DCB - Tourism and local development

DCB has lately been working with the «Consell Comarcal del Montsià» (Montsià county council) to develop a project aimed to creating tourist products with the agricultural values of this territory. The final document was recently presented.
During the elaboration of this study, financed with the collaboration of the SOC (Servei d’Ocupació de Catalunya), the main idea was to enhance the role of the existing heritage, focusing on one «star product», the rice produced in the area. The cultivation of rice is linked to areas of high quality and prestige, such as the Parque Nacional de Doñana, la Albufera de Valencia, the Parque Natural del Delta del Ebro or the recently declared Parc Natural del Montgrí, Illes Medes i Baix Ter.

The collaboration between these areas could allow an exchange of experiences and the presentation of joint projects. The goal would be to have an easier access to calls for projects involving rural development, such as the pilot projects of the Red Rural Nacional (National Rural Network).
The document presented by DCB contains:
- An identification of good practices in Spain and Europe
- Financial programs linked to sustainable rural development.
- Main concepts and trends on sustainable and responsible tourism in Europe, to learn about the EU’s and other organization’s strategies.
- An analysis of 131 European tour operators related to nature-based tourism in this area.
- An identification of 82 tourist products offered by these operators based on the following fields:
1. Gastronomy
2. Family active holidays
3. Walking or hiking routes
4. Cycling
5. Culture
6. Fauna and flora observation, birdwatching
7. Cooking courses and sensorial workshops
8. Holiday programs for scholars and young groups.
9. Self-drive routes around the area.

In the last few months, Josep Capellà and DCB have developed different projects related to the enhancement of territorial and protected areas’ values and local development. These are the following:

CORKLANDTOUR – RETECORK, the european network of cork producing territories, coordinated by Josep Capellà, has presented a project to the Enterprise and Industry Department of the European Comission, in response to the call for the Promotion of trans-national thematic tourism products in the European Union as means of sustainable tourism development. This project was launched with the participation of other partners from Portugal, Italy and France.

This project’s main goal is to boost and value the knowledge of these landscapes and the cork territories’ heritage, as well as creating tourist products which are based on their singularity and can also boost the tourist offer of these rural areas.

“TERRA DE PAS” CONSORTIUM – In the last few months, a group of municipalities from the Cap de Creus and Serra de l’Albera area have been working to define a strategy for tourist promotion and local development. The goal is to show the value of the territory by strengthening the tourist opportunites and the attraction of visitors, creating and offering new job opportunities and, in conclusion, making a better quality of life for residents?

From DCB, we’ve elaborated a work plan which defines the areas where the consortium should act, as well as the main actions which should be carried out.

FIGUERES – Support to different areas in Figueres’ Council (Labour, Enterprise, Tourism and Commerce) in the design of a joint Economic Promotion Area. The work has consisted of supplying the material of experiences in other towns with similar characteristics; analizing the existing studies done in Figueres and surroundings; and coordinating work meetings organized by the professionals of the field.

The result has generated a proposal for the structuring of the area, identifying functional work areas and tools to make these four sections’ work easier and therefore generating cooperation, obtaining external resources and promoting the city.

ULLÀ – This little town, located in the Baix Empordà, has been beneficiary in 2010 of the Viles amb projectes (Town with projects) programm. From DCB, we’ve developed a document analizing the town, with interviews with different local social and economic stakeholders and different proposals for social and economic development strategies.

EL PRAT – In 2008, DCB elaborated a promotion strategy for the different points of interest of El Prat, which were linked to the natural heritage surrounding the Llobregat Delta, the rural space and different equipments which receive or can receive visitors. This was launched to coordinate management tasks, to optimize visitor services and promotion. The goal was to value this heritage in a highly populated area which is crossed by the countries main transport infrastructures.
This year, the municipality chose to continue advancing the valorization of the resources and DCB has prepared the LIFE DELTAPRAT. Strategy for a sustainable public use of the Llobregat Delta project. This was presented to the LIFE 2011 call on Information and Communication. The resolution won’t be public until 2012.

The value of natural and environmental heritage is increasingly appreciated by visitors who travel to Spain and Europe’s coastal areas. In the last fifty years, construction and massive urbanization have affected these landscapes which have seen how their face has been completely changed.

This is why many areas have now decided that the safest bet to win some of their lost tourism back is to recover that natural heritage which made them unique. This was the vision which was transmitted by the TV program “Naturalmente”, aired on Sunday 19th June on La 2 (TVE), which interviewed Josep Capellà, who gave his views on this matter and, specifically, on the situation of L’Estartit’s La Pletera. The program can be viewed online on the following link:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/naturalmente/naturalmente-recuperar-litoral/1133273/

In the seminar “Ecomobility en rural areas (http://www.decaba.com/en/ecomobilitat/), held in Paris on the 9^th February, it was announced that a study, based on examples of good practices of ecomobility in tourism and leisure identified in different areas, was in progress.

This report has been published this week by the “Réseau des Grands Sites de France”, and can be found in the “News” section of the following website:

http://www.grandsitedefrance.com/document.php?pagendx=326

The document is based on eleven experiences which took place in different areas of France and Switzerland, and it presents each one of them starting with their creation, their progress and the resources used to put them into practice. All the experiences are very interesting, but we would like to highlight two of them.

On the one hand, those named “La Navette des crêtes des Vosges”, i “La Navette de la vallée de la Clarée”. These are two similar projects, the first in the Alsace region, and the second in the Hautes-Alpes Department, in the south-east of France. Both are based on limiting the impact of private vehicles on exceptional landscapes, through the organization of shuttle buses linking paths located in high mountainous areas with train stations and the valley’s parking spaces. These are examples to be taken into account for development in highly frequented areas such as the “Parc Natural del Montseny” and other locations in the Pyrenees.

Another example to observe is the one in Marais Poitevin, where the important flow of visitors has been redistributed by increasing the area of navigable canals, and also by incorporating a whole ciclotourism and walking network. Based of the increase in the offer of activities, they achieve that visitors lengthen their stay.

On the other hand, we also want to highlight the Languedoc-Rousillon project, which we already mentioned in our article mentioned above. This experience is based on enabling the use of public transport through the promotion and creation of “intermodal” tiquets for visitor mobility throughout the Pyrenees (conventional train + yellow train + bus) or towards coastal locations (train + bus or car sharing). This also implies cooperation with event organizers in the area (concerts, theatre festivals, cinema, etc…), enabling transport adapted to the needs of the general public and cooperating to advertise the program with posters in train stations and lines.

The third wave of Eurobarometer surveys on vacational tendencies, which started in 2009 to study the citizens’ holiday plans during the credit crunch, has just been published in http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_328_en.pdf.

The resulting data is provided by 30.000 surveys carried out between the 24^th and the 28^th of Febraury 2011 in EU countries. In addition, they were also done in Croatia, Turkey, Macedonia, Norway and Iceland, going from 500 to 2000 surveys depending on the population of the country.

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The EU’s citizens’ commitment to the search of more sustainable methods of transportation has become evident in the results released by an Eurobarometer survey conducted in 27 EU states. Among other data, the study shows that two out of three drivers would be willing to compromise on car speed to reduce emissions; 53% would agree to change the tax rates on their vehicles for ones based on their real use; and outstandingly a 71% would be willing to change to public transport if there were a single ticket covering all transport modes. The results of this survey can be found on the following website: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/360&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

This data is consistent with some of the presentations made at the seminar “Ecomobility in rural areas”, held on February 9 in Paris, which was commented in this blog (http://www.decaba.com/en/ecomobilitat/)

One of most tourist destinations’ weaknesses is ecomobility. This is concept which isn’t used much, often due to the absence of any actions, and when these are executed, the lack of promotion and communication leaves them in the background.

The “Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava – Girona”, represented by Josep Capellà as a member of the board, has a great interest in this area, and didn’t want to miss the opportunity of attending the Ecomobilité touristique et de loisirs vers les espaces ruraux. Une opportunité pour les territoires congress, held in Paris on the 9^th February.

Organized by the RGSF (Réseau des Grands Sites de France) and the Réseau Rural Français, the event aimed for an improvement in life quality and of the economic opportunities in rural areas. The speeches can be downloaded on the website http://www.rezotour.com/pg/groups/810019/ecomobilite-touristique-et-de-loisirs/, with previous registration.

The seminar put the focus on the opportunities that come with ecomobility, taking into account that in big cities, such as Paris, one in every four families doesn’t own a car, mainly because of the disadvantages it involves, and also due to wanting to live in a more sustainable manner.

Among the positive actions highlighted in the conference, the Languedoc – Rousillon region’s project to encourage the use of the train in the Pyrenees and to enable access from cities to beach areas. Other actions involved cultural and sports events.

The Costa Brava’s will is to follow these actions closely, with the aim to find new opportunities to attract visitors, taking into account the benefits for the locals and helping to reduce the impact of vehicles on the environment.

From the Basque Country to Catalonia, both from the French and the Spanish side, the Pyrenees cover a very extensive area. The amount of co-existing cultures and the complexity of the territory and its population make joint actions very difficult to carry out.

The weekend of the 4^th and 5^th February, a conference was held in Ainsa (Huesca Pyrenees) supporting the associative promotion for a sustainable development, as well as the launching of a European Pilot Project for the enhancement of the values of the Pyrenees.

In a unique setting, hosting assistents from all the areas of the Pyrenees, the promoters’ interest was to establish synergies between projects which are already in function. The aim was to increase cooperation and the possibility of carrying out different actions.

Summaries of the different speeches can be found on the website (http://www.pyrenemountain.eu/Jornadas_de_Ainsa.html)

RETECORK, represented by Josep Capellà, had the chance to present a project for cork territories in one of the colloquiums that took place during the conference. Also mentionable were the presentation of the Gripia project, enhancing the value of the Xisqueta sheep wool (http://projectegripia.wordpress.com/); from ethnobotany to cosmetics and health, by Marie Pujol (www.nature-et-connaissance.com); or the exposition of tradicional homemade food from Navarra.

The presentation of the “Year of the Pyrenees” was led by Mr. Xavier Bernard Sans, director of the “Consorcio de la Comunidad de Trabajo de los Pirineos”, an organization which manages european programs such as “Interreg IV A Cross-border”, based in Jaca (http://www.pyrineo.eu/?idio=en)

The 37th edition of World Festival of Underwater Pictures  (http://www.underwater-festival.com), promoted by Daniel Mercier, was celebrated this year in the Palais du Pharo, in Marseille. Photographs, audiovisual material, films and books which have entered different competitions are all on exposition at the festival. Daniel, who has always approved the Medes Islands  Marine Reserve’s experience, gave me the honour a few years ago of forming part of the Guides and Books Jury.

For this reason,  a trip to France at the end of October is due every year, just to realize how bigger sensation the neighbour country’s marine activities create, and how many voluntaries help Daniel, year after year, in the organization of a festival of these characteristics.

The Festival also allows participation in debates like  the“Forum pour l’Océan”, under the title: “L’évolution et la preservation de la biodiversité marine”. I would like to refer to the World Ocean Network’s (www.worldoceannetwork.org) intervention, emphasizing on the fact that marine reserves have to collaborate at a regional and worldwide level. An example would be the MEDPAN (www.medpan.org), focusing on the Mediterranean.

I would also like to make reference to Philippe Robert’s intervention. Robert in charge of the Port-Cros National Park for many years, and is actually head of international relations for the  (www.aires-marines.fr) network. In his exposition, he bidded for PMA’s (Protected Marine Areas) as a tool for preservation and sustainable management of a natural environment which is submitted to many pressures and uses. To make his point clearer, he compared PMA to other institutions such as churches, banks, laboratories or schools.

The project presented by RETECORK, European Network of Cork Territories, www.retecork.org called
Territorios Corcheros. El corcho y los paisajes corcheros como base del desarrollo sostenible en zonas rurales, has been selected in the frame of the 2010 call for projects “Red Rural Nacional”, of the  Spanish Environment, Rural and Marine Ministry.

This project has obtained a financial support of 515.813 euros, consisting of the 90% of its total budget and run will be from 2010 to 2013.

According to the objectives presented, the activities will be addressed to:

- Strengthening of  the competitiveness of cork territories.
- Promoting the creation of a stable occupation, population setting and improving quality life for inhabitants of these territories.
- Encourage innovation and technologic development of sector.
- Promote new economic activities based on the valuation of cork territories and cultural heritage.
- Strengthen the RETECORK network as a model reference.
- Promote the use of cork as a natural and sustainable product.

The project involves 17 municipalities of Andalucía, Extremadura, Catalunya, Castilla-La Manxa and Comunidad Valenciana, coordinated by two tecnique of project sites located in Palafrugell (Girona) and San Vicente de Alcántara (Badajoz).