Tourism sustainable

Thinking to Sustainable Golf Tourism The Best Way

Ram贸n Davila President of Promotur & RD Golf Counsulting

Sustainable tourism is tourism attempting to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people.

Sustainable golf courses save significant levels of water, energy and chemicals www.rdgolfconsulting.com

Sustainable Tourism & Golf Courses Evironmental Friendly Between the 1960´s and beginning of this decade, the construction of golf courses in Andalusia has been directly linked to the promotion of the real estate and although until the 1990´s the quality of the golf courses was given more importance than to the real estate development, it is necessary to recognize that in the years of the explosion of the very strong real estate boom that Spain witnessed until four or five years ago, this balanced changed towards the interests of the real estate market, sometimes of a speculative nature, over the quality of the developments and the golf courses themselves.

Taking into account the risk involved for the balanced, sustainable and responsible development in Andalusia, the Government of this Autonomous Community established back in 1994 a Territorial Development Plan in which Government and Parliament where granted the power to plan the growth and define the basic schemes which all administrations should follow in the Territorial development of their cities. This TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF ANDALUSIA (POTA) and also the URBAN PLANS OF THE SUBREGIONAL AREAS are responsible for developing the principles, strategies, guidelines and recommendations of the regions, to which the Municipalities must adhere to.

These Plans (POTA AND POTS) approved by the Andalusian Government in recent years, have brought about a radical change in regards to the previous situation. Rigorous limits have been established and the growth possibilities in urban as well as touristic areas of the Municipalities of Andalusia. In relation to the development of golf courses it has completely separated the real estate development from the construction of golf courses, giving the quality of golf courses a prevalent importance in relation to its touristic value over the real estate aspect.

In this way, the Andalusia Government has established the main guidelines in which the Municipalities must act, whom until that moment did not have a reference to regulate growth and acted independently moved by their own criteria. This created an unbalance and great differences amongst different Municipalities of Andalusia.

The basic strategic principles which POTA was inspired by are the following in regards to the local urban and municipal planning.

In this regard, the diagram of the urban planning development of Andalusia is the following:

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

3

Territorial Development Plan of Andalusia

Territorial Plan The principles in which this TERRITORIAL PLAN is based are the following: • Territorial competitiviness and cohesion.

• Sustainability and development.

• Social cohesion.

• Rational use of the natural resources and ecological sustainability.

Taking into account • Water and land.

• Coastal Region.

• Energy.

• Landscape.

Territorial Coherence of the public politics: • Coordination with the international politics (EU and Mediterranean)

Coordination

• Coordination with the economic regional politics.

• Coordination with the environmental politics.

• Coordination with the public service politics (Health, sport, etc).

• Coordination with the urban politics.

• Coordination with the local politicians.

4

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

Law of Prevention and Environmental Quality

-Gica ActThe process in this list followed in Andalusia continues with the approval in 2007 of the Law of Prevention and Environmental Quality Act (following the European guidelines) by which these strict procedures are implemented to guarantee the environmental sustainability as a prevalent principle.

The implementation Law at the present time in Andalusia is the Law of Integrated Management of Environmental Quality -GICA ActThe Law of Integrated Management of Environmental Quality - (GICA Act) is responsible for regulating the instruments in charge of the environmental prevention and control of Andalusia allowing prior knowledge of the possible effects on the Environment of determined plans, programs, projects and building and activities.

One of the main innovations of this law is that it also affects the plans and programs, in accordance to European guidelines, introducing the concept of analysis of the capacity of load in a specific area together with the processes of monitoring of its environmental values.

The Integrated Environmental Authority (AAI) is the solution for the competent Ministry in the field of the Environment by which , for the purpose of Environmental protection and Health, allows to exploit all or part of the activities subject to such integrated environmental authorization in accordance to the Integrated Environmental Authorization. (GICA Act).

Environment

To obtain the Integrated Environmental Authorization (AAI) it is necessary to integrate both the authorizations and declarations outlined in the Law of Integrated prevention and control of pollution (IPPC Act) as well as the declarations and authorizations that correspond to the competent Department in relation to the Environment and which are necessary prior to the introduction and implementation of the activity which is to be developed.

The integrated Environment Authorization (AAI) therefore simplifies the sectorial proceedings of the Environment that existed until that moment (production and waste management, authorization of spillage, etc) Another feature of this proceeding is that it specifically establishes for each installation a certain limit value on all environmental vectors (atmosphere, water, noise, waist, soil‌) as well as monitoring plans for the process.

Finally and delving into the specific area of Tourism of Golf Courses, the process ends with the approval of the Sustainable Tourism Plan and the Golf Course Decree 43/2008.

The Sustainable Tourism Plan offers the following objectives.

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

5

The Sustainable Tourism Plan offers the following objectives.

TOURISM SUSTAINABILITY

OBJECTIVES: • To moderate the growth rate and capacity of reception in the area.

• Maintain and reinforce the tourism attraction of the area • Differentiate and reinforce the destinations and tourism products.

• Maintain and professionalize employment • Long term sustainability • Economic viability

Objectives

6

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

The Sustainable Tourism offers the following advantages:

TOURISM SUSTAINABILITY

ADVANTAGES:

Advantages

• Diversification of the local economy • Adequate planning of the ecosystem’s load capacity • Controls and evaluates impact and develops environmental responsibility.

• Stimulates industry profitability • Improves the self-esteem of the local area and adds value to their surroundings.

• Establishes integration procedures between planning and management.

• Guarantees a sustainable tourism model from a social, environmental and economic point of view.

The conditions of the new Sustainable Tourism are presented in this diagram:

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

7

The Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable viewpoint From a SUSTAINABLE VIEWPOINT the Tourism objectives can be broken down as follows:

Economic Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability

Protection of nature Creation of stable Conservation of Employment natural resources Income generation

Cultural and social Sustainability Respect towards traditional values Upkeep of social balance

Having seen the previous elements, we can determine which will be the major LEVELS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN THE GOLF TOURISM DESTINATIONS.

Annalysis

8

•

PLANNING OF SUSTAINABILITY OF THE DESTINATION

•

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE DESTINATION

•

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT AT BUSINESS LEVEL

Analysis of the Area: •

Analysis of the load Capacity

•

Analysis of the Resources of the Destination

•

Analysis of the Potential of the Destination

•

Analysis DAFO of the destination

•

Guidelines of Programmes and Plans (Regional, Sub regional and local)

•

New Techniques in the Planning of Tourism Destinations (SIG)

•

Coordination between the territorial, urban and tourism planning.

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

The Sustainable Tourism

Managment of the sustainable destination

Once the planning has been defined we must then look at the next level which is the MANAGMENT OF THE SUSTAINABLE DESTINATION which is based in the following outline:

• Implementation and follow up of the sustainability indicator systems • Specific management of the golf destinations • General standards of quality of design, construction and management of golf courses • General Implementation of the certificates of quality and environmental management, ISO 90001 AND 14001 • Application of the regulations of the Decree 43/2008

Decree of Golf

Finally we reach in the following analysis the sustainability level of the specific golf sector that Andalusia has tried to resolve in harmony with the previous principles explained above.

This is achieved with the 43/2008 Decree, which regulates the construction and functioning of the golf courses based in the following principles of regulation: 43/2008 Decree of golf courses

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

9

Sustainability in Golf Courses

The andalusian model suistanability in the golf courses Advantages presented before the territorial planning: • Aiming for quality

Golf Courses Design

• Highest technical level • Renewable energies • Integral management of water • Integral management of fertilizers and chemical products • Integral management of residues • Quality and environmental system managements • Compliance with the 43/2008 Decree

Courses of Tourism Interest:

Establishes

Advantages

Bioclimatic design

Promotion

Landscape integration

Brand

Use of Renewable Energies

Qualification

Development and Conservation of Nature Plan of Management of Quality and Environmental Systems (ISO 9001 y 14001)

Quality Sustainability

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

7

Sustainability in Golf Courses

Innovation and New alternatives on the golf courses Implementation of the environmental management systems

Innovation

•

Creation of Diagnosis and Action plans for each course

•

Promote pilot projects of implementation of EMAS II or others, voluntarily as “committed with the environment”

Management of Hydraulic Systems •

Regulation of Administrative situations.

•

Increase in the use of regenerated water.

•

Reduction of consumption achieved by the agronomic management.

Energy Management •

Encouragement to save energy and potential use of renewable energies

Residue Management

Alteranative

•

Appointing clean spots for sorting and storage of residues

•

Careful management of special and organic residues

Ecologic habitats.

•

improvement

of

natural

Naturalization of humid areas and creation of habitats within the course

Landscape integration •

Boosting the natural landscape, especially those areas not used for play.

Training and Communication •

Development of environmental training programs directed to managers, workers and course workers.

www.rdgolfconsulting.com

7