a small segment has a clear interest in rural/ agricultural life
§ For most the a`rac(on was the broader
a`rac(ve features including naturalness, scenery, culture and ac(vi(es
Learning Outcomes By the end of this session, you should be able to: § To iden(fy the rural resource base and related stakeholders § Evaluate the role and characteris(cs of SMEs and micro businesses
as part of the rural resource base
§ Iden(fy the demand for the rural tourism product, and the wider
public a=tudes towards the countryside
§ Cri(cally evaluate the factors influencing the demand and supply
of rural tourism
§ Evaluate the ways in which the demand for rural tourism has been
conceptualised, and iden(fy typologies of rural tourist