Developing Tourism Outside of Established Localities Ideas and Practices for a “Mission Possible”

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Released in July 2013

Compendium of selected policies and programmes from the Mediterranean Region

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries.

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DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

ABOUT THE OECD

The OECD is a multi-disciplinary inter-governmental organisation of 34 member countries which engages in its work an increasing number of non-members from all regions of the world. The Organisation’s core mission today is to help governments work together towards a stronger, cleaner, fairer global economy. Through its network of 250 specialised committees and working groups, the OECD provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Commission takes part in the work of the OECD. For more information on the OECD, please visit www.oecd.org/about.

ABOUT THE OECD LEED PROGRAMME

The OECD Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) has advised governments and communities since 1982 on how to respond to economic change and tackle complex problems in a fast-changing world. Its mission is to contribute to the creation of more and better quality jobs through more effective policy implementation, innovative practices, stronger capacities and integrated strategies at the local level. LEED draws on a comparative analysis of experience from the five continents in fostering economic growth, employment and inclusion. For more information on the LEED Programme, please visit www.oecd.org/cfe/leed.

ABOUT THE OECD LEED TRENTO CENTRE FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

The OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development was established by the OECD, the Italian Government and the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy) in 2003. The Centre is an integral part of the OECD (LEED Programme). The mission of the Trento Centre is to build capacities for local development in OECD member and non-member countries. Trento Centre objectives are: (i) to improve the quality of public policies implemented at the local level through continuous monitoring and assessment of current practices and by using the results of comparative research and studies in the making of policy recommendations and action plans; (ii) to develop capacity in the design, implementation and evaluation of local economic and employment development strategies to help grow local economies in OECD member and non-OECD member countries; (iii) to promote innovation in local economic and employment development across the globe; and (iv) to strengthen the relationship between policy makers, local development practitioners and the scientific community and to facilitate the transfer of expertise and exchange of experience between OECD member and non-member countries. For more information on the Trento Centre and its activities and events, please visit www.trento.oecd.org.

The Training Centre for International Co-operation is a recently established organisation for education, research, and the training of highly qualified people engaged in social, institutional, and economic co-operation, as well as the promotion of local development worldwide. A partnership driven and bottom-up oriented approach, conceived in its different social, political, and economical dimensions, is the main focus of the Centre. The Centre provides capacity development to organisations and institutions both in the public and private sector, aimed at reinforcing projects, programmes and development policies, managing skills, providing courses and training, as well as conducting research and providing opportunities to debate key issues amongst different stakeholders and in different theme-based areas.

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This handbook benefitted from the discussion and contributions which took place during the Capacity Building Seminar ‘Developing tourism outside of established localities. Ideas and practices for a “mission possible”, organised in the November 2012 by the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development and devoted to participants representing the Mediterranean countries.

The good practices discussed in Trento are presented in this handbook. Special thanks are extended to all delegates for engaging in an active discussion about tourism and possible future strategies for its development and for contributing with their valuable experiences to this piece of work.

Very helpful support in organising the seminar and all the work around the handbook was provided by Mehmet Tekin, seconded expert from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of the Turkish Government, by Elisa Campestrin and Roberto Chizzali, research assistants at the OECD LEED Trento Centre and by Mara Giua, research trainee at the same Centre.

Special thanks are extended to Silvia Destro, responsible of the training division of the Training Centre for International Cooperation of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Paolo Rosso and Paolo Grigolli, senior experts to the OECD, for their useful contributions to the Capacity Building Seminar and to the handbook.

The work was supervised and edited by Alessandra Proto, Policy Analyst at the OECD LEED Trento Centre.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...... 7

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES. IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE” ...... 8 The selected case studies and the themes of tourism development ...... 9

GOOD PRACTICE INITIATIVES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION ...... 12 THEME 1. Integrated strategic vision for tourism and governance ...... 12 MOROCCO - Morocco vision 2020 for tourism development. “A territorial approach and a focus on sustainability” ...... 13 JORDAN - Promoting local economic development and tourism in Jordan. “Pled Jordan” ...... 15 THEME 2. Product development ...... 17 LEBANON - A social network for sustainable tourism in Lebanon. “Tourtwist” ...... 18 TUNISIA - Hotel upgrading project (HUP) in Tunisia ...... 20 MOROCCO - Sustainability, ecosystem approach to tourism and carrying capacity of local context. “The Kasbah du Toubkal case” ...... 22 TURKEY - Tourism development in Eastern Anatolia region project (tdeap). “Pilot: Coruh Valley” ...... 24 JORDAN - USAID tourism project (USAID/Siyaha). "Madaba tourism case study" ...... 26 THEME 3. Brand and communication development ...... 28 SLOVENIA - A brand development story. “I feel Slovenia” ...... 29 ITALY - From a business-oriented destination to a leisure-oriented destination. “The case of the Province of Treviso” ...... 31 ITALY - The Apulia film commission foundation ...... 33 THEME 4. Network development and management ...... 35 ITALY – SOUTH EAST EUROPE - A decentralized cooperation project on tourism and local development. “Seenet” ...... 36 SPAIN - Defining multi-destinations in rural and mountain areas. “The Pyrenees” ...... 38

6 © OECD 2013 DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

INTRODUCTION Introduction

The aim of this compendium is to show how the development of the tourism sector can support the local economy in primarily rural and marginal localities. There are opportunities in terms of local development which are often not fully exploited, even though they are extremely powerful. Tourism is generally considered to be a prime engine in achieving local development in all local contexts where there are valuable assets (cultural heritage, nature, historical cities, etc.). However, it is sometimes incorrectly considered to be a “panacea” for local development whereas it is in fact a sophisticated and, more importantly, a highly integrated development tool.

In this sense, a policy approach that takes into account some specific assets, that are by definition located in a particular place, and seeks to co-ordinate the various policies affecting that place, is more likely to achieve coherent, multi-sector integrated outcomes than one relying on tourism-wide policies that are “spatially blind”1. Attention must be paid not only to the horizontal and vertical economic linkages, but also to the way in which local communities, and their social and economic development, can be an integral part of enhancing the tourism experience.

OECD studies on regional and local development show that the growth performance of a locality is shaped by factors such as amenities, accessibility, size, demographics, industrial specialisation and agglomeration effects. Significantly, the principal growth drivers are endogenous, like location or natural or cultural resource endowments. These factors complement each other in different ways and this is where location and geography matter. The performance of a region will thus depend to a great extent on how well it manages to exploit and mobilise its own assets and resources2. The same approach should be considered by tourism development policies.

As concluding remark, it can be said that the complexity of the challenge of the development of tourism in a given locality, particularly concerning minor touristic territories, is very high.

The compendium will show how in this framework tourism can boost local development by elaborating good practices which are grouped around leveraged four main themes:

THEME 1. Integrated strategic vision for tourism and governance

THEME 2. Product development

THEME 3. Brand and communication development

THEME 4. Network development and management

1 OECD Regional Outlook 2 ibidem

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

Introduction DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES. IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

Due to the role of Tourism as an important driver of local community and economic development, which is the main area of interest of the OECD LEED - Local Economic and Employment Development Programme, increasing attention has been paid by the Programme to this sector.

In particular, the OECD and its Tourism Committee3 recognises that addressing the major challenges faced by the tourism industry and maximising tourism's full economic potential requires an integrated and multi-faceted approach to tourism policy development across many government levels and departments. In this environment, OECD members see considerable benefit in co- operating to address economic, sustainability and employment issues, and promoting tourism policy performance and evaluation, innovation and liberalisation of tourism. Closer co-operation with major emerging economies is also seen as being critical to achieving a strong impact through this work.

More specifically, tourism is widely considered to play a primary role in all the countries, regions and local communities surrounding the Mediterranean basin: history and archaeology, natural resources and landscapes, local cultures and a variety of heritages, sea resorts and cultural assets result in a very attractive multifaceted and unique tourist location in the global market.

On such a basis the need to facilitate the exchange of experience, discussion of common issues, comparing respective policies and developing new concepts was identified as a common but not yet satisfied expectation from tourism sector policy makers, governmental officers and prominent practitioners of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region.

Since 2010, the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development4 and TCIC Training Centre for International Cooperation5 based in Trento have joined their efforts and capacities in pursuing the shared objective of launching a capacity building initiative on common issues of tourism policy addressing national, regional and local policy-makers and practitioners, tourism agents, representatives of the private sector and from social economy organisations actively involved in tourism-related activities, business associations and higher education institutions in the region.

Three editions of such a capacity building seminar have been held in Trento so far and, since the methodological approach adopted for such seminars is to facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges of experiences and practices, a number of case studies have been brought to the discussion by the participants coming from a variety of Mediterranean and Middle East countries.

The structure and contents of such cases were considered as key inputs for developing the discussion during the seminar on some of the crucial topics tourism industry development faces currently in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

3 http://www.oecd.org/cfe/tourism 4 http://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/trentocentre.htm 5 http://www.tcic.eu 8 © OECD 2013 DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

The present compendium collects the case studies presented by the participants of the 2012 edition of the capacity building which dealt with “Developing tourism outside of established localities”.

The case studies are proposed to the reader as an effective platform for better understanding Introduction some of the concepts discussed and developed during the seminar, so to provide a repertory of first hand experiences and good practices concerning how some critical issues have been approached and experienced in the specific Mediterranean and Middle East context.

The use of the compendium is three-fold:

1. For the tourism and local development community - supporting and corroborating new theoretical concepts and trends, through an evidence based approach, dealing with tourism development policies that are currently at the stake and to show how such principles result when turned into empirical experience;

2. For tourism sector actors of the same area - but also from other regions - to get inspiration for acting in their local contexts, finding a selected set of cases from which ideas can be drawn by adapting and adopting approaches that proved to be successful in similar contexts;

3. For the participants of the seminar – both of past and future editions – fostering and easing the establishment of a permanent community of practitioners by setting up and nurturing a common communication platform. Such a platform facilitates putting in common and exchanging experiences, practices and developing new fresh concepts for future successful and sustainable tourism policies in the region.

The selected case studies and the themes of tourism development

The cases collected in this compendium are relevant for highlighting the main steps of the path that should be followed by a destination – i.e. a place where some tourism assets and resources are available - to fulfil a tourism development strategy, from the analysis of a potential tourism resource to the definition of tourism products and their marketing, using more sophisticated actions and tools.

Each case study provides evidence which helps to demonstrate how to consider at first the governance assets, then how to transform natural and cultural resources into tourism products, how to structure a correct brand management and eventually how to establish and run a network.

This local development process includes four sequential steps.

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

THEME 1. Integrated strategic vision for tourism and governance

Tourism development, considering the experiences presented in the following cases, takes into

Introduction account the presence of a meta-management entity (DMO – Destination Management Organization) with specific tasks related to four areas of activity:

 How to develop incoming tourism.

 Managing the brand and the symbolic values of the destination.

 Managing relations with stakeholders.

 Evaluating tourism impacts on the local economic and social system.

The selected relevant case studies for this topic are:

CASE STUDY 1. MOROCCO - Morocco vision 2020 for tourism development. “A territorial approach and a focus on sustainability” CASE STUDY 2. JORDAN - Promoting local economic development and tourism in Jordan. “Pled Jordan”

THEME 2. Product development

The strategy to create tourism products implies the following steps:

Identification of resources and pull factors: the methodology of the tourism resource audit involves firstly a listing of all resources which are suitable for enhancement through tourism-related activities, while the second stage is a critical evaluation of those findings in terms of their quality, uniqueness and appeal when considering national and international demand.

Market analysis: in order to ensure that the potential tourism products identified may attract the interest of tourists, it will be necessary to analyse a variety of sources and statistical data in order to draw up a profile of the potential hosts.

Transformation of pull factors into tourism products: the meaning of this phase is the identification of the UDP (Unique Destination Proposition), the core element of the product development strategy for each destination.

The selected case studies are:

CASE STUDY 1. LEBANON - A social network for sustainable tourism in Lebanon. “Tourtwist” CASE STUDY 2. TUNISIA - Hotel upgrading project (HUP) CASE STUDY 3. MOROCCO - Sustainability, ecosystem approach to tourism and carrying capacity of local context. “The Kasbah du Toubkal case” CASE STUDY 4. TURKEY - Tourism development in eastern Anatolia region project (TDEAP). “Pilot: Coruh Valley” CASE STUDY 5. JORDAN - USAID tourism project (USAID/Siyaha). "Madaba tourism case study"

10 © OECD 2013 DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

THEME 3. Brand and communication development

Tourism destination branding is a relatively recent phenomenon. A brand is not a logo and it implies a strategy aiming to identify and communicate the products/services of a destination in order to differentiate it from those of competitors, starting from the values related to the specific Introduction territory.

If the product management strategy has defined the UDPs well, they will serve as a point of reference in the design of the tourist offer and the related communication and promotional campaign developed to promote the destination.

Communication activities have to focus not only on highlighting the attractions of the local area but most of all on explaining the value of the holiday experience.

The selected case studies are:

CASE STUDY 1. SLOVENIA - A brand development story. “I feel Slovenia” CASE STUDY 2. ITALY - From a business-oriented destination to a leisure-oriented destination. “The Case of the Province of Treviso” CASE STUDY 3. ITALY - The Apulia film commission foundation

THEME 4. Network development and management

One of the main tasks of the destination management organization (DMO) is to facilitate integration among local players – private and public – in establishing a network configuration of the destination tourism supply. Relations among stakeholders become strategic and the DMO should influence the way entrepreneurs co-operate with each other and the way in which they deal with inbound tourism. Partnerships between public and private sector and close co-operation between all local suppliers are the key to offering quality products. Local suppliers should co-operate rather than compete and should join forces and pool resources to develop and implement comprehensive marketing strategies which enable them to compete with other destinations.

The selected case studies are:

CASE STUDY 1. ITALY – SOUTH EAST EUROPE - A decentralized cooperation project on tourism and local development. “SeeNet” CASE STUDY 2. SPAIN - Defining multi-destinations in rural and mountain areas. “The Pyrenees”

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

visionfor tourism and governance Integratedstrategic GOOD PRACTICE INITIATIVES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

THEME 1. Integrated strategic vision for tourism and governance

Tourism development, considering the experiences presented in the following cases, takes into account the presence of a meta-management entity (DMO – Destination Management Organization) with specific tasks related to four areas of activity:

 How to develop incoming tourism.

 Managing the brand and the symbolic values of the destination.

 Managing relations with stakeholders.

 Evaluating tourism impacts on the local economic and social system.

The selected relevant case studies for this topic are:

12 © OECD 2013 DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

MOROCCO - Morocco vision 2020 for tourism development. “A territorial approach and a tourism r and focus on sustainability”

Rationale. Endowed with a millennial natural and cultural heritage, Morocco aims to be among

Integratedstrategic visionfo governance the top 20 world destinations and be established as a reference in the field of sustainable development in the Mediterranean region by a horizon of 2020.

General Information. “Vision 2020” is primarily a qualitative ambition to promote authentic, clean, and responsible tourism that speeds up the kingdom’s economic development by showcasing the kingdom’s natural, cultural, and human assets, respecting a number of fundamental values (i.e. sustainability) and without spoiling its natural and cultural heritage.

In particular, “Vision 2020” aims to ensure equilibrium with regard to tourism investments, which were concentrated over the past decade in the two leading destinations, Marrakech and Agadir, and gave more attention to hotel units to the detriment of leisure and recreation supply. In this sense, “Vision 2020” will offer its visitors a diverse tourist experience, both in terms of the number of destinations, and the diversity of the offer within each of them.

Timeframe. 2010 – 2020.

Activities. It will gradually help the emergence -throughout the decade- of six new tourist destinations to relay the growth of the two international tourist hubs established in Marrakech and Agadir. Thus, the eight territories will present coherence in terms of tourism supply and they will ensure a critical mass. Strong leadership will be established within the tourism sector to strengthen its legitimacy and to facilitate decision-making at national and regional levels. “Tourism Development Agencies” (TDAs) will be gradually established in the eight tourist areas.

A “Sustainable Tourism Commission” within the “High Authority for Tourism” and via a specific monitoring plan will ensure sustainability in the sector in partnership with national and regional environmental observatories. Regional monitoring arrangements will be established to monitor and to evaluate the industry’s indicators of sustainability (in compliance with tourist density thresholds, water consumption, and the condition of the natural cultural attractions).

A green star element in the new hotel classification scheme will be established to distinguish model establishments and those that make particular efforts in this direction. The education and training systems will be upgraded and an international graduate school of Tourism and Hotel Management will be created. Financial mechanisms to support a sustained and sustainable investment will be set up.

Partners. “Vision 2020” has been developed by the Ministry of Tourism. Thus, a national contract-program has been signed, involving the commitment of the State represented by 11 Ministries and the private sector.

A steering body composed by the High Authority for Tourism and the Tourism Development Agencies will be responsible for an integrated governance plan.

Success factors.

 Optimization of natural/environmental resources.

 Respect of the authenticity and of the identity of local populations.

 Fair distribution of the revenues of tourism across the whole country.

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

 Transcending administrative barriers will enable regions to exploit all their potential: natural sites, cultural heritage, living culture, etc.

 Enhancement and innovation of the mode of governance ensuring its national strategic

Integratedstrategic visionfor tourism and governance management and strengthening the institutional legitimacy of a sector as transverse as tourism, consisting of a large variety of stakeholders from public and private sectors and very different in nature.

 Involvement of professionals in the decision-making thanks to an innovative and integrated governance plan.

Achievements. On going.

Website. www.tourisme.gov.ma.

Contact. Zaïnab El Guerrab and Zineb Talby (Moroccan Department of Tourism) [email protected]; [email protected].

14 © OECD 2013 DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

JORDAN - Promoting local economic development and tourism in Jordan. “Pled Jordan” tourism r and

Rationale. The core problem to which PLEDJ is targeted is that new jobs remain geographically

concentrated in certain areas of the country whereas poorer areas face obstacles in unleashing

Integratedstrategic visionfo governance their potential.

General Information. The “Promoting Local Economic Development in Jordan” Project (PLEDJ) supports the elaboration of local development strategies and the capacity building for selected governorates (Tafileh, Ajlun and Al Balqa governorates) with a specific focus on poverty reduction. The main challenge for PLEDJ is to create workable forms of local development, including sustainable local economic development. The PLEDJ project is still in the initial stages, the implementation of the Local Development Strategy requires efforts, time, funds and long term partnerships with potential related stakeholders in addition to raising awareness and capacity building programs.

Timeframe. The duration of the operation is for four years starting 2012 till December 2015.

Budget. The EU funded the project with 5 million EURO, it established a robust platform to bring up different stakeholders and donors to implement LED projects and execute strategies such as: USAID (about 40 million USD for 5 years), UNCDF (10 million EURO), GIZ and others.

Activities. In Tafileh and in the selected governorates both a product and a market must be developed simultaneously, effectively creating a new destination. An inclusive tourism policy framework (institutional body, tourism planning, long term marketing, quality standards, HR development, value chain & performance evaluation) will be established.

 The legal environment for inclusive tourism development will be created.

 The physical planning and zoning will be mapped.

 Targeted regions will be marketed as tourism destinations.

 Tourism and tourism-related product will be developed.

 Institutional Direction and Technical Assistance will be provided.

 The economic impact of tourism in benefiting local communities will be maximized.

A Sectorial Approach (tourism, leisure & culture; agriculture; agro-industry) will be followed to implement the Strategy.

Partners. Long term partnership with Siyaha II project.

Success Factors.

 Raising awareness and capacity building in the sectors involved.

 Reinforced community participation and local coordination as a complement to a sound framework for local social and economic development planning and implementation (community development).

 Participatory local socio-economic development.

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

 Joint action of local authorities, the private sector, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) (economic development).

 Modernisation of local public administration to ensure a favourable enabling environment

Integratedstrategic visionfor tourism and governance (institutional, policy and regulatory framework and incentive system).

 Maintaining the pace and the balance of economic development and growth (organizational development).

Achievements. There is the ability to create hundreds of tourism and hospitality jobs over time and develop tens of tourism-based MSMEs with low barriers to entry.

Website. www.moi.gov.jo.

Contact. Dr. Raed Sami Al Adwan (Ministry of Interior) [email protected] or [email protected].

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DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

THEME 2. Product development

The strategy to create tourism products implies the following steps:

Identification of resources and pull factors: the methodology of the tourism resource audit development Product involves firstly a listing of all resources which are suitable for enhancement through tourism-related activities, while the second stage is a critical evaluation of those findings in terms of their quality, uniqueness and appeal when considering national and international demand.

The selected case studies are:

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

LEBANON - A social network for sustainable tourism in Lebanon. “Tourtwist”

Rationale. In a country that possesses five UNESCO World Heritage sites, 1600+ unique towns

and villages in addition to a biodiversity ecosystem of more than 1 500 species of flowers, plants Product development Product and trees in just a 10 452 square kilometre space, there is much more to the country than is currently being promoted. Yet, 84% of all tourism spent is focused within Beirut. We aim to change this model by encouraging more tourists, international and local, to visit areas outside the capital and discover their hidden gems through the eyes of the locals.

General Information. After five years of showing our foreign friends an authentic view of our country, we decided to spread our passion and involve more people, so we created “TourTwist”. It is a network of passionate and knowledgeable locals who are eager to show tourists and visitors what makes their areas and their country special. Instead of being a service provider and trying to compete with the currently existing specialized companies, “Tourtwist” will be an online platform where tourists can meet and connect with friendly locals and with all stakeholders such as local guides, restaurants, hotels, craftsmen and activity centres to customize their visit and turn their holidays into unique cultural experiences.

“Tourtwist” became the first online social network created around the concept of Responsible Tourism and able to have an authentic unique experience offered by locals who share similar interests. It will provide new job opportunities in areas that are often neglected by traditional investment. And everyone will have fun in the process. “Tourtwist” has completed its soft-launch and is currently testing the new version of the website that will be launched soon starting with Lebanon and aiming to cover Mediterranean countries as a second phase.

Timeframe. 1 year so far.

Activities.

 The online portal (website) will be developed and promoted.

 It will be updated to keep it in line with the latest technologies.

 New business and social partnerships will be developed locally and abroad to support the expansion plan.

 A network of locals who are eager to showcase their hometowns and share their experiences will be created.

 A training seminar for all selected guides who benefited from the best practice learning shared by experts in the field will be created.

Partners. Key partnerships will be developed with main stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem including the hospitality sector, relevant ministries, municipalities and civil society organizations.

Success Factors.

 Decentralisation of part of the tourism industry from the capital could boost development in rural areas by providing job opportunities and increased economic turnover.

 Support to young people in creating a positive impact on the development of their hometowns and local economy.

 Protection and development of endangered local cultures and crafts.

18 © OECD 2013

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

 Increasing awareness among international and local travellers.

 Collaborative efforts from the community utilizing the ‘crowdsourcing’ model since the

website is such that the users can create and edit pages of new (or existing) towns. Product development Product

 Freedom for the Tourist to compare and connect with a local guide - sharing similar interests and language - based on previous ratings and feedback.

 Possibility for the Tourist to have their vacation or trip customized to their needs and budget.

 Freedom for the local guides to set their own pricing and availability while directly collaborating with the end-target: the Tourists.

Achievements.

 A network of 50 local guides from different areas in Lebanon has been recruited, selected, trained on the latest web 2.0 tools and provided with the best head start for the promotion of their experiences and hometowns.

 Support in creating their online profiles has been provided.

 Free online pages for more than 200 towns and villages, many of which had no on-line presence at all have been created, with crucial information and more than 2000 pictures for potential visitors with suggested spots not to be missed based on the interests of each group of visitors.

Website. www.facebook.com/Tourtwist.

Contact. Pierre Daher (Co-Founder of TourTwist.com) [email protected].

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

TUNISIA - Hotel upgrading project (HUP) in Tunisia

Rationale. The Tunisian tourism sector is now at the crossroads. Of course, the tourist

destination of Tunisia achieves good performance after a difficult period. But competition in the Product development Product Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region continues to strengthen and new destinations further afield have conquered significant market share. It is in this context that the “Hotel Upgrading Program” (HUP) takes place.

General Information. HUP is a state initiative to improve the quality of services, increase the efficiency of the hotel business and strengthen its competitiveness and its ability to withstand external hazards in order to consolidate Tunisian Tourism at the world level worldwide.

HUP must also contribute to the development of tourism in deprived and marginalized areas while respecting the socio-cultural authenticity of these areas and trying to exploit environmental resources optimally.

Launched by the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism in September 2005, the Hotel Upgrading Program (HUP) is a program that is characterized not only by a coherent vision and prospect but also by a strategic dimension since it focuses on improving the level of quality, competitiveness and profitability of the hotel product.

HUP has created a dynamic investment in the Tunisian hotels and contributed to the development of tourism in deprived and marginalized areas by taking into account the specificities of each region in accordance with the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and trying to optimally exploit environmental resources.

Timeframe. The project HUP began in 2005 and is expected to continue until 2016.

Budget. The HUP has an enhanced credit line of 50 million € granted to the State available to Tunisian banks to refinance upgrade plans presented by hotels (tangible and intangible investments). It has furthermore a grant in the limit of 10 thousand € per hotel for diagnostic study and finally a premium in the limit of 150 thousand € per hotel for tangible and intangible investments.

Activities.

 Policies of differentiation, enrichment and diversification will be adopted.

 The managerial and organizational competencies will be improved.

 Skills and staff expertise will be developed.

 Commercial repositioning and financial restructuring will be performed.

 Quality plans will be implemented.

Success Factors.

 Dynamic investment.

 Awareness of professionals to the need of addressing the shortcomings identified by diagnostics in various aspects of hotel management: organization, marketing, human resources, quality, information systems.

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Achievements.

 Modernization of 107 hotels.

 Infrastructure modernization of a sample of hotels representing nearly 25% of the total development Product capacity available nationwide and more than 29% of total nights.

Website. www.pmnt.tn.

Contact. Mohamed Moez Belhassine (Ministry of Tourism) [email protected].

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

MOROCCO - Sustainability, ecosystem approach to tourism and carrying capacity of local context. “The Kasbah du Toubkal case”

Rationale. Since 1989 we knew that the ruin of the Kasbah du Toubkal occupied a spectacular Product development Product site in a spectacular location of the majestic Atlas Mountains, at the foot of Jbel Toubkal (4,167m) N. Africa’s highest summit. Being only 60km away from Marrakech (even then a major tourist destination) we believed it would only be a matter of time before the site was purchased and the area (already a tourist destination but only for trekkers) began to develop. We thought perhaps we could develop the site in a sympathetic way which would be of benefit to the local population as well as to visitors.

General Information. In this sense the “Clean Mountain” initiative was started in 2011 to make a sustainable development plan for the region. It is our hope that by getting it started and by people seeing some small tangible results, other organizations plus local and national authorities will continue to join and to allow it to operate in a sustainable manner protecting the physical and human environment for future generations.

Timeframe. The Village Association was formed in 1997; almost all the “Clean Mountain” initiatives started in 2010 and they are on-going.

Budget. Until now almost all the funding has come from the Kasbah 5% levy on its guests and currently about GBP 25,000 has been spent. The Summit Foundation and others are looking for funding to carry on this project and the Kasbah will continue to finance it through its 5% levy.

Activities.

 Day visits from Marrakech hotels will be used to show off the product and generate income.

 There will be press visits from major PR companies to new hotels Marrakech.

 Opportunities for advertisements will be provided by Martins Scorsese Film Kundun.

 Annual rubbish will be collected by eco volunteers in the area including the Neltner huts.

 Regular rubbish will be collected from key locations and transported to Marrakech.

 Rubbish will be removed by muleteers.

 A rubbish truck will be acquired.

Success Factors.

 Using visitors as ambassadors to tell your story.

 More than accommodation, “Mountain Propre” makes the Tourist experience the region and the people.

 Media coverage (TV, press etc).

Achievements.

 Dar Toubkal set up as a visitor centre and a centre to receive scientific researchers.

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 The reduction of the provision of plastic water bottles at Kasbah du Toubkal by providing stainless steel water bottles and the provision of rubbish collecting bags and pocket ash

trays. Product development Product  Employment of the first eco ambassador for “Mountain Propre”.

 Ambulance.

 Hammam.

 Flood defences and bridges.

Website. www.kasbahdutoubkal.com.

Contact. Mike McHugo (Discover Ltd TO) [email protected].

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

TURKEY - Tourism development in Eastern Anatolia region project (tdeap). “Pilot: Coruh Valley”

Rationale. The Uzundere and İspir Districts of Erzurum province and the Yusufeli district of Product development Product Artvin province, are located in the south and southwest part of the Coruh Valley (which lies within the Caucasus ecological zone) which is considered by the World Wild Fund for Nature and by Conservation International as one of the 200 biodiversity hotspots in the World. Despite the rich potential of the region to be a major destination for alternative tourism with its natural assets, outdoor sports offerings and cultural heritage, the local people were, however, lacking in any perception of tourism as an alternative source of income.

General Information. Tourism Development in Eastern Anatolia Project (TDEAP) has been a sustainable human development project that supports these areas by creating capacity in the community through the development and creation of civil organizational structures that will carry out the management of regional tourism within the perspective of participatory governance. It creates new jobs and innovative enterprises improving the quality and increasing value-added tourism services. It was comprised of two phases. The first phase was completed at 2010 and the second phase was completed at the end of 2012. During the first phase, awareness creation and inventory studies were given more emphasis together with some capacity enhancement activities in local community groups. The second phase was devoted to product development and small-scale tourist business development as well as to creating synergies with local administration bodies, government offices and the regional development agency.

Timeframe. TDEAP was started in April 2007 and ended in December 2012.

Budget. 1 451 563 USD + in kind contributions (private sector donor Efes Turkiye).

Activities.

 An exclusive region of tourism will be created as an environment in which natural, historical and local assets are protected and developed taking the needs of modern life into consideration.

 High quality human resources will be formed.

 A participatory and strong civil society will be promoted.

Partners. The Project is jointly implemented by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the financial support of a private company EFES Turkiye.

Success Factors. Supporting regional development in the domain of tourism development by leveraging the natural and cultural attractions of a rural area lacking in resources of human and physical capital.

Achievements.

 1200 local people in 3 districts and 28 villages trained in awareness creating activities (presentations, meetings, courses) and environment, culture and tourism subjects.

 A total of 32 people were trained on inventory studies.

 8 inventory studies were completed with local participants 350 km. length 23 trekking routes, 280 km. length 10 mountain bike routes, 2 bird migration routes and watching 24 © OECD 2013

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

points inventories, 2 flora and 1 wild edible fruit inventory, 1 historical assets inventory consisting 5 medieval era Georgian churches, 1 gastronomy and local kitchen inventory.

 A total of 158 young people of which 17 local trekking guides, 10 local mountain bikers Product development Product and guides, 8 rafting and kayaking guides; 6 lake sailing sportsmen; 40 (35 women) local gastronomy experts, 17 ceramics souvenir manufacturing women, 25 (women) small scale home local food producers trained.

 20 new small-scale family bed and breakfast businesses.

 8 new small-scale business enterprises.

 128 new beds, 60 more beds are coming at the end of 2013.

 2 million TL income generated by the local economy due to project activities.

 12 new promotion materials (brochures, card posts, posters, booklet, maps etc.).

 2 new youth associations.

 1 women’s association and 1 producer’s cooperative.

 8 outdoor sports festivals and youth activities.

 8 development projects submitted to and accepted by national and international funds and a total of 2.2 million TL resources allocated to local actors.

Website. www.datur.com & www.choruh.com.

Contact. Yavuz Eren Ataman (Ministry of Culture and Tourism) [email protected].

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

JORDAN - USAID tourism project (USAID/Siyaha). "Madaba tourism case study"

Rationale. Madaba has a wealth of mosaics dating to the Byzantine era, many of which are in

excellent condition. This gives the town a unique historical character and an image as the "city of Product development Product mosaics with a religious heritage". However, there was limited tourism service infrastructure in place and the dichotomy between the town’s rich historical fabric and the dearth of tourism infrastructure was strong.

General Information. Within the USAID tourism project that began in 2006, a tourism cluster has been defined as an area with a strong visitor attraction that can serve as a magnet to develop an area within a sphere of 25-30 kilometres. Due to its proximity to the capital city of Amman and other tourism sites, its rich historical heritage and its potential for niche tourism attractions, Madaba was ranked as a priority national cluster. So that the Project enhances the appearance of its core heritage area as well as the city’s appeal, helping to increase the amount of time that visitors spend in the centre. In order to do it, local business development was a priority. A two- pronged enterprise development program was hence introduced in Madaba offering a series of a) grants; and b) small business and tourism management training and technical support to encourage new tourism businesses and services.

Timeframe. The project started in 2005 and continued to 2008.

Budget. USAID invested in technical assistance and marketing support. Additionally, around $250,000 in local community grants were provided for tourism-based SMEs. This USAID investment leveraged more than an additional $3 million in private investments in hotels, B&B, restaurants and other services.

Activities. A tourism cluster will be enhanced in its six essential facets:

 Accommodation (camping, B&Bs, hotels, homestay, etc.).

 Food (local dishes, cooking experiences).

 Transport (to destination & within).

 Activities (authentic cultural experiences, festivals, hikes and treks, etc.).

 Improved historic site experiences through better interpretation and signage.

 Historic district retail area rehabilitation (streets enhancements and storefront rehabilitation).

To sustain this work, a local tourism association was established and comprised of various local businesses, professionals and local government representatives.

Partners. The project was implemented with support from local government and associations and participatory rapid appraisals (PRAs) were conducted to give local communities a voice in developing their tourism destination, coupled with local and international experts.

Success Factors. Use of the ‘cluster’ tourism development strategy, which integrates tourism and community interaction for the benefit of the local community. Capacity and skills of owners and employees of small and medium-sized tourism businesses in Madaba developed in several areas, including customer service, marketing, safe food handling, product development, financial management and book keeping and business planning.

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Achievements.

 Grants were awarded by the USAID project to 28 tourism businesses. In addition to the

grants, more than $3 million was leveraged from the local private sector as investments in Product development Product these tourism businesses.

 The Madaba Vocational Training Center became an institute specialized in hospitality and tourism training, and implemented the Advanced Level Hospitality and Tourism Program.

 The first course in front office training, as well as some on soft skills such as English, IT and customer services have been offered by the training institute.

 25 small tourism-related businesses were supported (11 in handicraft, 4 restaurants, 4 hotels with more than 55 rooms added, 4 coffee shops, and 3 tourism service providers). The façade of 46 shops has been then renewed.

 Tourists stay longer in Madaba and Mr.Twal (three and a half nights) than in the 2008 season (one night).

 Private sector investment in tourism in Madaba exceeded $2 million.

 More than 150 tourism jobs were supported, including new jobs created.

 In the area of handicrafts, more than 20 new designs for handicraft products offered in Madaba were developed, silver and mosaic decorative items, apparel made from the traditional Jordanian headdress material, and others.

Website. www.siyaha.org.

Contact. Ibrahim K. Osta (Chief of Party) [email protected].

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

THEME 3. Brand and communication development

Tourism destination branding is a relatively recent phenomenon. A brand is not a logo and it

implies a strategy aiming to identify and communicate the products/services of a destination in

Brand and Brand communication development order to differentiate it from those of competitors, starting from the values related to the specific territory.

Communication activities have to focus not only on highlighting the attractions of the local area but most of all on explaining the value of the holiday experience.

The selected case studies are:

28 © OECD 2013 DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

SLOVENIA - A brand development story. “I feel Slovenia”

Rationale. Like other nations, Slovenia must consolidate its place on the world map if it wishes

to successfully compete for limited resources in the future. Experience indicates that even small

communication development countries like Slovenia can assure themselves a viable position on the world map by representing a and Brand pragmatically and emotionally attractive lifestyle. While the attractiveness of a country is functionally created by its natural environment and progressive infrastructure, a national brand has a significant effect on the country's sentimental attractiveness, contributing to attract new consumers. A Slovenian brand did exist, but its content was so undefined as to make it impossible to consistently communicate and presenting clear, simplified imagery to interested parties. The brand included numerous activities with specific goals that are not consistent in each of the activities. Thus Slovenia would work towards the direction of its fulfilment, by systemizing the elements that construct its content.

General Information. The new Slovenian brand will include the previously determined Slovenian logo and slogan, “I Feel Slovenia”. The key task of the project is hence to shape the identity of the Slovenian brand, which will mean the basis for the subsequent introduction of Slovenia at home and abroad. To introduce Slovenia on the basis of the brand, it is necessary to develop a distribution system that will bring the Slovenian brand closer to those who will, in some form, represent Slovenia or care for the country's continued development.

Since the Slovenian identity is the result on the one hand of Slovenia's course of development, while, on the other, it was the Slovenian identity itself that actually enabled for the nation's continued existence and state-building strategies in 1991, the project 'The Brand of Slovenia' should therefore define those Slovenian characteristics that are common to all areas and should, on the basis of these elements, define the typical Slovenian experience, that has to become the basis of Slovenian emotional attraction. For this reason it is necessary that, in planning the identity of the Slovenian brand, there should be included as large and as diverse a population as possible as representative of those who will, in the final stage, implement it. To reach consensus on the content of the Slovenian brand, representatives from numerous fields (economic, political, tourist, scientific, artistic and cultural, the civil sphere, sports, etc.) must be included in the design process. The national brand must represent what a particular country in fact is and what holds true, in various measure, for all of the above mentioned fields.

Timeframe. January – December 2007.

Activities.

 A method for developing Slovenian market brands by the collection of elements of the Slovenian identity will be developed.

 A model of distribution / usage of the brand and realization of that in all fields and sectors will be identified.

 The brand “Of Us All” will be acquired and adapted to various stakeholders.

 The brand identity will be formulated and feedback on that will be collected.

 The content of the Slovenian brand will be systematically recorded.

 The representatives from key areas of expertise will be included in the Slovenian brand design.

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

Partners. The Ministry of the Economy and the Slovenian Tourist Board actively participated in suggesting effective distribution strategies.

Success Factors.

Brand and Brand communication development

 Functionality and emotional attractiveness of countries / destinations and realistic, but sentimentally supported, expectations of target public groups.

 Development of Slovenian functional characteristics in the direction of desired Slovenian development, part of the Slovenian brand.

 Motivation of inhabitants to implement the brand.

Achievements. See Figure 1

Figure 1. Slovenian market brand

Website. www.slovenia.info.

Contact. Mateja Tomin Vučkovič (Directorate for Tourism and Internationalization) [email protected].

ITALY - From a business-oriented destination to a leisure-oriented destination. “The case of the Province of Treviso”

Rationale. The economic crisis has put both private and public stakeholders in front of a new

Brand and Brand communication development overview of potential and successful elements for the territory and the necessity of rearranging the tourist offer.

General Information. The plan starts from the strategic vision of repositioning and reorganizing the tourist product of the area with the aim of increasing a new tourist demand component that has been latent for many years, thanks to an upgrading and qualifying process. In this sense the project works on the following thematic itineraries and on the integrity and bearableness of the area where these itineraries were located: the first world war, the historical Marca and the architecture itineraries; the wine and products itineraries; the bike, trekking, horse, golf and canoe itineraries. These itineraries are called “eco” because at the basis of the project there is the preservation and the protection of the environment which has undergone a degradation process in the past years. The plan is based on the involvement of local stakeholders in some pre-defined steps of the process. The final project is opened to create synergic strategies with other over boarding partners. The duration of the process covers short, medium and long terms. In the short term (1 year) a plan shared with the local stakeholders has been created. In the medium term (4 years) the tourist product (the creation of thematic itineraries) and the solutions of some problems through the diffusion of a sustainable responsibility and a new welcome system have been worked on. In the long term (10 years) the basis for a new way of promoting, commercializing and feeling has been established.

Timeframe. 10 years.

Budget. In the short/medium term the budget has been approximately 500 000 euro per year and includes structural works, training and promotion. In the long term the budget will decrease because it comprises only promotion and incentives to specific stakeholders. The future will require that work activities are done cheaply and the network is a very important element for succeeding.

Activities.

 A deep awareness of the Population about the hidden potential capacity of the area will be supported.

 Thematic itineraries and a welcome system will be created.

 Knowledge and new marketing will be disseminated.

 The environment, integrity and carrying capacity of the area where the thematic products are co-located will be protected and involved through synergic network.

 The international visibility of some attractive products (food and wine/sports sector) will be supported.

 The Treviso Tourist Product will be promoted through the use of web.

Success Factors.

 Bottom-up process.

 Strategic plan of identification of contents.

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

 The contents in the website strictly connected to the analysis of demand and supply and organized according the thematic areas.

 A higher awareness about the potential of the territory.

Brand and Brand communication development

 The start of a synergic way of working between public and private stakeholders.

 The exploitation of economies of scale.

Achievements. An increase on arrivals and overnights especially outside business periods (e.g. the summer months): in the last eleven years the province of Treviso has shown an increasing percentage in terms of arrivals and overnights (+ 3,29% and + 2,28% respectively).

Website. www.provincia.treviso.it.

Contact. Elena Bisiol (Treviso Province) [email protected].

ITALY - The Apulia film commission foundation

Rationale. Cinema became a new form of local development, moving from a factory to a soft

economy production. In this sense, boosting the identity of local cinema and audio-visual culture

communication development and creating an audio-visual industry by developing each aspect of production could have positive and Brand impact on the local economy.

General Information. The Apulia Film Commission Foundation (AFC) was established in July 2007 with the task of attracting investment in the audio-visual sector by offering free facilities to production companies, writers and artists, providing grants (Film Fund) and co-ordinating production activity (production, marketing, film business practice, preservation of audio-visual heritage and more). The Apulia International Film Fund is a grant which offers direct financial support in the form of a free grant to offset production costs for European and non-European audio-visual, film and TV production companies. The AFC is hence not only a tool to support audio- visual production but can be seen both as a structure capable of promoting tourism linked to so- called “cinetourism”, as well as a Destination Management Organization (DMO).The Apulia National Film Fund is hence a main financial support for Italian audio-visual production companies shooting in Puglia. It can allocate up to € 300 000 for full length feature film, TV films and TV series. Periodic public calls are opened and the list of beneficiaries made available on the AFC website.

Timeframe. The Apulia Film Commission was set up in 2007 and started managing the projects co-financed with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in 2009, until 2014.

Budget. The AFC has an annual endowment of approximately 2.5 million Euros. Since 2009 it managed more than 17 million Euros of ERDF projects.

Activities.

 Solutions to all logistical difficulties are provided.

 Services to location managers are offered.

 Expenditure on hospitality is subsidised or totally covered.

 Liaising with local institutions takes place.

 Casting is carried out.

 Production offices are supplied at competitive cost.

 Record of film tourism products (app, film tourism guide for the whole region of Apulia) are tracked.

Partners. The Foundation currently has 24 partners. AFC is a member of the European Network for regional audio-visual funding (Cine-Regio), the International Association of Film Commissions (AFCI), the Italian Film Commission Group (IFC, having in charge of the Presidency) and the EUFCN (European Film Commission Network). It also participates regularly at ministerial planning round- tables for policies in the sector.

Success Factors.

 Strong film commission and excellent knowledge of films shot in Apulia (location and information on production).

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

 Relationship with film industry in Apulia, at national and international level.

 Great links with the tourism sector.

communication development Brand and Brand  Close collaboration within the regional public administration: culture and tourism portfolio work together in one department.

 Experience of attracting film productions.

Achievements. Since establishment, the AFC supported and funded over 170 productions, generating direct income for the local area financed by the four forms of funding available. The launch of the international film fund in 2012 supported the attraction of further productions from outside of Italy and consequently gave a higher exposure of Apulia across the globe, contributing to the use of screen products for tourism purposes too.

Website. www.apuliafilmcommission.it.

Contact. Cristina Piscitelli (EU Projects Manager) [email protected].

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THEME 4. Network development and management

One of the main tasks of the destination management organization (DMO) is to facilitate workdevelopment

integration among local players – private and public – in establishing a network configuration of the andmanagement destination tourism supply. Relations among stakeholders become strategic and the DMO should Net influence the way entrepreneurs co-operate with each other and the way in which they deal with inbound tourism. Partnerships between public and private sector and close co-operation between all local suppliers are the key to offering quality products. Local suppliers should co-operate rather than compete and should join forces and pool resources to develop and implement comprehensive marketing strategies which enable them to compete with other destinations.

The selected case studies are:

t t

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

ITALY - SOUTH EAST EUROPE - A decentralized cooperation project on tourism and local development. “Seenet”

Rationale. The main objective of “SeeNet” is to improve and to strengthen the efficiency of the

Networkdevelopmen andmanagement governance in partner territories, and to promote sustainable local development. “SeeNet” supports the European integration process involving the partners in joint actions aimed at increasing the skills required to have a quick access to EU pre-accession funds. “SeeNet” aims also to transfer knowledge on National and International funds for local development and to promote the development of innovative local policies in all sectors.

General Information. “SeeNet” is organized in 8 actions, divided in vertical and horizontal actions. Veneto Region - Department for International Relations was the Lead Partner of the Vertical Action 1A: "Joint promotion and enhancement of cultural environmental and historical heritage between Istria and Varaždin" whose partners were all located in Croatia: Region of Istria, Cities of Pisino, Rovigno, Varaždin and Municipality of Verteneglio. Two Technical Partners were located in Italy: Informest and Unioncamere del Veneto. The Action promoted the enhancement of cultural, environmental and historical resources of territories through the strengthening of technical skills in territorial marketing and through a joint promotion strategy made by local governments, institutions and private local operators of the tourism sector. In particular, the Action included activities of survey, training, planning and promotion of cultural, food and wine and sport tourism. Specifically, the representatives of Croatian public administrations, cooperatives and associations and the economic operators dealing with tourism and culture have been involved in a training process aimed at increasing skills regarding the territorial marketing and marketing of events.

Timeframe. 36 months (from November 2009 to November 2012) divided in three project- years, but the Vertical Action 1A lead by Veneto Region has been concluded on 15 June 2012.

Budget. The budget of the Action was € 767 089. The contribution of Veneto Region was equal to € 300 000 cash + 60.000 in kind.

Activities.

 Support for public and private tourism operators’ skills in territorial and event marketing has been provided.

 The territorial network of joint tourism promotion has been widened and consolidated.

 A joint promotional strategy and a communication plan have been released.

 A new sustainable cultural tourism product has been developed.

 Joint events of tourism promotion have been organized.

 An information service with qualified staff has been activated.

 Common aspects to be jointly promoted and main differences have been identified.

 A strategy defining which instruments to use to successfully implement the project has been set up.

 “Classic” marketing campaign (paper material, website, national and international events) has been promoted by the tourist agencies (in Croatia and in Italy, Austria, Germany), local Institutions and the tourist board.

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Partners. “SeeNet” is an international and decentralized cooperation programme financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and co-financed by seven Italian regions and provinces: Toscana, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Piemonte, Marche, Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Autonomous

Province of Trento. It involves 46 other local authorities in the South East Europe located in Croatia,

Networkdevelopment andmanagement Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania.

Success Factors.

 Fruitful relation between all the partners.

 Quality of the training and study visits provided.

 Enforcement of the existing relations between Veneto Region and the territories and the institutions of Istria region through the various activities which have been implemented.

Achievements.

 10 training courses of two days delivered by Venice University experts on new technologies, territorial marketing, cultural tourism, tourist development through sport and ecology, responsibility and sustainability in tourist policies.

 8 “Community Coaching” meetings delivered by consultants.

 2 study visits, in Veneto and in Friuli Venezia Giulia (tangible examples of significant experiences such as the “Albergo diffuso6”).

 2 three-day itineraries promoting slow tourism set up (coherent with the objective of the action).

Website. www.regione.veneto.it.

Contact. Diego Vecchiato (Executive Director, Department for International Relations, Veneto Region) [email protected].

6 An innovative concept of hospitality, was launched in Italy in the early 1980s as a means of reviving small, historic Italian villages and town centres off the usual tourist track. Almost impossible to translate literally into English, the “widespread hotel” is conceived as a hotel that is not in a single block, but converted out of various historic buildings in a small community.

t t

DEVELOPING TOURISM OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED LOCALITIES - IDEAS AND PRACTICES FOR A “MISSION POSSIBLE”

SPAIN - Defining multi-destinations in rural and mountain areas. “The Pyrenees”

Rationale. Tourism destinations have been explained traditionally as geographically close areas

in which different tourism stakeholders interact. Usually destinations levels are local, regional,

Networkdevelopmen andmanagement national or even supranational level. For this delimitation the administrative boundaries are usually taken into consideration. Another delimitation system is based on 1) natural resources like natural parks and coastal zones, or based on 2) built on purpose tourism resources like theme parks or all- inclusive resorts. Any of those types of predefined delimitation have however a major problem linked to its low level of flexibility. Usually when the boundaries are established, those tend to became static and not vary over years or even decades, according to the complexity of visitors’ movements within destinations. Therefore, what is proposed in this experience is a new way of drawing destinations, more demand oriented, more flexible and better adapting to the consumer. The case of study in this project is the Pyrenees, which is a mountain range over 400 km long and about 100 wide. It is divided according to the administrative division among three different countries and 13 different regions and provinces.

General Information. An attraction-based approach seems to be a more accurate way to delineate tourism destination boundaries. In this sense, a method to delineate tourism areas without any regard to administrative boundaries, is proposed and implemented in the Pyrenees. Here nine tourism zones which differ from the current tourism destinations have been found, that look more uniform in size than the administrative regions. All of them are cross-border either interregional, international or both, and they are very similar to historical regions, thus sharing common cultural artefacts like language, despite being divided by current borders. The results also suggest that the more the tourism zones differ from administrative regions the higher their attractiveness is. The creation of new tourism zones in cross-border regions entails important political challenges. Tourism stakeholders have to face additional impediments to cross-border tourism development and their role seems to be crucial in the performance of cross-border collaboration strategies. Policy integration processes are needed between different regions sharing tourism zones, and marketing strategies need to be amended to address specific market niches, which may vary, to a certain extent, from previous conceptions of tourism space. For example, newly found tourism zones may have to become involved in multiple positioning strategies rather than in one single strategy.

Obviously the main costs were in the working hours of the researchers and in equipment, like specific software to do the calculation or hardware to collect the geographical data. For future research, were bigger areas to be analysed and further steps must be developed, the intention is to use the Necstour network members, universities, tourism regions, and private companies, to define a common research European project to finance the analysis and specially the implementation.

Timeframe. During approximately one year.

Budget. All costs were assumed by the University of Girona and by the ONIT research group as part of a basic research program.

Activities.

 A database of existing tourism products and resources within the Pyrenees was built, defining at the same time the type and level of attraction of every product. The database also included the real accommodation of the zone, in beds and establishments.

 A second database, based on clustering calculation we used to define the consumption areas, has been therefore defined. It contains the distance in time and in kilometres between all the municipalities included in the area of study.

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 Cross-border promotional materials are created.

Success Factors. andmanagement  The new destination boundaries approach will help to develop new products and new Networkdevelopment logical brands because of the better combination of similar and complementary products and resources from various predefined destinations.

 The dynamic destination concept represents for private companies and public bodies a new way of managing and promoting tourism, the possibility of higher inflows of tourists to their regions and also the possibility to attract new specialized markets segments combining higher attractiveness items. At the same it can increase overnight stays.

 Knowing which infrastructures are limiting the tourism consumption because of the obstacles caused by distance, can help the decision making process of developing new infrastructures.

 Awareness by the current destinations of the corridor they are part of or are divided into tourism zones can be the basis for neighbouring destinations to strategically initiate cross- border collaboration agreements, integrate their tourism policies, and even create new tourism destination brands, which can be more meaningful for visitors and more satisfying for the travel patterns they seek.

 Tourism zones can be seen as stages within the multi-destination itinerary. This also poses challenges for destination managers in neighbouring tourism zones if they plan to seize on the opportunities of this tourism segment.

Achievements.

 The databases. This census of geocoded products and resources help stakeholders to better plan and manage their destinations (Figure 2).

Figure 2. ‘New’ tourism areas identified in the Pyrenees mountain region

 Accommodation placed on one side can serve also the other.

Website. www.udg.edu.

Contact. Lluís Prats (University of Girona) [email protected].

Developing Tourism Outside of Established Localities Ideas and Practices for a “Mission Possible”

COMPENDIUM

The aim of this compendium is to show how the development of the tourism sector can support the local economy in primarily rural and marginal localities. There are opportunities in terms of local development which are often not fully exploited, even though they are extremely powerful. Tourism is generally considered to be a prime engine in achieving local development in all local contexts where there are valuable assets (cultural heritage, nature, historical cities, etc.). However, it is sometimes incorrectly considered to be a “panacea” for local development whereas it is in fact a sophisticated and, more importantly, a highly integrated development tool.