Challenges, opportunities and areas of best practice in delivering responsible tourism in island destinations: A case study of the Isles of Scilly

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1 Challenges, pprtunities and areas f best practice in delivering respnsible turism in island destinatins: A case study f the Isles f Scilly An intrductin t the Isles f Scilly: Archipelag f ver 2000 islands and rcks- five f which are inhabited, hme t a ppulatin f 2,200 permanent residents. One f the mst turism dependent destinatins in the UK ver 85% f the emplyment is directly dependent f turism. Primary prduct is nature turism- The islands have excellent bidiversity and are hme ver 8,000 pairs f 13 different species f breeding seabirds, making it the mst significant seabird clny in the suth west. One f nly tw sites in England where Manx Shearwater and strm petrel breed. Tresc Abbey Gardens, ne f the main attractin. The Isles f Scilly Wildlife Trust manages 60% f the land area. Althugh they d a great jb with the limited resurces they have, as the IOSWT is a lcal charity their ability t manage almst 2/3 f the scenic beauty that attracts visitrs t the IOS relies n unreliable funding surces. The Trust manages 2,000 hectares f land and castal including 24 f the 26 Sites f Special Scientific Interest and 100 s f Scheduled Ancient Mnuments. Mst f this land is designated as areas f special interest fr cnservatin and envirnmental purpses. Area f Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) RAMSAR Special Prtectin Area (SPA) Sites f Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) Imprtant Bird Area (IBA) Special Area f Cnservatin (SAC) Marine Cnservatin Znes (MCZ) Clsed Areas Turism managed by the Island Partnership a CIC wh run Visit Isles f Scilly. They have made remarkable imprvement t the marketing f the islands, bsting the PR cverage and develping and events calendar. Hsting events such as Otill swim run and hme grwn events such as Walk Scilly. Visitr numbers have been declining since the late nughties it is an expensive destinatin t travel t and t stay. Cmpetes with an internatinal hliday as ppsed t alternative dmestic destinatins. Scilly received arund 140,000 visitrs annually in the early 2000s t apprx. 100,000 tday. Visitr numbers have increased by 7% in 2015 and 3% in

2 Bucking this trend is cruise turism which has seen a rise during this perid with 64 Ships scheduled t visiting this year and 64 already cnfirmed fr next seasn. Only 56 f the 64 have been able t visit in 2018 due t lack f reliability in the weather. Challenges: As with all islands ne f the main challenges is the islands gegraphy, hwever gegraphy als ffers the islands a unique pprtunity t cntrl turism, encurage spread f benefits and prtect bidiversity. Specific prblems caused by the islands gegraphy are: Limited natural and financial resurces creates verdependence n turism as an industry. Opprtunity csts where turism is invested in ver ther pprtunities which culd allw fr a mre diverse ecnmy. It is imprtant that the industry is viable lng term as it is the lifebld f the islands. Limited natural resurces. Received attentin this summer after a particularly dry summer. Depletin f grund water surces, water saving intrduced and wide attempt t educate lcals and visitrs alike and t dispel myths that enugh water can be prduced thrugh desalinatin. The smaller ff island cmmunities are still dependent n bre hles and wells fr their water supply. Increases in the ppulatin during the driest perids f the year exacerbate this prblem. Accessibility is a key issue and ne that is simultaneusly beneficial t cntrlling the grwth f turism, and detrimental in encuraging grwth. British Internatinal Helicpters (BIH) ceased running in 2012 leaving the Isles f Scilly Steamship Cmpany (ISSC) running bth transprt links air via Skybus and Sea via Scillnian. This has seen an unreliable air service despite imprvements made and lands end airprt. There has been a cntrversial intrductin f Island Helicpters in May this year by the ISSC after bjectin t a cmpeting helicpter service t run between Penzance and Tresc supprted by Rbert Drien-Smith prprietr f Tresc Estate. It is clear t see that plitics is preventing a reliable service being intrduced cmprmising the sustainability and viability f the island cmmunity. Weather: reducing destinatin accessibility fr air travel year rund, sea travel in winter and cruise turism where it is t rugh fr tenders t ferry passengers t and frm the ships. Further challenges can be identified in finding a balance between cnservatin and turism: Wildlife trust respnsible fr managing 60% f islands land which means the destinatin isn t manicured, and bidiversity is priritised- this has caused sme cnfrntatin between cmmunity grups where there is disagreement n whether hedgerws shuld be cut back 2

3 t make the islands mre visually appealing t thse wh visit. The wildlife trust is wrking t educate lcal cmmunity and visitrs n issues relating t land management in rder t prtect bidiversity. These actins and management techniques help t safe guard the wildlife turism resurces at the destinatin. Over turism r mass turism: Until 2015 the Isles f Scilly has seen declining visitr numbers. Due t a reductin in demand but als the limited capacity f nly ne transprt prvider. Althugh ver turism has becme very tpical in recent years and has been discussed this summer in Crnwall, this isn t yet the case fr the islands where turism has nt grwn t an unsustainable level. Pinch pints are recgnisable where the islands becme crwded, mst ntably when the island hst the Wrld Pilt Gig Champinships n the May bank hliday weekend. Here the islands are at capacity and the vlume f visitrs is mre nticeable due t the cncentratin in Hugh twn where the rwing event is based. This is fr a limited perid and is related t rwing which is integral t the islands heritage. At the mment the event is still rganised lcally and there is invlvement frm lcal crews, making lcal peple mre sympathetic t the event. Destinatins experiencing ver turism ften identify cruise turism as cntributing t pressure n destinatins with a large number f turists disembarking at the same time. The islands partnership recgnise that capacity and cngestin issues are emerging arund the impact f cruise turism. The grwth f the cruise industry in the Isles f Scilly is limited t a certain extent, again by the gegraphy f the islands. This sectr f the industry will need t be clsely mnitred and managed. Factrs cntributing t the management f cruise grwth and impact: Limited number f suitable anchrages limits the size f the ships and the number that can visit at any ne time. Three ships maximum and 2 f these wuld need t be small Limit n the draught in St Mary s Sund (ne f the rutes int the islands) and limitatins n the size f ships due t the swinging circle needed in the anchrages. The largest ship is Clumbus 63,000 tns 804 feet draught with a capacity f 1500 Passengers. Althugh this desn t seem significant in cmparisn t the capacity f the larger cruise ships this is number is ver 60% f the islands resident ppulatin. Use f lcal tenders fr all islands except Tresc. Enhances ecnmic benefit f the cruise visit, reduces cnflict in the use f space in the harbur amng lcal transprt peratrs, particularly at lw tide. The use f lcal tenders and a tender schedule, rather than berthing, means passengers can be taken ashre in smaller numbers in ne trip. Diverse itineraries t avid vercrwding- Mre has been dne by the Island Partnership and the harbur authrity t prmte diverse itineraries fr cruise ships, rather than just visiting Tresc Abbey Gardens and St Marys. Mst ships will visit mre than ne island and it is becming mre cmmn t see lesser visited islands, St Martins and St Agnes appearing n cruise itineraries. This spreads the ecnmic benefit f cruise turism and reduces 3

4 cngestin at the mre ppular destinatins. This will need t be practiced further if cruise turism is t be sustainable. Visit Isles f Scilly meet and greet ambassadrs Fr many years welcme parties have been invited n bard t present the prt t passengers. This allws a unique pprtunity t prmte the islands, t encurage returning visitrs but als t educate passengers n the islands wildlife and bidiversity. There are a number f pprtunities fr respnsible management ffered by the small scale f turism, and the gegraphy f the islands: Greater cntrl f turism by DMO and clearer verview f all turism activity. Envirnmental prtectin - Areas f the islands can be crdned ff as clsed areas t visitrs and lcals alike t prtect breeding seabirds. The island f Annet is an example f this. Excellent partnerships within the islands t cmmit t smart islands plan. Self-limiting capacity due t size f the islands, accmmdatin prvisin and limited transprt links. Cruise grwth smewhat restricted by gegraphy f the islands. DMO and ther stakehlders will need t cntrl the develpment f cruise turism t ensure a sensible level f visitatin is maintained. Best practice: Tresc Island: A private estate, run as a turist resrt. The benefit f its management is that the Estate has cmplete cntrl f all business activity and is able t fully cmmit t their sustainability agenda withut having t negtiate the perspectives f multiple stakehlders. Tresc has made great effrts t reduce their envirnmental impact, including: Frm 2017, n lnger use f single-use plastic straws (ne f the wrst plluters). These have been replaced by bidegradable straws. All plates, glasses and cutlery used at ur utdr events are bidegradable r recyclable. This is particularly imprtant fr events like the Lw Tide Event. Tresc leads the way fr recycling n the islands. Tresc Stres exclusively uses cmpstable and recyclable fd packaging. N single use plastics are fund in stre. Plastic carrier bags have nt been available in Tresc Stres fr many years. Guests are prvided with reusable bags within their accmmdatin. Tresc is ne f the key partners in the Smart Islands Prject, which aims t discver and deliver smart slutins t energy, waste, water and sewerage services. 4

5 Tresc has received an award fr its envirnmental business practices and has frmally signed up t the 10:10 campaign, cmmitting t reduce its carbn emissins. The estate is a member f the Higher Level Stewardship Agreement with Natural England. The future: Sustainability is identified thrughut the 2018 destinatin management plan, but pprtunities have been missed t develp the islands as an ec-destinatin. Gd cnsideratins are made regarding the scial and ecnmic sustainability f the islands DMP recgnises the wrk f the IOS wildlife trust, particularly fr their wrk n achieving a plastic free castline status. It is als recgnised that IOSWT needs the supprt f the turism industry n the islands t achieve its gals. The Isles f Scilly has great cntrl f its entry pints, even cruise ships. Access needs t be managed t encurage turism grwth at a sustainable level. 5