6. Building special interest networks through awareness raising and training initiatives

Specific Awareness Raising/Training Programmes.
For further information on these and other PLANED tourism awareness raising/training programmes contact
Sarah Diment on 01834 862107
or email sarahd@planed.org.uk

As part of its programme of assisting local people to plan and prepare the area to meet the needs of tourists, SPARC (1991-2001) facilitated the delivery of a wide variety of training courses for tourism businesses.

The aim of these courses was to build the capacity of the area to accommodate the needs of visitors and to improve quality levels. Training was delivered to groups of existing and potential tourism enterprises in order to encourage the development of networks and to ensure the development of a sufficient number of businesses offering parallel services to create a creditable product offer.

Courses were developed and delivered in partnership with relevant providers (e.g SIMTRA) and specialists (e.g Swansea Institute). A range of one-day courses included basic food hygiene, developing a bed & breakfast, IT and greening your business. Alongside these more extensive, intensive programmes were developed – these included Greening Farm Based Tourism; QUEST (Quality, Uniqueness, Enhancement, Strategic Planning and Training in Management); Environmental Tourism for All and Inclusive Tourism for All. These programmes ran between 2000-2003 and involved some 85 businesses.Evaluations of Greening Farm Tourism and the Environmental and Inclusive Tourism for All programmes highlight the high value businesses have attributed to the opportunity to network.

In 2002, with the founding of PLANED time was taken to review SPARC's activities in the field of tourism and to make recommendations for ways that achievements could be carried forward. This was done with the assitance of the Tourism Company Ltd and is documented in ‘SPARC/PLANED Tourism Review & Strategy 2002', The Tourism Company Ltd. ‘The provision of business support for enterprises and local communities has played a central role in SPARC's approach to tourism development. . . SPARC has successfully engaged micro-businesses, which dominate the rural tourism sector through the provision of practical training courses, which are designed to meet the needs of small businesses and are integrated into wider a support package of grant aid, consultancy advice and networking.'

PLANED’s Tourism Business Development Programme was successful re-launched in 2003/4 in association with Pembrokeshire Tourism Ltd. A main element of this programme has been ‘Sense of Place’.

Sense of Place raises awareness amongst potential and existing tourism enterprises in Pembrokeshire

• of the opportunity to create higher-value, more sustainable forms of tourism
• by working closely with local communities in their activities (ie events, festivals, heritage leaflets, themed walks, arts, crafts and food/drink products), which interpret the unique and distinctive culture, heritage and environment of rural Pembrokeshire

The awareness raising is delivered via a series of themed seminars/tours, which are facilitated by local community representatives/experts and involve visits to/promotion of good local practice in local community interpretation, business enterprise, environmental management/enhancement etc.

7. Branding/Marketing
Initially the 'Landsker Borderlands' identity was developed and promoted. Organisations in the area had the opportunity to promote themselves within this context.

Attracting higher-spending overseas visitors, who have a greater propensity to stay in serviced accommodation and to travel 'out-of-season' was, however, something beyond the reach of most individual organisations in the area.

In 1994 the Landsker Countryside Holidays Bureau was established to market the rural tourism opportunities which had been developed predominantly, though not exclusively, to overseas tour operators.

In 1996 Wales Countryside Holidays was established - bringing together seven areas of rural Wales to market Wales rural tourism products predominantly, though not exclusively, to overseas tour operators.

In 2000 Landsker Countryside Holidays became Greenways Holidays to progress marketing opportunities for sustainable rural tourism products developed across Pembrokeshire - www.greenwaysholidays.com

8. Evaluation & Recognition
Regular independent evaluation of PLANED's sustainable rural tourism activities are undertaken. The most recent being the Tourism Strategy & Review 2002, The Tourism Company.

Awards