ETC MED Programme MITOMED PROJECT 1M-MED14-10 -Models of Integrated TOurism in the MITOMED PROJECT Preliminary Surveys Regional Tourism Systems MED PROGRAMME 2007-2013 Work package: Deliverable: Delivery date: 1 2 2.0 30/11/2014
ETC MED Programme MITOMED PROJECT 1M-MED14-10 -Models of Integrated TOurism in the Document history Date: Author: Version: Text: 25/26 September 2014 Project Partners 0.1 Presentations during kick off meeting from all regional partners 10 November 2014 Project Partners 0.2 Individual surveys sent to Lead partner 20 November 2014 Regione Toscana 0.3 Draft of complete version 30 November 2014 Regione Toscana 0.4 Final version 2
ETC MED Programme MITOMED PROJECT 1M-MED14-10 -Models of Integrated TOurism in the INDEX 1. Introduction to the Preliminary Survey...4 2. Preliminary survey: tourist system in Tuscany (Italy)...5 3. Preliminary survey: Tourist system in Istria (Croatia)... 14 4. Preliminary survey: Tourist system in Cyprus... 20 5. Preliminary survey: Tourist system in Catalonia (Spain)... 30 Annexe 1 Questionnaire for Preliminary survey: tourist systems of MITOMED regions... 32 Annexe 2 Table for Preliminary survey: Monitoring systems and data available for each topic... 34 3
1. Introduction to the Preliminary Survey The MITOMED project foresaw that all partners draft and exchange a preliminary survey of their tourism systems (actors, tools, policies, which provides the baseline for networking and developing the common working framework. The guidelines stated that this should be obtained by matching the ten priorities of EU s Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European tourism with the requirement of the Integrated Maritime policy for the European Union to avail of an easily accessible system of comprehensive and compatible data and information. In this context, the aim of the preliminary surveys was to investigate the Regional tourism systems of each project s partner in order to develop a common framework for the gap analysis on the maritime and coastal tourism sector. The preliminary survey explored the regional tourist systems with regard to stakeholders, tools and policies of each partner s Regions (Tuscany, Istria, Catalonia and Cyprus). Work was carried out on the basis of a short questionnaire designed to gather state of the art knowledge on the tourism systems of the 4 participating regions, to be used as a starting point for establishing the current state of play, decide how to develop a common work framework, and at a later stage prepare the gap analysis (See Annexe 1 and 2). The questionnaire includes a form with 4 questions for each of the 10 topics foreseen by the project (40 questions in total). It contained in attachment a list of possible (direct and indirect) indicators, composed of 12 sheets: one for each selected topic (water, energy, waste management, quality of life, quality of work, cultural heritage, environmental heritage, identities, de-seasonalisation, transport) plus profile indicators and cross cutting indicators. The list was developed with reference to tourist destinations. The territorial units were considered to be local council level, as it is reputed to be the smallest administrative unit that could be used as a source of data for the indicator system. However, it is noted that the European communications give tourist destinations a broader meaning, which can in some cases encompass a region, hence the territorial level was discussed among partners. The task was to benchmark the indicators with other indicators lists (used at the local, or European level) and verify if the indicators are feasible in the region and at which administrative level. This document gathers and presents the 4 Preliminary Surveys. 4
2. Preliminary survey: tourist system in Tuscany (Italy) 2.1. Introduction to Tuscany Tuscany is located in central Italy and is bathed by the Ligurian and Tyrhennian Seas. Triangular in shape and with a homogenous territory, Tuscany covers an area of 22,997 km² (corresponding to 7.6% of the area of Italy), and it is the fifth largest region in Italy. The main river is the Arno, which flows through Florence and Pisa. The main city of the region is Florence, the 27% of regional population lives in its province. Figure 2.1 The Region of Tuscany The coastline stretches for 633 km (of which more than 95% suitable for swimming), along the western side of the Apennines and includes the islands of the Tuscan archipelago composed by 7 islands, amongst which Elba, the third largest in Italy. Tuscan archipelago, with an extension of about 80.000 hectares, has been declared in 1996 National Park. The whole coast of Tuscany is included in an area of international protection called "International Marine Mammal Sanctuary". Of the regions in Italy, Tuscany is characterised more than others by a good balance between town and country. The varied nature of the territory gives numerous advantages, such as being able to offer different tourist products, diversify production activities, reduce the risks of economic shocks, and respond to the impact of production activities on the environment using different tools. More than 8% of the territory in Tuscany is covered by parkland; these protected areas are the entrance way to the marvels of our wine and food traditions, festivals and ancient professions. Tuscany has 211 protected areas, natural parks and reserves, covering a total of 210,000 hectares (almost 10% of the entire region). The municipalities in Tuscany are small in size. Out of 287, a total of 236 have 15,000 inhabitants at the most, and 140 of these have less than 5,000 inhabitants. 51% of residents live in municipalities of less than 30,000 inhabitants. Tuscany has approximately more than 3.7 million inhabitants, that is the 6.2% of the population of Italy with a density of around 162 inhabitants per square kilometre compared to a national average of 189. Among the 248 European regions, it holds 31st position, accounting for 0.79% of the population of the 25-member state Europe. Tuscany has a relatively older population than the rest of Italy: it is the oldest region after Liguria. The Tuscany average age is 45 while the national average is 44. The old age index (the ratio of the over-65s compared to children aged 0 to 14) is 190%, while the national average is 136%. Of course, migratory flows are very important in the demographic trends of Tuscany. In these last 15 years the net number of migrants was around 12,000 people per year. The resident foreign population has grown in importance greatly, reaching the 3.5% of the total population. Considering the stay permits, the estimated number of foreign people legally in the region is 172,000, that is, 4.9% of the resident population, slightly higher than the Italian average, and almost equal to the European average. 5
Table 2.1 Tuscan Population Figure 2.2 Population Density Table 2.2 Population age Tuscany's gross domestic product (GDP) corresponds to 6.80% of the total Italian GDP. Tuscany's particular inclination towards international trade is also borne out in the share of Tuscan exports in comparison to the total number of Italian exports, with a percentage of over 7.5%. The fashion and engineering sectors are the ones which work most with foreign countries, followed by the goldsmithery sector (under other industries). Figure 2.3 Tuscan GDP Tuscany's economic system has some particular features: alongside sectors that are as important or slightly less so than in the Italian economy as a whole, there are sectors that have a much clearer impact on Tuscany. This is the case above all for the fashion segment (textiles, clothing, leather) which counts for 5.3% of the region's industry, while the figure for Italy is 2.0%; but it is also the case for the sales, hotels and the commercial business sectors (accounting for no less than 17.0%), which obviously shows how important tourism is for a region like Tuscany. On the other hand, the importance of other production sectors, such as building, the various service sectors and even agriculture, is lower. As far as the manufacturing sectors are concerned, in addition to the tanning and textiles and clothing sectors, the sectors that stand out as more specialised than in Italy as a whole are goldsmithery and furniture production. Specialised manufacturing is distributed varyingly over the region. 2.2. Introduction to the tourist system in Tuscany A channel providing a large opening towards the world for a region like Tuscany, rich in art and culture but also with an extraordinary landscape, is naturally tourism. Tuscany accounts for 12.3% of arrivals and 11% of the presences in accommodation respect to Italy; within these figures, the percentages relating to foreigners are even higher: 14.8% of arrivals and 12% of presences in accommodation. The figures speak for themselves: over 11.5 12,159,000million arrivals (4.700.000 foreigners); 41.5 million presences in accommodation (more than 20 million foreigners) 43,037,000 annual tourist overnight stays. Tourist accommodation in Tuscany can host more than 480,000 people, accounting for 10.5% of all the facilities in Italy. tourist accommodation facilities (14,000 structures incl.3,000 hotels; 534,000 beds) workers employed in tourism (direct: 9% of total, indirect: 13% of total). 6
These figures put Tuscany in second place after Veneto as regards the Italian regions, both in terms of the number of arrivals and the number of presences in accommodation. Three European countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) cover 40% of the foreign tourists in Tuscany, while the 13% are from United States and Canada, then from France, Holland and Belgium, and the United Kingdom (7% each), plus Japan (6%). Around the 39% of tourists in Tuscany are interested to seaside (counting 900 bathing establishments). There are some locations where the tourist business is evidently only emerging whereas the coastline boasts areas with a strong tourist tradition, such as Massa, Viareggio, Pisa, Castiglione della Pescaia, Grosseto, Orbetello and Capoliveri. Then there is another wide group of municipalities with large numbers of tourists: the other municipalities in Versilia, all the coast between Livorno and Follonica and some areas of the island of Elba. The impact of tourism on the population is a good indicator of the pressure that the coastal economic systems place on the environment: the tendency is in fact to assess the degree of problems by relating the presence of tourists to how structured and populated the territory is. Though on one hand tourism is a noteworthy source of income for the coastal Table 2.3 % Tourist / population municipalities and therefore a powerful engine for economic development, on the other hand it is a potential factor of all-round pressure (consumption of water and energy resources, reduction of space, increase in air pollution, etc ) especially for the marine ecosystems (increase in urban waste, increase in maritime traffic). And for this reason, in the areas which have or could have biggest problems, efforts have been intensified to check hygiene, sanitary and environmental conditions of the Tuscan seas. In terms of culture, Tuscany has an enviable range of offers compared to most regions in Italy, especially in terms of art. In Tuscany, there are more than 390 museums 479 museums, (over 10% of the museums in Italy), 160 historical villas and gardens to be visited; 78 historical towns. Just over 2,600 people are employed in cultural sector, which attracts around 6 million visitors every year (more than 20% of the visitors to Italy s museums). Second only to Lazio for the total number of visitors to artistic monuments, Tuscany holds the first place for the average number of visitors per attraction, with more than 100,000 visitors per year. Among Tuscany s cities of art, Florence leads the way, attracting more than 1 million visitors to the Galleria dell'accademia and more than one and a half million to the Uffizi gallery. Moreover 39 spas are located throughout the region. The tourist activities in Tuscany represent an important source of employment: Tuscany, among the major regions, shows an high degree of specialization in terms of employees in the accommodations services. Anyway, in general, the analysis of the skills required by the tourism sectors indicates a sector characterized by massive foreign job, mostly low-skilled. As regard the type of contract the analysis shows a substantial stability of permanent contracts and a growth of fixed-term contracts and apprenticeships. It is confirmed the growing trend of presences in accommodations with a medium-high and luxury level, which doesn t seem to be, in any way, affected by the crisis, driven by the foreigner demand in particular extra-european. On the other hand it continues the inexorable decline of the presences in accommodations with a medium-low level. The negative figures of campsites (-3.4%; -3.3% in 2012) are confirmed: they are caused by the decline of the Italians presences in particular in the seaside sector, but probably they are also influenced by the increase of their defaults. Important is the rebound of other 7
services (+ 2%) such as B&Bs and similar, that recover in terms of presences what they have lost in 2012 (-1.7%). Figure 2.4 Tourist Presence by Accommodation Type The analysis of the average daily expenditure per capita shows the intermediate position of Tuscany in 2013 (EUR 101.1) just below the Italian average (102.8). Relatively more encouraging is the trend of the spending per capita of foreigners in the period 2009-2013. Tuscany shows an increase of 5.9% in daily expenditures per capita that is attested among the highest in Italy. The structural analysis of the tourism balance by province highlights the importance of Florence, that alone counts for about 58% of revenue and that "produces" the 66% of the total touristic balance of Tuscany. After Florence the province of Siena is certainly the more attractive for foreign tourists and for tourist spending, representing approximately the 13% of regional revenues; Lucca and Pisa follow with the 7% contribution to regional revenues then Livorno with the 5%, the provinces of Grosseto (4%), Arezzo and Pistoia (2%) and Massa Carrara and Prato (1%). The provinces of Arezzo and Prato are the only ones that present negative tourism balance in 2013 (even for a small amount). Despite the crisis the offer of accommodations in Tuscany continues to increase, even if softly, both in terms of number of structures and number of beds. In 2013, there are approximately 14,046 accommodations compared to 13,692 in 2012 (+ 2.6%) and 534.641 beds, compared with 529,645 in 2012 (+ 0.9%). The 80% of the structures is represented by nonhotel accommodation and the remaining 20% by hotels and RTA, which, however, count the 36% of the beds, because of their average bigger size. Figure 2.5 Average size of companies per accommodation type Analysing the number of accommodation by province, it is noticed that the 42.1% of the accommodation in Tuscany is almost fairly distributed between provinces of Florence with its 3,010 structures and Siena, with its 2,876; they are followed by Grosseto (13.5%), Pisa (9.3%), Lucca (8.9%), Livorno (8.8%), Arezzo (8.5%), while Pistoia (4.8%) Massa Carrara (3.1%) and Prato (1.2%) are outdistanced. The accommodation offer in terms of beds highlights the prevalence of the seaside provinces where the campsites are concentrated (Livorno 21.6%; Grosseto 17.9%; Florence 16.6% and Siena 12.2%). 2.3. Policies & policy framework Concerning the organisation of tourism in Tuscany and Regional policies concerning tourism, the constitutional reform of Title V of the Constitution, trough the Constitutional Law n. 3/2001, has made tourism an "exclusive" competence of the Regions. By the law n. 42/2000, amended by regional laws n. 14/2005, n. 65/2010, and n. 74/2012, and by its implementing regulation, Tuscany Region has regulated all the activities related to tourism. In the first part of the Law 42 it is outlined the organizational system of the tourism in Tuscany, with the indication the functions of each involved institution: Region - Planning, development of tourism activities, information, tourist accommodation in the region with unitary character, and the definition of tourist areas for information, welcome and local tourism promotion; legislative function (art.117 Cost.) and professional education + management of FESR funds; 8
the Provinces - information, hospitality local tourism promotion; collection of statistical data on tourism; the Municipalities - welcome, tourist information and promotion of tourism offers in the municipality area. administrative functions & authorizations (accommodation facilities, tourism professions, travel agents),tourist information & animation. The mentioned regional reform of 2010 (regional law n. 65/2010), which reorganized the whole system of tourism promotion in Tuscany, has identified in Toscana Promozione the only competent body for Tuscany tourism promotion, both at the national and international level, and contextually has suppressed the 15 territorial agencies (APT) created by the Provinces according the former regional law n.42/2000. Now, with the National Law n. 56/2014 (Del Rio) that provide the suppression of the provinces and the creation of the metropolitan areas, with the same basic functions of the provinces, Tuscany Region is called to reconsider the allocation of administrative responsibilities in terms of tourism among the existing public bodies. Concerning regional strategies concerning tourism, the following provides a summary- Tuscany Region Development Plan (PRS) 2011-2015, approved by Regional Council s resolution n. 49/2011, defines the lines of action for the entire legislature and represents an act of orientation and programming setting up the strategic choices of the regional action and the legislation priorities, including the financial recourses. PRS 2011-2015 key priorities regarding tourism are: the revitalization of the industry, particularly the manufacturing sector (large, medium and small), and of all sectors of regional exports (including tourism, crafts and agriculture), in order to increase the added value of the Tuscan economy in terms of revenue and skilled jobs; to make culture as a drive of development: culture as main recourse for a development focusing on knowledge economy and sustainable tourism in order to guarantee a high level of attractiveness of the regional territory. to develop, with an highly integrated approach, the complex of the service sector system, aiming at a better qualification of the tourism and distribution offer in order to combine competitiveness and sustainability and to reposition the various tourism products of Tuscany; to improve the territorial accessibility and to reduce the digital divide through the diffusion of second level broadband coverage (over 7 Mbps) and through the activation of widespread connectivity services and of infomobility for the promotion of tourism, trade and cultural heritage. Tuscany Region with the Committee resolution n. 478/2014 defined the draft version of the Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation, RIS3 that is one of the ex-ante conditionality for the approval of EU programs, aiming to invest in research, development and innovation. The approved document focuses on three key technology areas: ICT-Photonics, intelligent Factory and Chemistry-Nanotechnology, as important basins of rooted expertise in Tuscany, on which activate strategic differentiated investments and specific support policies for the regional territory. In the relationship between tourism and Smart Specialisation, the first one emerges as an important field of application and a drive for key technologies development. In general, the world-wide tourism sector was one of those which could benefit most from the recent innovations occurred in the field of ICT both from the supply side (new on online operators) and from the demand (disintermediation). For the full valorization of the KET, aiming at the tourism development, it is important to pay attention to those technologies that can have more effects in terms of tourist product qualification, improvement of the tourist experience, environmental sustainability and market opportunities. Referring to the Tuscany RIS3 technological priority ICT and Photonics : - applications for the field of Tourism and Culture within the Galileo satellite telecommunications system (to be adopted in a short period); - Development of ICT tourist platforms and services; - Innovative solutions in microelectronics and sensors, for enabling intelligent services of transport and mobility in urban areas, especially in cases of strong tourist seasonal presence. Referring to the technological priority Intelligent Factory: - for automation processes, development of technological 9
applications based on domotics, technically called Smart Building and Homes. Concerning the technological priority Chemicals and Nanotechnologies: - new materials. Process innovations in an eco-sustainability point of view could find strong applications for daily consumption products used daily by the tourist accommodation. Looking at structural funds used to support the tourism sector, the Regional Operational Programme - Objective Regional Competitiveness and Employment 2007-2013 is one of the most important regional programs through which Tuscany Region and EU, supports - through the co-financing - investment projects by enterprises and public bodies. Its aim is to promote a qualified development, within a environmental sustainability framework, through the strengthening of enterprises competitiveness and of the whole "Tuscany system" with the subsequent economy and jobs growth. The program has a duration of seven years from 2007 to 2013 with a budget of one billion and 126 million euro, of which the 30% are EU funds (ERDF), 45% come from National funds while the remaining 25% are regional and local authorities resources. Among the 6 Axis of the Programme, Axe 1 Research, development and technological transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship and Axe 5 Valorisation of endogenous resources for sustainable territorial development in the past 7 years have financed project related to tourism, in particular trough the following action lines: 1.3.c - Purchase of qualified services - tourism and tertiary sector 1.3.e - Innovation of tertiary sector and services - Tourism / Commerce and related services 1.5.c - Support to integrated programs of investment in industrial research and innovation aimed at fostering aggregation processes of SMEs in tourism, through strategic alliance on specific projects, networking and other models of cooperation at the transnational level. Call ERNEST 5.1.b - Interventions for recovery and reshape of urban area and of areas for productive sites with the purpose of collective use. Infrastructure for tourism and natural commercial areas 5.2 - Measures of protection, enhancement and promotion of cultural heritage and of the urban areas functional to the use of sustainable tourism 5.4.a - Support for the protection, enhancement and promotion of natural and cultural resources for the development of sustainable tourism 5.4.c - Interventions of recovery and reshape of areas for production designed to collective use: infrastructures for tourism and natural commercial areas 5.5.b - Testing of the territorial model of monitoring of sustainable and competitive tourism of NeCStouR. Finally considering specific policies in place concerning sustainable and/or competitive tourism, the following important examples can be highlighted. NECSTouR network: With the Resolution n. 55/2008 Tuscany Region signed the memorandum of understanding for an European network of competitive and sustainable tourism (NECSTouR), now gathering 28 Tourism Regional Authorities associated to 30 representatives of the academic and business sectors. NECSTouR aims to develop and strengthen a coherent framework for the coordination of regional development programmes and research on sustainable and competitive tourism following the communication of the European Commission, entitled "Agenda for European sustainable and competitive tourism" (COM (2007) 0621-19-10-2007). Project "Tourist, Sustainable and Competitive Tuscany": The project "Tourist, Sustainable and Competitive Tuscany" is an important milestone for the development of regional tourism system, in accordance with the conservation of natural resources, historical heritage, cultural identity and aiming at improving the quality of residents life. This project represents the first attempt to experiment, together on a set of local tourist destinations, the management of tourism activities with a sustainable and competitive approach, based on social dialogue and on the measurement of phenomena, following the guidelines of the European Union and the NECSTouR network. The relevance of NECSTouR for the programming policies on tourism was further confirmed by the European 10
Commission Communication COM 352 (2010): "Europe, the world's No 1 tourist destination - a new political framework for tourism in Europe" which promotes the development of sustainable, responsible and high quality tourism and provides the testing in Europe of a system of indicators for the management of tourism on the basis of the NECSTouR proposal. This recognition puts Tuscany Region and the municipalities involved in the project at the forefront also for future initiatives that will be undertaken by the European Commission, and for which the project is a concrete application model. The project was approved by the resolution n. 763/2009 of the Regional Committee: with this act it was started the testing of the Tourism Observatories in the Destinations (OTD), according to the model proposed by NECSTouR and implementing the European Union COM (2007) 621. With the subsequent trial OTD were created in 50 municipalities in Tuscany, and the essential elements for a first definition of the model for the sustainable management of tourist destinations were acquired. With a further decision, n. 667/2012, Tuscany Region Committee approved this managing model, and it was decided to create an online platform for Tourism Observatories in the Destinations: 64 municipalities accepted to participate in this application phase. Project "Tourism (in)novation Tuscany": This project launched in January 2014 - aims at defining the cluster of tourist destinations meeting the requirements of sustainability and competitiveness identified in the framework of the NECSTouR network. The project, which see the involvement of those municipalities participating in the second phase of OTD testing, aims to apply the NECSTouR model of destinations sustainable management in order to improve the performance of different emerging tourism cluster both territorial and thematic - in the regional area in terms of competitiveness and sustainability. 2.4. Tools The Regional Tourism Observatory, established by Resolution of the Regional Council n. 94/2003, responds to the need of having complete and consistent information of the various phenomena related to tourism: consistency of tourism offer (including thermal, conference/exhibition, environmental tourism); arrivals and presences dynamics of prices and of services training of employees financial support and business investments impact of tourism on the entire economic and productive system trend of tourist flows It directly involves public and private entities such as Provinces, Municipalities, mountain public bodies, local associations, industry and commerce associations, consumer associations and trade union associations. Another example is the OTD2 Platform -Tourism Observatories in the Destinations. Tuscany Region is developing - within the S3 strategy - a WEB BASED PLATFORM (platform of the Tourist Destination Observatories) as sustainable destination management model (use of indicators for informed decision making). It is based on social dialog, assessment, evaluation, competitiveness, sustainability. So far 65 out of 287 Tuscan municipalities have joined this stage, implementing their projects and uploading data into the regional platform. The platform includes also the monitoring of data and information specific for the maritime and coastal sector through the regional environment agency ARPAT. This Platform advantages are: To monitor the implementation of the model for the sustainable management of tourist destinations, specifically geared to the establishment of permanent systems for comparison and measurement of phenomena related to the sustainability and competitiveness of tourism. 11
Networking the Tuscan destinations that have formed, or are forming SDDs, in order to facilitate the sharing of data, the application of experience, benchmarking and performance monitoring in the implementation of the model. To develop and test a system of indicators for the sustainable management of destinations To test the indicators published by the European Commission, DG Enterprise, "European Tourism Indicator System" To promote the network of Tuscan tourist attraction poles focused on sustainable management, exploitation and protection of the natural, scenic, historical heritage and identity, which may in the future contribute to the establishment of the network of European quality tourism destinations as per the Communication from the European Commission "Europe world first tourist destination - a new political framework for tourism in Europe". The OTD2 platform is a further enhancement tool, for the innovation and the promotion of the regional tourist destinations, which is devoted to the improvement of the product and will be synergic, in perspective, with other tourist promotion policies. 2.5. Stakeholders Tuscany Region intends to involve the following stakeholders in MITOMED project: Considering its institutional role, Tuscany Region has an advantaged relationship with the stakeholders of its territory. In particular, thanks to the policies and projects (such as those mentioned in this documents) approved and implemented during last years, it has strong links, on tourism, with Municipalities, Provinces, associations, enterprises etc. that will be used to involve them in the last phases of the project: Open Consultation, Action Plan and Final Conference. Figure 2.6 Stakeholders in MITOMED In this regard Tuscany Region has approved in 2007 and 2013 two laws on the promotion of participation in the definition of regional and local policies (69/2007 and 46/2013). Moreover thanks to its active participation in NECSTouR network, to its involvement in different European projects on tourism and to its premises in Brussels Tuscany Region boasts effective relationships all over Europe. 12
2.6. Monitoring Systems and data available Topic Which data and Is there any specific Do you have any Notes monitoring systems information you would good practice are available in your recommend to monitor in concerning the Region concerning relation to this specific management of this that topic? topic and M&C tourism? topic? 1. Use of natural Quality of bathing water Yes, OTD resources, particularly water Cruises 2. Energy consumption Yes, OTD 3. Waste management Yes, OTD 4. Quality of life of residents and tourists Yes, OTD 5. Quality of work Important seasonality of Yes, OTD jobs Topic Which data and Is there any specific Do you have any Notes monitoring systems information you would good practice are available in your recommend to monitor in concerning the Region concerning relation to this specific management of this that topic? topic and M&C tourism? topic? 6. Conservation of cultural heritage 7. Conservation of environmental heritage 8. Conservation of distinctive identities of destinations 9. De-seasonal (geographical and seasonal) 10. Transport and mobility Other topics? Of specific interest Ports, cruises Yes, OTD Yes, OTD Yes, OTD Yes, OTD Yes, OTD 13
3. Preliminary survey: Tourist system in Istria (Croatia) 3.1. Introduction to Istria The coastal zone of Istrian region includes the territories of tourist boards of municipalities and towns (i.e. local selfgovernment units) which are placed on coastal areas. Following the mentioned criteria, it is possible to define 18 coastal municipalities and towns i.e. their respective tourist boards in the coastal zone of Istrian region. These are the tourist boards of following towns and municipalities: Pula, Poreè, Rovinj, Umag, Labin, Novigrad, Vodnjan, Medulin, Vrsar, Tar-Vabriga, Fažana, Kršan, Raša, Funtana, Bale, Marèana, Ližnjan i Brtonigla. The listed towns and municipalities are marked in the following figure (3.1). Figure 3.1. Coastal zone of Istrian region The length of coastline of towns and municipalities in the Istrian regions, islands included, is 539 km 1. The Istrian western coast is more rugged, and its length is 327 km. The lengths of Istrian eastern coast amounts 212 km. 3.2. Introduction to the tourist system in Istria The following data provides an initial introduction to the tourist system in Croatia and Istria: GDP of travel related revenues in Croatia: 15,5% (in 2012) and 16,5% (preliminary data in 2013) Total resident population 4.284.889 (Croatia), 208.055 (cca. 5% Istria County) in 2011 Annual tourist arrivals 12.441.476 (Croatia), 2.980.663 (cca. 24% Istria County) in 2013 Annual tourist overnight stays 64.827.814 (Croatia), 19.445.130 (cca. 30% Istria County) in 2013 Workers employed in hotels and restourants (6,3% of total, employed in crafts and trades and free lances: 16,8% of total- in 2013 in Croatia in Istria County in 2012. =11,81%) Accommodation capacities: (2013) number of beds 249.861 (Istria) 925.773 (Croatia); Number of beds in hotels 31.375 (Istria) 131.004 (Croatia) 1 Istrian region, http://www.istra-istria.hr/index.php?id=263 14
Looking at some tourist related information in detail, when we consider number of tourist nights per month the Croatian Bureau of Statistics reports tourist nights for domestic and foreign tourists. Dana regarding tourist nights is available per year for: 1) types of tourist resorts (Zagreb, Bathing, Seaside, Mountain and Other), 2) country of origin, 3) accommodation establishments, 4) mode of tourist arrivals (individual and group) and accommodation establishments, 5) month flow, 6) counties, towns and municipalities. Istria Tourist Board collects data on tourist nights per month per smaller tourist boards located in Istria County. According to Croatian Bureau of Statistics (Tourism 2013), a total of 64.827.814 tourist nights were achieved in Croatia, 19.445.130 (30%) in Istria County. On Istria Tourist Board s web pages, data on tourist nights for each month is available (Table 1). Data is available for individual tourist board in Istria County (Pula, Porec, Rovinj, Umag, Labin, Novigrad, Vodnjan, Medulin, Vrsar, Tar-Vabriga, Fažana, Kršan, Raša, Funtana, Bale, Marcana, Ližnjan i Brtonigla). Concerning daily spending per tourist (accommodation, food and drinks, other services), the average daily spending is measured by Institute of Tourism, Zagreb, as a part of on Attitudes and spending of tourists in Croatia TOMAS. The survey is conducted periodically. The last available data is from 2010 (data for 2014 is not yet processed) and it encompasses seven coastal counties (Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Lika-Senj, Zadar, Šibenik- Knin, Split- Dalmatia, Dubrovnik-Neretva). Average daily spending per tourist is 58.00. According to the data from 2007, which is available for each of the previously mentioned counties (TOMAS 2007), average daily spending per tourist for Istria County is 59.59, while average daily spending in general (Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Lika-Senj, Zadar, Šibenik- Knin, Split-Dalmatia, Dubrovnik-Neretva) is 55.48. Looking at Sustainable Tourism Public Policy, only about 20% of local self-government units in Croatia have a tourism strategy/action plan defining the tourism development issues, according to a study of the Institute of tourism in Zagreb. There are no available data on whether the stated strategic documents includes agreed monitoring, development control and evaluation arrangement. There are no available data about the percentage of the destination with a sustainable tourism strategy/action plan, with agreed monitoring, development control and evaluation arrangement exclusively for the coastal zone of the Istrian region. Istria is proud to host the following sites of cultural heritage: World tangible cultural and natural heritage protected by UNESCO - EUPHRASIAN BASILICA IN POREÈ UNESCO world intangible cultural heritage - TWO-PART SINGING AND PLAYING (MUSIC) IN THE ISTRIAN SCALE, IN ISTRIA AND HRVATSKO PRIMORJE We now turn to the question of environmental impact and the environmental component of Istrian tourism. Monitoring of ecological parameters is performed periodically, according to legal regulations, and in Istrian Region is mostly carried out by Regional Public Health Institute, as it is given in Table 1. Data are partially available to public. Parameter Policy Frequency Institution Noise Waste Official Gazette 30/09, 55/13, 153/13 Official Gazette 94/13 Average of 35 measurements (noise, soundproofing, 24h noise monitoring) per year Wastewater: tested with 121 users, a total of 976 samples per year, on average, 81 sample per month ZZJZIŽ (Regional Public Health Institute) ZZJZIŽ (Regional Public Health Institute) and other institutions 15
Water (sea, fresh, underground, tap, waste) Air (quality and pollution, pollen) Official Gazette (NN 130/11) Surface water: 199 samples per year, sampled at 39 control sites Ground water: 90 samples per year sampled at 13 control sites Seawater (beaches): 406 samples per month during the bathing season Water for human consumption (the control points of the water supply networks, exiting the water treatment plant and control of the HACCP plan beneficiaries): A total of 1,200 samples per year Pool water: tested on 361 pool, a total of 1,960 samples per year Daily (SO 2, NO 2/NO x, PM 10, ozone, CO, meteorological indicators, TDM) on 39 sites, in total Monitoring of air pollutants emissions from stationary sources: 75 discharge per year Testing of non-hazardous waste eluates: on everage, one sample per month Determination of allergens: pollen determination and forecasts ZZJZIŽ (Regional Public Health Institute), CIM (Center for Marine Research) ZZJZIŽ (Regional Public Health Institute) Table 3.1. Monitoring of ecological parameters in Istria (Croatia) Croatia boasts a long tradition of landscape and biodiversity protection. As in many other countries, the first examples of nature protection in Croatia are linked to the second half of the 19th century. The Law on Nature Protection (Official Gazettes 70/05) issued in 2005 authorizes the establishment of regional agencies for the management of Protected Areas (PAs). The Istrian County recognized the need for such institutions even earlier, in 1996 and subsequently established the Public Institution (PI) Natura Histrica, the first regional agency for the management of PAs in Croatia. Istria, as one of the most developed tourist regions in Croatia, has recognized its potential and protected the most valuable areas. The main economic activities are tourism and agriculture with an emphasis on rural area development and the preservation of olive groves and vineyards. In past years, much effort has been made to protect and wisely exploit its natural potential. Now, there are 34 PAs in the Istrian County, under different categories of protection. Categories include national park, special reserve, nature park, significant landscape, nature monument, park forest and park architecture monument. PAs cover about 9 % of the Istrian County and PI Natura Histrica manages about 8 % of the total area (Natura Histrica 2014). The protected areas cover 21.004,71 ha (out of 252.000 ha of Istrian County area) from which 17.294,81 ha are coastal areas (Figure 3.2). Figure 3.2 Protected areas in Istria (source: Natura Histrica) 16
Monitoring and recording the number of visitors on an annual basis in Istrian PAs only exists in NP Brijuni and PI Kamenjak (2 out of 34 PAs). According to 2014 monitoring data, 102.000 vehicles during the summer season were registered (cca 250.000 annualy). Today, the Law on Nature Protection (Official Gazettes, 80/13) defines management programs for protected areas within all permitted and prohibited activities must be defined. Only 1 out of 34 Pas has Management plan. In total 22 PAs in Istria are involved in ecological network NATURA 2000 (Figure 3.3), which comprises 780 sites in Croatia. Management plans for NATURA 2000 sites in Istria are still not done. Recent research carried out by research team from Institute of Agriculture and Tourism and partners and published in scientific journal Environmental Management in 2012 (was aimed on studying of participative environmental management in Istria and local resident s attitudes towards conservation. In this study, 6 Pas were examined by questionnaire survey (face-to face and phone interviews) where participants were residents in and around PAs (24% of the total Istrian population). The results presented in this paper support the idea of participative conservation models for PA managers and additionally serve to illustrate possible directions for nature protection in Istria, Croatia and neighboring countries, with special emphasis on tourism impact on conservation. Figure 3.3. NATURA 2000 sites 3.3. Policies & policy framework Regional policies are developed by Regional tourism organisations: Istria county are Administrative Department for Tourism Istrian Tourism Board Tourism Boards in Municipalities and Cities Some cities have Tourism Board as consulting s of the mayor IRTA regional agency, Istria DMC The regional strategy concerning tourism is the Regional development strategy of Istrian Region 2011-2013, in the process is development of Strategic Master Plan of Istrian County from 2015 until 2020 (working title) Structural Funds are not widely used to support the tourism sector. There is just one example of supporting private initiatives, from Structural project As a priority in the Regional development strategy 2011-2013 Restructuring & repositioning of the tourism industry and stimulating & development of new tourist products (with a special accent on direct investments in tourism) is set within the strategic goal Competitive Economy. The Croatian government has elected to prepare a Smart Specialisation Strategy on a national level. The S3- Croatia focuses on those economic sectors and S&T areas where Croatia has strongest prospects for smart, inclusive and sustainable growth, building on its strengths, comparative advantages and potential for excellence. Based on the proposed methodology for S3 design and on the basis of the identified strengths and potentials in the economic sector, R&D and innovation through gathered analytical data, Croatia has identified four thematic priority 17
fields to be further developed and specialized at National level: a) health, b) sustainable energy and environment, c) engineering, d) biotechnology and bio economy. Additionally, as one of the most crucial issues of the smart specialization process, Croatia has identified the crosscutting themes able to create the biggest added value and foster the emergence of new economic activities, raising of the productivity of the Croatian economy and the creation of new and sustainable job opportunities. These crosscutting themes are: Key Enabling Technologies (KET), Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Tourism, Creative & cultural industry, Green growth and Societal challenges. Therefore Tourism is considered as one of the priority issues that can generate an impact in more than one field of Croatian economy and together with other issues is of major importance for the country s development either by itself or integrated into one or more thematic priority areas. S3 Strategy proposal for Croatia is now in the process of evaluation at national and EC level. 3.4. Tools In Istria there are no formal Tourism Observatories, but local Tourism Associations are monitoring number of visitors and overnights. Concerning systems for collecting tourist data, the Istrian Regional Tourist Board collects all the tourist data from the local tourist boards. Specific data and information for the maritime and coastal sector is not collected. 3.5. Stakeholders The Potential stakeholders in Istria County are summarised as follows: MITOMED partner - Institute of Agriculture and Tourism Istrian County - Municipalities Istrian Tourism Board Local Tourism Associations IRTA and Other Regional Departments and Agencies National Administration (related to tourism, environment and nature protection, maritime affairs, transport and economy) Structured forms of stakeholder consultation/involvement / communication systems that already exist include: Istria County Tourist Board Activities - Value creation (support, product development..); Value communication: (PR, on-off line communication, brochures...); Distribution and sales of value (education, coordination system, rewards...); Internal marketing; Marketing infrastructure; Special programs http://www.istra.hr/, Official Tourist website of Istria 3.6. Monitoring Systems and data available for each topic Topic 1. Use of natural resources, particularly water 2. Energy consumption Which data and monitoring systems are available in your Region concerning that topic? partial Is there any specific information you would recommend to monitor in relation to this specific topic and M&C tourism? Do you have any good practice concerning the management of this topic? Notes 18
3. Waste management 4. Quality of life of residents and tourists partial Highly ranked level of customer satisfaction. More than 78% of foreign tourists visited the Istrian region for two or more times. (TOMAS, 2010) 5. Quality of work 6. Conservation of cultural heritage partial Monitoring and updating the state of conservation of monuments/objects in the Register There is no systematic monitoring although the Register of cultural properties (objects) is regularly updated regarding preventive protected or newly protected. 7. Conservation of environmental heritage partial The number of tourists in Pas Transport in PAs NP Bijuni 8. Conservation of distinctive identities of destinations 9. Deseasonalization (geographical and seasonal) 10. Transport and mobility Other topics? 19
4. Preliminary survey: Tourist system in Cyprus 4.1. Introduction to Cyprus Cyprus is located at the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean, at a distance of 300 km north of Egypt, 90 km west of Syria, and 60 km south of Turkey. Is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, after Sicily and Sardinia, with an area of 9.251 sq km (3.572 sq miles). The total population of the island according to 2013 data is 952.100 people with Nicosia which is the capital of the island to concentrate the 25% of the total population. Table 4.1 Population in Cyprus The Government system in Cyprus is Presidential republic and the official language is Greek. Also, Cyprus is a Member of the European Union since 2004 and from 2008 has enter Eurozone and the currency changed from Cyprus pound to Euro( ). The economy of Cyprus can be characterized as small, open and dynamic, with services to be the engine power of the economy. The tertiary sector (services) is the biggest contributor to GDP, accounting for about 80,5 %. The real estate sector and the financial services are the biggest contributor to then GDP. The tourism sector has a 12% contribution to the GDP. The secondary sector (manufacturing) accounted for around 15,4% of GDP and is mostly food processing companies and metal companies. The primary sector (agriculture and fishing) is continuously shrinking and its contribution is very small reaching only the 2,3% of GDP. Characteristics of Tourism The Total Annual Tourist Arrivals for 2012 is 2.464.908 almost 3 times that the population of the island. The numbers of tourists have increased during the decades (figure 1). On 1980 the tourist arrivals were only 500.000, in 1990 they double to 1.000.000 and more and more tourists were coming. So far for 2014 until the end of August the number of Tourists who visited Cyprus accounts to 1.734.876 and is expected to reach the highest number form all years. Figure 4.1: Tourist Arrivals by the years Looking at the total arrivals by country (Figure2 and 3) we can see that most of the tourist comes from Europe especially from UK, Germany, Greece and Sweden. Also, Cyprus has a share of tourists coming from other EU countries with the numbers of tourists coming from Russia to increase during the last years. 20