Sustainable Development in Tourism

CASE STUDY - The Cairngorms & The Annapurna Conservation Project in Nepal

Visitor Management Techniques:

Introduction:

This week we will look at the role of visitor management techniques in sustainable tourism activities. By now you will be aware that tourism development can have both positive and negative impacts on the local community and on the natural environment. Tourism development must therefore be managed in such a way that it minimizes environmental, socio-cultural and economic negative impacts.

1. Visitor Management

Visitor management is a tool to ensure that the tourists receive a satisfactory experience, while at the same time sustaining the resource for future use, therefore visitor management is a central element in planning and managing tourism.

There are a number of destination management techniques available to manage visitors and the various pressures on a tourism destination.

In order to identify these techniques we will examine the problems and the techniques being used here in Scotland in, what is to be, the Cairngorm National Park area, as well as in the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in Nepal.

Activity 1 - Similarities between Annapurna and the Cairngorms

For this activity I would like you to think of the similarities are there between the Annapurna area in Nepal and the Cairngorms in Scotland, in tourism terms. Post your answers onto the discussion board.

2. Cost of access to mountain areas

It is a cultural tradition in Scotland, and Northern Europe in general, that access to mountain environments comes 'free'. The Cairngorms is no exception to this tradition. Of course access is not 'free' despite the fact that the end user may not pay for it directly. Access to fragile mountain environments always comes with some sort of cost in negative impacts depending on the activity that is being undertaken.

It is becoming increasingly evident, that with the increased demand for outdoor activities, and the 'free' access policy in the UK, that problems are occurring in these high usage areas. The Highlands of Scotland being one of these areas, in particular the Cairngorm Mountains.

In the Highlands of Scotland the main outdoor activities undertaken in the mountain environments are:

Mountaineering
Hill-walking
Rock-climbing
Mountain Biking
Orienteering
Skiing
Snowboarding

Increased demand

With an increasing number of people undertaking these outdoor pursuits there is some real evidence of increased activity in our mountainous areas. For example there has been an increase in 'Munro Bagging' from 10 a year in 1960 to 140 per year in 1990 (Croft 1995). This of course only identifies the hill-walkers that register their completion of the 279 mountains over 3,000 feet (the Munros), this does not take into account the ones that don't.

This trend has lead to various negative impacts in mountain areas.

Activity 2 - Negative Impacts in mountain areas

Think of examples of negative impacts that can come from human activities on Scottish mountains. Post your ideas onto the discussion board.

3. The Cairngorms Experience:

The Highlands and the Cairngorm area has been popular for leisure and tourism activities for well over a hundred years. It's popularity started during Queen Victoria's reign, mainly due to the queen purchasing the Balmoral Estate as a holiday home.

Despite being on the periphery of UK and European and the remoteness of the area it has reasonably good access roads. Good access combined with a sort of magical attraction that mountain areas seem to have, means the Cairngorms is a high demand area for outdoor pursuits.

Of course with this high demand comes the negative impacts that we spoke of earlier. These impacts take various forms, for example:

· congestion

· environmental damage

· disruption of wildlife sites

· erosion of footpaths

· decrease in visual landscape quality

These negative impacts have led to calls for action to reduce access to these fragile sites, like the Cairngorm Plateau.

However though the demand results in negative impacts it must also be remembered that with this demand there also comes real economic and social benefits for the local area. The following being some examples:

· economic growth

· employment in the area

· reduced immigration of the young people

· more viable business opportunities

· better facilities for the local area

Activity 3 - To develop or not?

For this activity I would like you to read the opinions on the following websites and consider whether, in your opinion, the Funicular Railway is a good or bad development for the Cairngorms.

http://www.cairngormmountain.com/frameset3.htm

http://www.jimwillsher.co.uk/Site/Funicular/Funicular_Intro.shtmll

3. The Nepal Experience:

Until Nepal opened it's doors to foreign visitors in 1950 it was virtually a closed country, with only a few intrepid Northern European travelers braving the journey over its borders.

The people of Nepal, prior to that time, lived a very simple way of life, making a living mainly out of farming.

The fact that most of Nepal is made up of high mountains peaks made access to most parts of this country very difficult. Combine this lack of access with the fact that Nepal was a totalitarian country with control lying totally with the ruling king, it made Nepal appear to be a remote and mystical destination for the traveler.

When finally Nepal opened it's borders to the world, it came onto the world stage with the climbing of Mount Everest in 1952. This publicity resulted in the country attracting many travelers and adventurers. Though tourism brought economic growth to a country that had none before, it also resulted in the inevitable negative impacts that go with uncontrolled tourism development.

Negative Impacts

Nepal had similar problems to the ones seen in the Cairngorms, however it had other problems unique to countries with poor infrastructure and facilities, and trying to supply the needs of their visitors. For example the problems included:

deforestation causing scarring on landscape through the use of firewood to supply the visitors (see photograph on right)
rubbish in the form of thousands of plastic bags and water bottles
erosion of land
water pollution
sewage problems
land pollution - nicknamed the 'Andrex Trail'
threats to wildlife, biodiversity

Activity 4 How to avoid the negative impacts from tourism

For this activity I would like you to consider how the negative impacts from tourism could have been avoided in Nepal. Post your ideas onto the discussion board.

4. The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) Experience:

In order to address the issues of conservation, preservation and sustainable tourism management, in 1986, under the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project was launched. The mission for this project was and still is:

"To promote, conserve and manage nature in all its diversity balancing human needs with the environment on a sustainable basis for posterity - ensuring maximum community participation with due cognizance of the linkages between economics, environment and ethics through a process in which people are both the principal actors and beneficiaries."

(source: http://www.south-asia.com/Kingmah/tonproj.htm#1)

Guiding Principles

To see the guiding principles for this project I recommend that you visit the above website.

The interesting aspect of the KMTNC Annapurna project's strategy is the fact that community involvement was one of the main guiding principles. This is in contrast to so many conservation and preservation projects that have been undertaken throughout the world.

Generally speaking when an area goes down the route of conservation the locals are not usually consulted, and quite often are moved off their land to accommodation both the wildlife and the visitors. This is especially true of Third World countries.

The Annapurna project concentrates on harnessing the good will and efforts of the local community, ensuring they are the main beneficiaries of tourism in the area.

The initiative promoted economic development, while conserving and managing the natural resources. This was done through decentralizing power from central government down to the local community.

Activity 5 - Solving the problems

For this activity I would like you to think of ways in which the project leaders could assist the community with development while conserving, preserving and managing tourism, without ruining their own environment and community. Post your ideas onto the discussion board please.

'Cairngorms'

Annapurna South, Nepal

Ice Climber on Cairngorm Mountains

'Example of Visual Impacts from human activities on the Cairngorm Mountain'

'Aviemore in winter'

'Balmoral Castle'

A Magical Place - 'Beinn Bhreac' The Cairngorms

'Funicular Railway, Cairngorms'

'Ben MacDui'

Map of Nepal

'Flight over Mount Everest' in Nepal

'Two Boys in Western Nepal Collecting Firewood"

'Three girls playing in Nepal'

'Annapurna South'

'Children in Western Nepal'

'Village Meeting'

'Annapurna Villagers'

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