EMPOST- Emerging Pattern of Sustainable Tourism

EMPOST-NET The Emerging Paradigm of Sustainable Tourism A Network Perspective EC Environment and Climate Research Programme Research Area 4: Human Dimension of Environmental Change Final Project Report By Zinaida Fadeeva Minna Halme Silvia Ayuso Leena Mäkinen Maria Hatziantoniou Gerald Mullally Mikael Backman Aveen Henry Marios Balis February 2001 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During our two-and-a-half-year research path of EMPOST-NET, there have been multiple parties that contributed to the project. This research project was conducted under the auspices of The European Union Commission, and would not have been possible without the support of the Environment and Climate Research Programme. We would especially like to thank our programme officer Michael Cornaert, who provided us with warm administrative assistance as well as insightful comments in the end stages of the project. All the participating institutions deserve our gratitude: The International Institute at the University of Lund in Sweden, University of Tampere and Helsinki School of Economics in Finland, Randa Group in Spain, University of Aegean in Greece and University College Cork in Ireland. We would also like to thank our many colleagues who gave their time and assistance in different phases of the project. We interviewed over 150 practitioners for the study. They were from the tourism industry, local, regional and national authorities, consultants, academia and NGOs. Our heartfelt thanks go to all of them. They provided us with time and viewpoints that formed the essence of the research results. Some of our interviewees showed great interest toward the study and thereby motivated us to continue. We hope that we have been able to compensate some of your inputs from the feedback seminars and other discussions in the later stages of the project. We applied a software for qualitative research, NUD*IST, in our analysis. It was the first time in the history of the software that it was used for merging data from five different countries in four different languages. We would not have been able to accomplish the task without Lyn Richards, the developer of the software and our experienced colleague Nina Kivinen from Project-Based Industry research group in Åbo Adademi University in Finland – thank you for your advice, Lyn and Nina! Finally, thanks to Lyn Raffan, Prof Donald Huisingh and Helen Nilsson for their work in editing and correcting the report. Lund 29/2 2001 i Mikael Backman Zinaida Fadeeva MAIN CONTRIBUTORS The Institute for Industrial and Environmental Economics at Lund University (IIIEE), Sweden is a co-ordinator of the EMPOST-NET project. IIIEE carries an extensive research and hosts international MSc and PhD programmes. Research at the IIIEE concentrates on furthering the understanding and development of policies, strategies, and instruments to promote preventive approaches to environmental problems in society. The main focus is on applied research, with the goal of reaching short- and long-term results that can be used in practice by decision-makers, at all levels in society. To achieve this, most of the work is conducted in co-operation with organisations where the results are to be implemented. Achieving applicable results requires a mix of competencies in the areas of management, technology, economy, policy, law, and communication. Generally, the work can be described as being thematically oriented towards product-related issues and management-related issues, bearing in mind that product-related results and proposals must also be managed in a consistent manner to be effectively implemented. While working with a range of industries, IIIEE has significant experience within a tourist sector. The researchers and MSc students have accomplished a number of projects at the regional, national and international level. Mikael Backman had the overall responsibility for the project coordination. He is a research coordinator in the area of environmental management with the particular focus on tourism industry. Zinaida Fadeeva has been a lead researcher for the Swedish part of the project. Her research interests lay within the domain of inter-organisational environmental management. She coordinates and teaches courses on corporate environmental management. Contact information: Zinaida Fadeeva IIIEE, Box 196, 22100 Lund Sweden email: Zinaida.Fadeeva@iiiee.lu.se Mikael Backman IIIEE, Box 196, 22100 Lund Sweden email: Mikael.Backman@iiiee.lu.se ii University of Tampere is the second largest university in Finland. Over 11,000 students are enrolled and over 1,500 teachers and researchers are employed by the university. It hosts five faculties: Economics and Administration, Social Sciences, Humanities, Medicine, Education, and a vocational sector. It also has several research units. The partner of the present project, the School of Business Administration, has specialised in service management. As tourism is one of the central service industries, tourism research and education are two of the school's areas of emphasis. It offers a 30-credit course in tourism management, and has a number of projects in the area. Since 1994, corporate environmental management and environmental issues of tourism have been in the curricula of the School of Business Administration. The University also has an Environmental Policy department with a master’s programme for Environmental Policy. Its professors and 15 researchers focus mainly on government environmental policy-making, global climate change, energy policy and sustainable forest management policies. Assistant professor Minna Halme teaches corporate environmental management at the University of Tampere, University of Lund, and executive MBA programme at Helsinki School of Economics. She has published in Business Strategy and the Environment, Business Ethics Quarterly, Scandinavian Journal of Management and in other journals and edited books. Her main research interests include: developing environmental corporate cultures, actor networks and sustainable development, environmental communication and marketing, sustainable tourism and sustainable business strategies in forest industry. Leena Mäkinen is a doctoral student at the University of Tampere. She has been teaching about Environmental questions of tourism to international students of the University’s Business School and at the Open University. At present she is employed by Merita Bank of Finland. Contact information: Minna Halme, Ph.D. Helsinki School of Economics, Dept. of Management & Organisations P.O. box 1210, 00101 Helsinki, Finland email: halme@hkkk.fi iii Randa Group, Barcelona, Spain is a consulting microcompany with extensive experience in the field of environmental consultancy and with a strong accent in research and European relationships, having a leading position in Spain on topics like Tourism and Environment, Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Management, Ecolabelling and Information Systems. RANDA GROUP has participated in several research projects financed by the European Commission about environmental information systems and internet services, product information schemes, sustainable construction etc., and regularly collaborates with the Environmental Departments of the Public Administrations, as well as with more than 15 Spanish and European universities. In the tourism field, RANDA GROUP is the leading Spanish environmental consultancy and has been among the first to assess hotels of the Balearic Islands in the implementation of Environmental Management Systems (ECOTUR programme). RANDA GROUP currently works with environmental issues with over 20 hotels in Spain, among them, hotels of the most important Spanish hotel chains and association (Sol Meliá, RIU, Inter-Continental, HOTUSA). At the same time, the company is conducting a research project for the Spanish Technological and Industrial Development Centre (CDTI) about developing software for managing environmental, quality, health and safety and labour risks at hotels. The general manager of RANDA GROUP, Gabriel Verger, has coordinated the contribution of RANDA GROUP within the project “The Emerging Paradigm for Sustainable Tourism: a Network Perspective” (EMPOST-NET), while the technical director of the company, Dr. Pere Fullana, has played an advisory role. Silvia Ayuso, environmental engineer by the Technical University of Berlin, who is working as a consultant at RANDA GROUP and currently is doing her PhD about sustainable tourism, has conducted the research. Contact information: Randa Group S.A. Cardenal Vives i Tutó, 41, entlo. 12 08034 Barcelona, Spain email:randaenv@arrakis.es iv University College Cork, Cleaner Production Promotion Unit (CPPU), is based in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University College, Cork (UCC), Ireland. It has a strong, multi-disciplinary capacity as its structure enables it to draw on the University’s wide range of technical and socio-economic knowledge and expertise to use in its research and applied research projects. CPPU conducts basic and applied research, frequently with industry, to ensure the development of sustainable production techniques, products and by-products and has played a significant role in formulating environmental policy, standards and legislation at international and national level. CPPU’s inter-disciplinary team, that comprises environmental and social scientists, works with CPPU designs, implementation and maintenance of Environmental Management Systems, applications of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Licences (IPC/IPPC) and development of environmental management-related software. Since 1993 CPPU Director, Aveen Henry has been Co-ordinator of two EU and one HEA funded research projects and CPPU co-ordinator for multiple other EU research and training projects. Ms. Henry has been a member and Head of NSAI Irish delegation to, International Standards Organisation (ISO) Technical Committee 207 on Drafting of ISO 14001 and 14004 Environmental Management Systems Standards and Guidelines 1993-96; is also a member of National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) Environmental Standards Consultative Committee. She has co-authored 2 guidebooks on environmental tourism. Gerard Mullally, M.A, .is a researcher at CPPU and a doctoral candidate; since graduating in 1992 he has been involved in a number of multidisciplinary, EU research projects on environment and sustainable development policy issues; has participated as Irish representative in Concerted Action: ‘Sustainable Communities in Europe’ (SUSCOM) and has published and lectured frequently on the evolution and development of ‘Local Agenda 21 in Ireland’ Contact information: Aveen Henry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering National University of Ireland – Cork Suite 16, South Bank, Crosses Green, Cork. e-mail: a.henry@ucc.ie v Τhe Biodiversity Conservation Laboratory (BCL) is a structural part of the Section of Ecosystem Management, Department of Environmental Studies (DES) of the University of the Aegean. The BCL is located in the facilities of DES, at Lesbos Island, Greece. The Laboratory is working in its current form since 1992. The DES is the first centre for university teaching and research in environmental sciences in Greece and as a whole tries to develop a global and multi-disciplinary approach to environmental problems. BCL’s role is to study ecological processes in plant and animal populations, to understand mechanisms controlling the commonness and rarity of species and to develop methodologies, protocols and techniques for conservation planning. BCL has a good experience in EU and national projects, in both a technical and project management capacity. The BCL has a scientific and support staff composed by faculty members of the DES, research and teaching assistants, Ph.D. candidates and graduate students (preparing a First Degree Dissertation). Maria Hatziantoniou, is a chemist-environmentalist and PhD candidate at the Department of Environmental Studies of the University of the Aegean. The main research interests of her is the assessment of environmental policy tools and mechanisms within the tourist sector. Her thesis is about community based networks as mechanisms for sustainable tourism development. Maria Hatziantoniou was a senior researcher in EMPOST-NET project (EU/DG XII). Marios Balis, member of BCL, is an environmentalist and PhD candidate at the Department of Environmental Studies of the University of the Aegean. His main research interests are integrated waste and environmental management with emphasis on the development of decision support systems. Contact information: Maria Hatziantoniou Universtity of the Aegean Department of the Environmental Studies 17, Karadoni St 81100 Mytilini, Lesvos, Greece email: mhatz@env.aegean.gr vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The EMPOST-NET project studied a new phenomenon: networking across different public and private sectors of society towards the most important goal of today – sustainable development. Sustainability networks are of special importance within the field of tourism, which is among the largest industries of today’s world, yet its environmental and socio-cultural impacts are often given too little attention. However, tourism stakeholders have recently started to recognise these impacts, but they face problems because single actors, in the field of tourism, are too small and scattered to take any larger system towards sustainable development. In order to gain momentum to solve various environmental and socio-cultural questions, innovative actors in the field have begin to co-operate in the form of networks. The main goal of the EMPOST-NET project was to determine what kinds of networks are successful in enhancing sustainable development in tourism. Essentially, it appears that the process of co-operation (networking) is more important vis-à-vis achievements regarding sustainable tourism than the structure of networks. We propose ways in which networks that seek to enhance sustainable development in the tourism context can be more effective and efficient. Our evidence is based on nine multi-actor networks in five European countries - eco-tourism municipality network in Alcùdia (Spain), Calviá’s tourism resort’s Local Agenda 21 network (Spain), farm and nature holidays circle Finnland Natürlich (Finland), Hidden Ireland - heritage homes network (Ireland), Kinsale’s Chamber of Tourism (Ireland), Molyvos town network (Greece), Sälen’s mountain tourism resort (Sweden), YSMEK - network for developing environmentally friendlier tourism in Finland, Åre’s mountain tourism village network Sweden). These networks involve actors from the tourism business sector, governments, and Non Government Organisations (NGOs), and academia. The sample consists of two types, based on how these networks act upon sustainable development. The community-action networks (ComAct) seek to enhance sustainable development at a community level, whereas business-action networks (BusAct) implement sustainability through improvements of their member enterprises. It should be vii emphasised that we not only studied “best practices”, but rather we examined a variety of sustainability initiatives. Tourism actors – like most actors in society – have a fragmented and occasionally contradictory understanding about sustainable development (environmental, socioeconomic and cultural aspects), and they implement it depending on pressing problems and on their awareness level. When establishing a network, a crucial success factor for networking among different public or private actors is the development of a common vision. This process of articulating individual values and preferences should lead to the identification of a sense of a common goal. The membership composition of a network should be relative to the goal. A network should include varied expertise of the respective area of sustainable development (knowledge diversity) and also actors that are influential with regard to the specific sustainability goal of the network (influence diversity). A too-narrow membership base may limit the understanding of sustainability within the network, whereas an overly large number of members may hinder implementation. The motives of network actors for working towards sustainable tourism are usually interrelated with other motives, experienced at a personal level, for the firm or for the municipality/region. For instance, improvement of the livelihood of a region or competitive advantage of an enterprise is such a motive. These are important from a motivational viewpoint, especially if networking is on a totally voluntary basis. Most of the present policy measures assist in establishing sustainability networks. Attention should also focus on maintaining their viability and effectiveness in the course of time. “Small wins”, that is, controllable opportunities of a modest size that produce tangible outcomes, should be created fairly early to support the network’s learning for sustainable development. However, it is advisable to adopt a long-term orientation when starting a network. As trust between diverse actors is based upon previous interaction, a network needs time to become adept at explicating tacit knowledge among its actors, and to develop the network so it can facilitate the creation of more fundamental results. Long-term orientation also applies to public funding providers: networks should not be expected to run on their own after two or three years. Short-term funding has a tendency to lead to fragmentary results and to thwart the possibilities of acting upon sustainable development, at a local level. viii Trust is a crucial success factor for sustainable tourism networks. It can be simultaneously considered an outcome and a necessary condition for networking, as the perceived outcomes of trusting behaviour among network actors will facilitate or constrain future interactions within the network. Conditions affecting the level of trust in networks are initial trust, credibility and reciprocity of undertaken actions. Too strong a leadership may destroy the activity of other network members, even though some co-ordination and leadership are necessary. Leaders should allow the network to re-form naturally and subnetworks to emerge. They provide an additional information sharing medium and may speed implementation of certain actions. Tourism networks apply a variety of policy instruments, most notably EMS, Local Agenda 21, informative instruments and environmental labelling in their efforts to enhance sustainability. Those networks that actually developed their own variant of these instruments were more prominent in succeeding than those that copied from examples of others. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT .............................................................................. 3 1.2 PRESENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK ............................................................. 4 1.3 THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT’S CHAPTERS .................................................. 6 2 NETWORKS UNDER STUDY 10 2.1 FOCAL NETWORKS ....................................................................................... 10 2.2 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE FOCAL NETWORKS ................................... 11 2.2.1 Networks membership and leadership ................................................ 15 2.2.2 Level of actions ................................................................................... 16 2.2.3 Description of the individual networks ............................................... 17 2.3 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN THE NATIONAL CONTEXTS ................................................................................... 36 2.3.1 From “Tourism and Environment” to ‘Sustainable Tourism Development? - The Institutional Framework in Five Countries....... 37 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 49 3.1 GROUNDED THEORY APPROACH ................................................................... 49 3.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM .................................................................................... 50 3.3 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................... 50 3.3.1 Data collection.................................................................................... 50 3.3.2 Data analysis ...................................................................................... 53 3.4 SOUNDNESS OF THE RESEARCH .................................................................... 55 3.4.1 Assessing the methodological solutions.............................................. 55 3.4.2 Reliability............................................................................................ 57 3.4.3 Validation scheme............................................................................... 58 4 UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NINE TOURISM NETWORKS IN EUROPE 60 4.1 MODELS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM............................................................. 60 4.2 SITUATING THE NETWORKS .......................................................................... 61 x 4.2.1 Exploring the contours of the networks .............................................. 62 4.3 INTERPRETING THE DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY ................................... 68 4.3.1 What is environmental sustainability?................................................ 68 4.3.2 The question of social sustainability: a concern for local networks? ............................................................................................ 70 4.3.3 Doing business with the environment: business development, economic sustainability or ecological modernisation ........................ 73 5 ACTORS’ MOTIVATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT A PRACTICAL LEVEL 5.1 78 MOTIVES TO ENGAGE IN NETWORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................. 78 5.1.1 Motivation for the start of the network ............................................... 79 5.1.2 Motives of networking at different levels ............................................ 81 5.1.3 How crucial is the network for implementation of sustainable development? ...................................................................................... 86 5.1.4 5.2 Key findings ........................................................................................ 86 NETWORKS’ ACTIONS DIRECTED TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ... 87 5.2.1 Implementing sustainable development .............................................. 89 5.2.2 Key findings ...................................................................................... 100 6 SUCCESS AND FAILURE FACTORS OF THE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM NETWORK 6.1 PROBLEM-SETTING: JOINT APPRECIATION OF THE NEED TO NETWORK ....... 103 6.1.1 Awareness of network actors ............................................................ 104 6.1.2 Commitment of network actors ......................................................... 106 6.1.3 Specific context of networks.............................................................. 108 6.2 DIRECTION-SETTING: DEVELOPING A COMMON VISION .............................. 108 6.2.1 Shared goals among network actors................................................. 109 6.2.2 Proximity between network actors.................................................... 110 6.2.3 Co-operation and competition among network actors ..................... 111 6.3 xi 102 STRUCTURING: MANAGING THE INTERACTIONS ......................................... 113 6.3.1 Management and leadership of the network..................................... 114 6.3.2 Power within the network ................................................................. 115 6.3.3 Resources for networking ................................................................. 116 6.4 TRUST: A DYNAMIC ELEMENT .................................................................... 118 6.4.1 Initial trust ........................................................................................ 119 6.4.2 Recognition of actions....................................................................... 120 6.4.3 Credibility of actions......................................................................... 120 6.4.4 Reciprocity of actions ....................................................................... 121 6.5 7 KEY FINDINGS ............................................................................................ 122 PROCESSES OF LEARNING AND INSTITUTIONALISATION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN TOURISM NETWORKS 123 7.1 LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN TOURISM NETWORKS ....... 123 7.1.1 Inter-organisational learning for sustainable development ............. 124 7.1.2 Learning in the tourism networks ..................................................... 125 7.1.3 Triggers of learning .......................................................................... 126 7.1.4 Sources of learning during the process ............................................ 128 7.1.5 Transactional and transformational outcomes of learning .............. 133 7.1.6 Network structure and learning ........................................................ 136 7.1.7 Membership composition .................................................................. 137 7.1.8 Does training produce learning in networks? .................................. 138 7.1.9 Network communication channels and learning............................... 139 7.1.10 Key findings regarding inter-organisational learning in networks ............................................................................................ 140 7.2 TRANSLATION OF SUSTAINABILITY IDEAS IN THE INTER-ORGANISATIONAL NETWORKS ......................................................... 141 7.2.1 Landing ideas – choice of the ideas by the networks........................ 142 7.2.2 Translation of the ideas – ideas within the networks........................ 149 7.2.3 Ideas travel further – institutionalisation of ideas produced by the networks ............................................................................................ 157 7.2.4 8 Key findings on translation of ideas ................................................. 158 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 8.1 8.1.1 160 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS ................................................. 160 Recommendations for establishing networks.................................... 160 xii 8.1.2 Recommendations for maintaining networks.................................... 162 8.2 POLICY DISCUSSION ................................................................................... 164 8.2.1 Policy instruments applied in different networks.............................. 164 8.2.2 Policy instruments identified at the company level........................... 165 8.2.3 Policy instruments identified at the destination level ....................... 169 8.2.4 Networking as a “policy instrument” ............................................... 172 8.2.5 Institutional support for the network activities ................................. 173 8.3 POLICY INSTRUMENTS – PROOFING FOR SUSTAINABLE .................................... DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM ....................................................................... 177 8.3.1 Proposed modifications to policy instruments.................................. 178 8.4 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................ 185 8.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH AND ACTIONS .................... 188 LIST OF APPENDIXES Appendix 1. Interview’s themes and questions Appendix 2. List of coding categories Appendix 3. List of interviewees Appendix 4. Table A4.1: Socio-economic and cultural activities of community networks Table A4.2: Socio-economic and cultural activities of business networks Table A4.3: Environmental response of community networks Table A4.4: Environmental response of business networks Appendix 5. Graphic presentation of stages of development of Molyvos network xiii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Stakeholders of the tourism industry. ...................................................................................... 2 Table 1.2 Sustainability aspects in tourism industry. .............................................................................. 2 Table 2.1 Main characteristics of the focal networks ............................................................................ 13 Table 2.2 Diversity of the networks’ membership................................................................................. 15 Table 2.3 Sustainable tourism and sustainable development in context of the focal countries ............. 48 Table 3.1 Number of interviews per network ........................................................................................ 52 Table 4.1 Contours of sustainable tourism networks evident within the nine tourism networks studied in the project .................................................................................................... 66 Table 4.2 Interpretations of environmental sustainability in the nine networks studied in the project .......................................................................................................................................... 70 Table 4.3 Interpretations of social sustainability in the nine tourism networks studied in the project .......................................................................................................................................... 73 Table 4.4 Interpretations of economic sustainability in the nine tourism networks studied in the project .......................................................................................................................................... 77 Table 6.1 Success and failure factors that influenced sustainable tourism networks at the problem-setting stage of their development ............................................................................... 103 Table 6.2 Success and failure factors that influenced sustainable tourism networks at the direction-setting stage of their development .............................................................................. 109 Table 6.3 Success and failure factors that influenced structuring of sustainable tourism networks..................................................................................................................................... 114 Table 7.1 Membership mix.................................................................................................................. 152 Table 7.2 Leadership mix .................................................................................................................... 152 Table 7.3 Co-ordination structure........................................................................................................ 155 Table 7.4 Co-ordination....................................................................................................................... 155 Table 8.2 Requested and awarded ecolabels in Alcúdia...................................................................... 166 Table 8.3 Summary of SWOT analysis ............................................................................................... 167 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Networking for sustainable development - Conceptual framework ....................................... 5 Figure 2.1 Geographical position of focal networks of EMPOST-NET project.................................... 10 Figure 2.2Schematic representation of Alcúdia network....................................................................... 18 Figure 2.3 Schematic representation of Calvià network ........................................................................ 20 Figure 2.4 Schematic representation of Molyvos network .................................................................... 23 Figure 2.5Schematic representation of Kinsale network ....................................................................... 25 Figure 2.6Schematic representation of Hidden Ireland network ........................................................... 27 Figure 2.7Schematic representation of Sälen network .......................................................................... 29 Figure 2.8. Schematic representation of Åre network ........................................................................... 30 Figure 2.9Schematic representation of YSMEK network ..................................................................... 32 Figure 2.10Schematic representation of Finnland Natürlich network ................................................... 35 Figure 6.1 Success and failure factors that influenced formation and development of the nine tourism networks................................................................................................................ 103 Figure 6.2 Factors affecting level of trust in the networks .................................................................. 119 Figure 7.1 A simplified framework for learning in the networks towards sustainable development. . 125 xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EMPOST-NET SD EMS EPR EPI EIA ÅG KSG VDG EMAS LA21 SME UNEP The Emerging Paradigm of Sustainable Tourism: A Network Perspective Sustainable development Environmental management system Extended producer’s responsibility Environmental performance indicator Environmental impact assessment Åre Group, sub-network Kretsloppsgruppen (eco-cycle group), sub-network in Åre Village development group in Åre, sub-network Eco-management and auditing scheme Local Agenda 21 Small and medium size enterprise United Nations Environmental Programme World Tourism Organisaiton World Travel and Tourism Council Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats WTO WTTC SWOT ICLEI UNCED International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives United Nations Conference on Environment and Development NGO Non-governmental organisation xv 1 Introduction Travel and tourism are frequently classified as the world’s largest and fastest growing industry that provides a contribution to employment1, GDP2, capital investments, taxation, etc. The number of people travelling internationally, currently constitutes over 657 million annually and is expected to rise to about 1.6 billion by the year 2020 (WTO, 2000: 21). While tourism is looked upon as a tool to stimulate growth and attract development both in the developed and the developing countries, awareness about economic, environmental, and social impacts of tourism activities necessitates the debate about the need for the tourism industry to develop in a sustainable manner. Its impacts on the global economy, the environment (local and global) and social conditions are too significant to ignore (see Table 1.2). The nature of tourism activities involves economic, environmental and social issues in both a direct and intricate manner. In terms of the socio-cultural impact, activities related to tourism undoubtedly influence the income and livelihood of the local population at tourism destinations. The local population may well benefit from infrastructural development that supports tourism, such as enhanced transportation, media and communication. However, there are also potential negative impacts on social elements like architecture, local culture, dress, beliefs, traditions, customs, and ways of thinking. These impacts might lead to social and environmental deterioration, which will eventually result in economic deterioration of the destination. Studies of the life cycle of tourism destinations show that there is such a potential for “self-destruction”. Hence, there are reasons not to assume that tourism development per se is a good form of development, although tourism is often encouraged as a form of development that will bring other development and conservation benefits. As for any type of industry, the overall outcome depends on how tourism activities and their impacts are managed. 1 In 2000, the Travel and Tourism economy accounted for up to 8.0% of total employment, which is estimated at 1 in every 12.4 jobs. The figure will grow up to 9.1% in the year 2010, which is estimated at 1 in every 11.0 jobs. Jobs of the Travel and Tourism industry accounted for 3.1% of total employment in the year 2000 and are expected to increase up to 3.3% by 2010. (WTTC, 2000) 2 The Travel and Tourism economy contributes 10.8% to GDP and will grow, according to estimates, to 11.6% by 2010. The Travel and Tourism industry itself accounts for about 4.1% contribution to GDP 1 Tourism is a very diverse industrial sector (Table 1.1 lists the stakeholders without any particular correlation or order of importance). In addition, tourism actors are often too small and scattered to make significant improvements towards sustainable development. If the tourism industry is to become more sustainable, its different component actors have to meet to find ways of integrating social/cultural, economic and environmental aspects into their activities and products. Table 1.1 Stakeholders of the tourism industry. The Market - Consumers - Customers - Finance Market Intermediaries - Tour Operators - Travel agencies - Travel Managers - Web Services Policy makers - Governmental - Sectoral Authorities - Local - Regional - National Categories of stakeholders (With examples) Tourism Support Services Host Community - Citizens - Tourism Authority Support - Infrastructure Support - Local Industry - Tourism Organisations Support - Local Agriculture - Tourism Information Offices - Local Interest Groups - Marketing Services - Guiding Services Non-Governmental Organisations - Business Associations Tourism Suppliers - Carriers - Environmental - Accommodation Activists - Food & Drink Suppliers - Attractions Research & Education - Sport & Leisure Institutions - Events & Entertainment - Conference sector Table 1.2 Sustainability aspects of the tourism industry. Aspects to be addressed (With examples) Natural Resources - Water - Energy - Raw Materials - Land - Biodiversity Quality Aspects - Soil - Air - Drinking water - Food - Bathing water Waste and Litter - Solid - Liquid - Hazardous Transports - Emissions - Noise - Congestion - Energy Consumption & Fuels in 2000, rising up to 4.2% by 2010 (WTTC, 2000). 2 Construction Life Cycle - Infrastructure - Housing - Man-made attractions Socio-Economic Impacts - Social structures - Income - Employment - Investment Cultural Impacts - Cultural habits - Architecture 1.1 Purpose of the project The main objective of this project was to study sustainability initiatives undertaken collectively by multiple actors within the tourism industry (cross-sectoral networking) and to compare these initiatives to existing policy tools in order to provide policy makers and industry practitioners with suggestions for enhancing sustainable development. The project was based on a qualitative analysis of nine tourism networks in five European countries. These networks were selected because they had been publicly identified as ones that have taken initiatives towards sustainable development. Some of them were clearly considered pioneers within sustainable tourism, but all of them are not “best practices”, but examples of what is happening in the field in different types of networks. Another selection criterion of the case networks was the so-called maximising principle developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967). According to this principle, certain differences between the comparison groups are maximised. In the present sample of networks, differences are, for instance, whether the network is formal or informal, local or dispersed, or whether it has sustainability as its primary or secondary goal. Since the focal networks are from five different countries, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Spain, and Greece, we can also utilise the influence of different national cultures and government environmental policies on network dynamism as a point of comparison. The goal, however, was not the comparison as such. Rather, comparison was used for the purpose of finding out what characteristics of sustainability are worthy of further investigation. By comparing the networks to one another, data were generated on practical models and solutions for networking for sustainability, and on the success and failure factors of networks. The main research problem: “What kind of initiatives are being taken by multiple actors jointly in the field of tourism in order to take the field towards sustainable development”, was divided into a set of sub-questions that form the backbone of the present report: 1. What is sustainable development for different networks? How is sustainable development understood and interpreted in different networks? 2. Why do networks engage in activities towards sustainable development? 3 3. How do network actors, at the practical level, implement sustainable development? 4. Which factors lead networks to either succeed or fail in their efforts towards sustainable development? 5. How do networks translate ideas and learn for the implementation of sustainable development? 6. How does the quality of the network relate to the quality of its sustainable development outcomes? 7. How can the development of sustainable development networks be assisted by policy instruments under different conditions? ♦ How can policy makers in the EU and regional/local levels assist in the establishment of networks striving for sustainable development? ♦ What kind of self-regulation can the tourism industry implement towards sustainable development? This report attempts to answer these questions in the following chapters. 1.2 Presentation of the framework In order to reduce the complexity surrounding the realities of networks, we suggest a simplified model for understanding how networks within the tourism field act upon the sustainable development (SD) imperative (Figure 1.1). We use this model as a framework for presenting our data. The context of the network determines, to a great extent, which dimensions of SD are addressed. By context we refer to a variety of things: country, national culture, locality, type of SD problems, financial opportunities, and history. Obviously the understanding of contextual factors is mediated through the perception of the network actors that is, context is not an objective matter. In turn, the institutional context defines the understanding of the problems and consequently the shape of the goals and nature of actions. A group of network actors that were expected to have the capability to address these problems were gathered or they themselves came together. Both context and the understanding 4 of this context define the goals and actions the network actors choose to pursue. All of these factors in turn influence the outcomes of the network’s actions. When assessing how well the network has succeeded in solving the chosen sustainable development problems, we can discuss actions and outcomes of these actions in relation to the goals the networks have set for themselves, requirements of international standards, or in relation to severity of the sustainable development problems. The assessment, however, is not among the main tasks of the project. It is rather an indicative mirror, which we believe assists in describing the networks, as well as in developing better policy recommendations. Figure 1.1 Networking for sustainable development - Conceptual framework The relations among the elements of the model are far from linear. The elements are surely interrelated but not determined or pre-conditioned by each other. For example, network goals, actions, and outcomes are affected by the characteristics of the network itself and by the institutional environments (by the context in general). Complex relations among the elements explain the fact that each of the research questions touches upon all essential components of the networking process and many 5 of the factors affecting this process. The research questions (section 1.1), nevertheless, specifically concentrate on one element (see Figure 1.1): Question No.1 (referred to as “understanding” in Figure 1.1) concentrates on the understanding and interpretations of sustainable development by the network actors; Question No.2 (referred to as “Why?” in Figure 1.1) takes up the main goals of the networks and the reasons for continuation of the network activities. Question No.3 (referred to as “How?” in Figure 1.1) discusses the main actions the networks employ to achieve the desired goals. In addition, the question addresses the outcomes of the networking processes (referred to as “Outcomes” in Figure 1.1). Question No.4 (referred to as “Success and failure factors” in Figure 1.1) deals with the main factors affecting the performance of the networks. Question No.5 (How do networks translate ideas and learn for sustainable development?) provides an analysis of the process of networking with concepts of inter-organisational learning and institutional theory. Question No. 6 briefly discusses the relation of the quality of the network to the quality of its sustainable development outcomes. Question No. 7 analyses policy instruments that appear relevant for guiding cooperative efforts of multiple actors towards sustainability in the field of tourism. 1.3 The contents of the report’s chapters The report proceeds as follows. Initially, we describe the networks and their context (Chapter 2 “Networks under study”). The macro picture of the general institutional features of each of the focal countries is followed by a comprehensive presentation of the nine focal networks. We then present a methodology used in the research (Chapter 3 “Research design and methodology”). In addition to the description of the methods used for the data collection and analysis, this chapter provides insight into the complex process of data integration performed by the researchers from five different countries. 6 The following chapter (Chapter 4 “Understanding sustainable development in tourism networks”) addresses the question “How is sustainable development understood and interpreted in different networks?” The chapter shows that there is no one understanding of sustainable development. Neither of the existing models of sustainable development nor sustainable tourism, (ST) that we found, suggest a sufficient understanding of the local sustainability processes and a local picture that is defined by these processes. This chapter outlines the nature and primary purpose of the nine networks. In order to determine what aspects of sustainability the networks emphasise, we focus on the conceptual and practical understanding of environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions of sustainability in the nine networks. Chapter 5 – “Actors’ motivation and implementation of sustainable development at a practical level”, answers two questions: “Why do networks engage in activities towards sustainable development?” and “How do network actors, at the practical level, implement sustainable development?” Section 5.1, actors’ motivation, mostly concentrates on the reasons for the network actors to either set a network for sustainable development or to take sustainable development on the agenda and to continue working with sustainable development issues. As highlighted in Chapter 3 and 4, one of the important things to understand is that each sustainability network is unique in terms of the original problem, goal and context, and consequently also the motives of actors vary from one network to another. Not only the context and problem influence the motives of networking for the sustainability cause; there appear to be motives on different levels. On the one hand, we can distinguish motives that are directly personal, or that relate to the firm or organisation the actor represents. On the other hand, there are more collective types of motives, which relate to the benefits expected to accrue to the region or society. Moreover, one actor may have several motives simultaneously and the motives may change over time. In other words, the initial motives of actor/s may be different to those that facilitate the ongoing network activity. Motives for action are usually related to the expectation of a certain outcome or outcomes. Thus we cannot discuss motives without a connection to outcomes. The actions of the networks (section 5.2) are presented within three major categories: environmental, socio-economic and cultural. In addition the actions can be observed 7 either at the level of individual organisations/business enterprises belonging to the network or at the level of a community where the network operates.3 The business or community levels of actions are not mutually exclusive – some of the networks employ mixed strategies covering both levels of actions. Potential success and failure factors of tourism networks heading towards sustainable development are analysed in Chapter 6 “Success and failure factors of sustainable tourism networks”. The factors have been classified in different interpretative categories and are discussed regarding problem setting, direction setting and structuring of networks. In an attempt to highlight the dynamic processes of networking, the role of trust-building is then analysed. It appears that with regard to sustainability achievements or outcomes, the process of networking is often more important than structural features of a network. Chapter 7 examines networking as a dynamic process. The first part of the chapter discusses how actors learn within networks i.e. how new knowledge and skills for sustainable development are developed in inter-organisational settings. Thereafter, networking is evaluated in terms of transformation of ideas within the networks and the slightly broader question of how new ideas about sustainability are institutionalised. The discussion attempts to contribute by providing new insights about how knowledge is created and sustainable development is acted upon in public/private partnerships. In the public/private networks for sustainable development, very different rationales and mindsets meet, thus making the creation of a common basis for learning more difficult. In this chapter, we address factors that can set learning in motion (triggers), sources of learning during the process and outcomes of learning in the tourism networks striving to enhance sustainable development. The latter part of Chapter 7 illustrates how diverse public-private constellations of actors are able to select certain ideas, transfer them into actions and then dismiss them or suggest them for future use within the network or for broader outside use. Among factors affecting attention of network actors to certain ideas and the process of 3 We call the first group BusAct. Their actions manifest in individual organisations (the most typical example would environmental management improvements in a tourism enterprise). The latter is termed ComAct. 8 objectification of these ideas, the Chapter assesses structural and dynamic characteristics of the networks. The concluding chapter provides recommendations for industry practitioners and policy makers for assisting the networking process and designing the policies for the benefit of more sustainable tourism practices. In addition to recommendations on networking that arise directly from the data, we develop policy suggestions that stem from the empirical networks and reach beyond the immediate findings. In other words we make suggestions about the kind of policy instruments could assist sustainability networks in different conditions. We use our findings to demonstrate what type of policy instruments could be relevant to the activities of the network actors or are used by them. 9 2 2.1 Networks under study Focal networks This chapter briefly introduces the general characteristics of nine networks in five different countries – Spain, Finland, Ireland, Greece, and Sweden (see also Figure 1): ! Alcùdia, Eco-tourism municipality network, Spain, local network ! Calviá, tourism resort’s Local Agenda 21 network, Spain, local network ! Finnland Natürlich (FN), farm and nature holidays circle, Finland, dispersed network ! Hidden Ireland (HI) – heritage homes network, dispersed networkKinsale Chamber of Tourism (Kinsale), Ireland, local network ! Molyvos, town network, Greece, local ! Sälen, mountain tourism resort’s Local Agenda 21 network, Sweden, local network ! YSMEK, network for developing environmentally friendlier tourism in Finland, dispersed network ! Åre, mountain tourism village network in Sweden, local network Figure 2.1 Geographical position of focal networks of EMPOST-NET project. The general description of the networks includes presentation of their composition, goals, institutional setting and results of their operations. Later in the report, we provide an analytical description of each of the nine networks paying special attention to their origins, goals, and main activities. 10 2.2 General introduction to the focal networks4 The definition of networks has been adopted from Smith-Ring (1997)5: Networks apply to co-operative efforts among business firms, governmental bodies or organisations, persons, or other entities that are interconnected in various ways. Networks operate within the field of tourism and consist of various actors from the public and private area. The networks are either formal or informal in character. A network is characterised as formal if it sees itself as a group and network members recognise that they belong to the respective group. The network is informal when there is no organisation in the way it operates and/or when the members do not consider themselves belonging to the network. The networks can be either local or dispersed. In the local networks, the majority of the actors are located in a restricted geographical area, often belong to the same administrative zone or have the common area management and consequently follow the same regulative rules, and often share the same infrastructure. In the dispersed networks, actors are spread over a large geographical area. The networks were formed at different periods in time and in different institutional settings. Some of them were established quite recently, others have evolved over several decades. The oldest networks of the sample, Molyvos and Kinsale, came through a series of evolutionary changes. Table 2.1 presents the network’s main characteristics. The formation of the networks occurred in the small localities or broader regional/national areas that have been facing different types of problems at the time of the network formation (column Problem in Table 2.1). Kinsale, Molyvos, and Åre areas were confronting challenges of livelihood decline in the communities. Finnland Natürlich (FN) has been established as a response to the decline of small farms in the 4 Individual country reports can be requested from the respective countries. 5 Smith-Ring, Peter: Processes facilitating reliance on trust in interorganizational networks. In Ebers, M. (1997) The formation of interorganisational networks. Oxford University Press 11 Pirkanmaa county of Finland. The network of Calvià, on the other hand, was a response to a threat for carrying capacity and because the community of Calvià experienced a visible decline in the quality of tourism as the destination’s quality degraded. The anticipation of such a threat gave rise to the Alcúdia network. Sälen and YSMEK saw an increase in the general awareness in the society concerning environmental questions and used the setting of the networks to address these concerns. The column Institutional setting (Table 2.1) gives a brief picture of the current level of statutory environmental protection in each respective country. This appears to be a significant determinant for a network’s goals and operations. For example, the networks of Ireland, Spain and Greece operate in the conditions where environmental infrastructure is either inadequate and/or not adequately enforced. The main goals of the networks vary considerably from each other (see column Goal in the Table 2.1). Some of the networks aim primarily at the issues of sustainability while others treat questions of environmental management and sustainable development as secondary network goals. It should be noted that the table presents the ultimate goal of the network whereas the networks also have other goals and objectives that are subordinate to the ultimate goal or instrumental goals, which serve the purpose of reaching the ultimate goal. The column Outcomes shows the main results of the networks’ activities.6 The Assessment/deficiencies column presents an assessment of how well the network has fulfilled its main/ultimate goal and what are the major deficiencies of outcomes in relation to the initial problem and expectations. 6 These results were obtained when the EMPOST-NET research team was collecting the project data. 12 Table 2.1 Main characteristics of the tourism networks studied in this research project Network Problem* Institutional setting visà-vis environment** Kinsale (1969) Dying town Hidden Ireland (1987) Marketing of country house holidays Incoherent legislation & Maintaining enforcement, waste & livelihood littering are basic Improve sales problems YSMEK (1993) Growing environmental concern for tourism in society Finnland Endangered Natürlich (1993) livelihood in farms due to lowering income from agriculture Molivos (1960) Threat of livelihood, later threat of mass tourism Primary goal*** Legislation & enforcement of waste management and waste water treatment. Urban & territorial planning is legislated obligation of municipalities Voluntary greening of tourism sector in Finland Environmental legislation is developed but deficient enforcement of environmental regulation, waste management is the main problem Sustain Molivos in a traditional state in order to sustain the destination attractive for quality tourists Increase sales of farm holidays Main outcome Assessment/ Deficiencies**** Lively tourism destination Improved business (SD: improved knowledge of garden restoration) Impact given to greening of tourism enterprises Goal reached, but tourism development threatens SD Own goal reached but no major contribution to SD Sales not increased. Some environmental & cultural heritage improvements among active farms Keeping mass tourism out Own goal not reached. Fewer environmental improvements than expected Own goal reached. Little concern of socio-cultural SD Own goal reached vis-àvis socio-cultural SD, but environmental problems remain 13 Table 2.1 Main characteristics of the tourism networks studied in this research project (continued) Network Problem* Institutional setting visà-vis environment** Primary goal*** Main outcome Assessment/ Deficiencies**** Sälen (1996) Growing env. awareness in society Own goals not reached. No major contribution to SD Livelihood in the community Paving the way for future sustainable life in Åre Calvià (1995) Carrying capacity of the destination Business goal: sustain business Municipal goal: water purification, traffic & road infrastructure ÅG/KSG: sustaining business in order to keep community alive VDG: quality of life in the villages Sustain the destination to continue to be attractive for quality tourists Laying ground for future env. actions. Halting expansion of area. Åre (1994) Legislation & enforcement of waste mgt, waste water treatment. Urban & territorial planning is legislated obligation of municipalities Too early to assess. Some environmental & social actions done, but continuation is not ensured. Own goals reached. Alcúdia (1992) Threat of destination becoming degraded Ecosystems of islands vulnerable & partially damaged. Env. programs by government, but failed co-ordination or design of env. legislation & its enforcement Remain as a quality tourist destination Groundwork for SD done well, some waste collection & water saving activities conducted Environmental improvement of hotel sector, development of cultural tourism Own goals to some extent achieved. Municipal waste management system remains a problem. Explanations to some titles of columns in the table: *Problem = why was the network originally established. Refers to the past. **Institutional setting vis-à-vis environment = environmental legislation and its enforcement, the level of statutory environmental protection in the country. Refers to the present situation. *** Primary goal = the ultimate (main) goal the network aims at (note: the network may have other goals and objectives that are subordinate to the ultimate goal or instrumental goals which serve the purpose of reaching the ultimate goal ****Assessment/deficiencies = how well has the network fulfilled its main/ultimate goal and what are the major deficiencies of outcomes in relation to the problem and outcomes 14 2.2.1 Network membership and leadership Each of the networks are constituted, led and steered in a variety of ways. All networks, except Hidden Ireland are comprised of a mixture of public and private actors represented by businesses of different types and sizes, business associations, governments of local, regional and national level, academia, and NGOs (Table 2.2). The networks are led by either private or public actors. In the majority of cases the leadership role is undertaken by public actors, for example, local government/municipality, or tourism authorities etc. There are, however, notable exceptions such as Åre where the leadership function is differentiated and linked to a project based activity, for example, the business-led EcoCycle sub-network, KSG. The clearest case of business-led networks exists in the Irish context. Here, the input from public or state actors is achieved either through structural integration, for example, membership of KCOT the focal group in the wider Kinsale network, or through devolving some aspects of regulation in the case of Hidden Ireland. The networks have different co-ordination structures that vary from the single co-ordinators to the management group. Table 2.2 Diversity of the networks’ membership Networks Government similarity* Business similarity** Horizontal (number of offices/departm ents represented at one governmental level, e.g. ministry) Enterprise size similarity Enterprise type similarity dissimilar similar dissimilar similar dissimilar similar Sälen moderately dissimilar similar Moderately similar dissimilar dissimilar similar dissimilar Moderately similar dissimilar Åre Calvià Alcúdia dissimilar dissimilar similar Kinsale HI YSMEK FN Molyvos Vertical (Diversity of representation at the local/ regional/ national levels) dissimilar dissimilar dissimilar dissimilar dissimilar moderately similar dissimilar dissimilar dissimilar Associations N G O Academia yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes Explanations to some titles of columns in the table: *Government similarity = government representation is similar versus dissimilar. Similar = e.g. only one municipality office, dissimilar = e.g. different ministries or municipality departments **Business similarity = similar versus dissimilar types of businesses 15 2.2.1.1 Local networks Local networks like Calvià and Molyvos are centred on the initiative of strong mayoral leadership, contain more members from the public than from the private sector and are publicly led with a strong community orientation. The substantial difference in the case of Molyvos is that the network is largely informal and has gone through periods of mobilisation and latency over the years. On the other hand, Calvià, through LA21, is coordinated via a management structure despite the driving force of the Mayor. The membership of Kinsale, while diverse, is predominantly constituted and led by business actors through the Kinsale Chamber of Tourism, although, there are members representing significant local authorities. In Kinsale, the development of the tourism product and therefore, the network, is frequently justified through the social rationality of place and community. Alcúdia is led by public actors but largely constituted by business actors. In this case, it is underpinned by a managerial approach to environment and tourism issues. The Sälen network is similar in that it is publicly led and administered under LA21, but operates at the level of a business network. The most diverse of the local networks in terms of its basic structure is the Åre case. In Åre, there is a project-specific mix depending on the emphasis, for example, the recycling group is business-led and indeed originated out of a local business association whereas the village renewal project is led by public actors. 2.2.1.2 Dispersed Networks The management group of the YSMEK network consists of public actors and two business associations, but the pilot project members as well as its informal sub-network MAYAVAt are mainly private sector actors. Hidden Ireland is the only ‘pure business network’ of the sample, that is, it consists only of business actors. Finnland Natürlich network is financed by the public sector but is made up of small private tourism enterprises, mainly farmhouses. 2.2.2 Level of actions The actions of the network are performed at different levels. We divided them into network level actions (i.e. community – abbreviated as ComAct) and into actions at the level of individual organisations or enterprises (i.e. they seek to enhance sustainability through the improvements of their member organisations – abbreviated as BusAct). Kinsale, Molyvos, Åre and Calvià carry out their activities mainly at the level of the network while HI, FN and Sälen concentrate on the activities on the organisational level. YSMEK and Alcúdia cover 16 both levels of actions.7 The networks operating at the community level tend to concentrate at the socio-economic areas of sustainable development. Environmental questions capture attention of organisation-level networks. 2.2.3 Description of the individual networks 2.2.3.1 Alcúdia, Spain The municipality of Alcúdia is situated north east of Majorca and has 10,438 permanent inhabitants. Alcúdia currently has 28,128 tourist beds and foresees a capacity of 35,524 in the future. Alcúdia is a relatively new tourist destination of the “sun and beach” type but also offers other tourist attractions, such as monuments with historic interest. To remain a quality tourist destination in the future, in 1992 the City Council declared Alcúdia an “Ecotourist Municipality” (Municipi Ecoturístic), showing its commitment to protect the environment and preserve the natural and cultural heritage. Among the actions of the Ecotourist Municipality was the creation of an “Ecotourist plaque” for hotels in March 1994, which has been extended to restaurants and bars in 1998. The “Ecotourist Plaque Committee”, which decides on the application of this eco-label, is made up of the environmental delegate, council technicians, the director of municipal services company and representatives of the Board of Tourism, the local hotel association and members of the two local business associations. In 1996 the Board of Tourism was created with the representation of all local business associations, which meets regularly to discuss the relationships between the different economic sectors involved in tourism issues. It intends to advise the City Council and collaborates with “ECOTUR Destins“ programme, the initiative of the Autonomous Government of the Balearic Islands, which tries to evaluate the environmental situation of the tourist destination and design an action plan for environmental improvement of the area. As the initiative of the Ecotourist Municipality involves the active participation of different organisations, it could be regarded as a local network. The network is formalised through the establishment of the Ecotourist Plaque Committee and the Board of Tourism (see Figure 2.2) and works on a continuous basis. The Alcúdia City Council is taking the chair of these two participative forums and co-ordinates most of the activities through its Environmental 7 For more detail information about the activities of the networks see Chapter 5 17 Department. For instance, the technician of the Environmental Department is the person who designed the eco-label regulation and is now responsible for controlling the applications, giving technical advice, for example, about environmental friendly cleaning agents, and organises environmental training for the entrepreneurs. Due to the co-ordination role, the City Council has links to all the network members, and this link is especially tight in the case of the municipal service company. On the contrary, links between the different organisations do not seem as tight, thus the regular meetings of the fora are seen as an opportunity for discussion and exchange of opinions. Figure 2.2 Schematic representation of the Alcúdia network Members of the City Council state that the collaboration of the different municipal parties in the participative fora functions very well, in general. But local parties perceive things differently. Whereas, it seems that in the Ecotourist Plaque Committee, consensus of interests exists, the organisations participating in the Board of Tourism complain about obtaining no results. Although, they regard themselves as willing to collaborate with the City Council on environmental issues, most of them feel disappointed because they see little feedback from the local authorities and few possibilities of influencing the municipal 18 decision-making process. This has even turned into a conflict in some cases, where the City Council has not answered criticisms and suggestions from the local parties (e.g. Business Association S’Atalaia and the Bus Company). The only local party that seems to have improved its co-operation with the City Council is the Hotel Association, which works closely on the issues related to the Ecotouristic plaque, for example organising environmental training for the hoteliers, and helping in the applications for the eco-label. The original plan was to invite representatives of the Tourism Department of the Autonomous Government (Conselleria de Turisme), of the Majorcan Island Council (Consell Insular de Mallorca) and of environmentalist groups like GOB and Greenpeace to participate in the work. It is not clear why they are not involved; members of the City Council say that they refused because of lack of interest; GOB members say that they were interested but have not been invited. The external perception of the network activities varies between different parties. On the one hand, Alcúdia receive much recognition for its environmental efforts; for instance, in 1997 it received the National Waste Management Award for municipalities (Barrendero Ecológico). At the same time, Alcúdia improved its image for tour operators. This is similar to the case of the German tour operator TUI, which makes continuous evaluations of tourist destinations by means of environmental indicators (bathing water and beach quality, water and energy supply, nature conservation etc.). This detected a great increase in quality. On the other hand, the most important Majorcan environmentalist organisation, GOB, complained that the commitment to become an Ecotourist Municipality is mainly a marketing strategy and that most of the municipal actions are not in accordance with the stated goals. 2.2.3.2 Calvià, Spain The municipality of Calvià is located in the far west of Majorca. It is one of the largest tourism municipalities of the island with a population of almost 30,000 inhabitants, the capacity to accommodate 120,000 visitors in high season and is visited by 1.2 million tourists per year. Calvià is an example of a typical first-generation Mediterranean mass tourism centre of the “sun and beach” type that receives a number of tourists equivalent to about one third of the total inflow of the Balearic Islands. 19 The Town Council of Calvià started the Local Agenda 21 in 1995, and aimed to define a new integral long-term policy to reorganise tourist and local development on a sustainable basis. The financing for the first phase of the project was derived from the “Tourism Excellence Programme” (Plan de Excelencia Turística) promoted by the General Director of Tourism (Secretaría General de Turismo) of the former Spanish Ministry of Commerce and Tourism and Calvià Municipal Government. After drafting the philosophy and the procedures for the Local Agenda 21, a Management Committee was formed to lead the process (see Figure 2.3). Figure 2.3 Schematic representation of the Calvià network The Citizen Forum of the network is comprised of 150–160 members of hotel associations, trade unions, neighbourhood associations, environmentalist groups etc. An exhaustive study on selected key thematic areas was conducted with the collaboration of council technicians and external experts. Finally, interested citizens have joined Thematic Committees to discuss the results of the analysis with the experts. They established 15 immediate 20 interventions, 40 initiatives and 10 strategic action lines for the development towards a desirable scenario of local development. At the same time, representatives of one chosen area of Calvià (Palma Nova-Magalluf) collaborated with the “ECOTUR Destins” programme. The most important aspect of the strategy of the Local Agenda is that it counts on the widest possible voluntary support of the population. Therefore, the initiative could be regarded as a local network that involves all local parties. The Town Council Management Committee is the nucleus of the Local Agenda and co-ordinates all municipal actions with private institutions and with other administrations. They have named a specific person to manage the work of the Thematic Committees and the public participation. She has spent more than a year presenting the first explanatory document of the Local Agenda 21 in Calvià. The Town Council stated that the acceptance, by the local parties, in general, was very good. The relationship with the five hotel associations of Calvià seems very close as they have initiated some pilot projects on waste management. The bars, and restaurant shop entrepreneurs are showing willingness, but have not initiated any concrete actions, thus far. The environmentalist groups (Greenpeace and GOB) are participating intensively but continue to maintain a critical position. It is noteworthy that trade unions are supporting the Local Agenda process and most of the decided actions. A local party that is not participating in the Forum at all is the construction sector, although most of the actions affect construction issues. The Town Council has many links outside the network. It is collaborating intensively with other authorities on the national and autonomous level (Majorcan Island Council, Balearic Autonomous Government and National Government) and on European level with the European Commission. The co-ordinator of Local Agenda 21 is also responsible to look for European funded projects (LIFE, TERRA, Integrated Mangement of Coastal Zones etc.) and currently Calvià is collaborating in several European projects. 2.2.3.3 Molyvos, Greece Molyvos is a small town in the northern part of Lesbos Island in Greece. Tourism development for the Molyvos area began in early 1960s and due to its very attractive landscape (townscape), soon became a tourism destination for artists and influential people who were visiting Molyvos again and again for summer holidays. The reason for the success 21 seems to have been the initiatives taken by the local authorities concerning the preservation of the human-made and natural environment of Molyvos and its surroundings. In addition, local authorities have managed to convince Molyvos residents for the need of co-operation in this field. This continues to be the main task for every elected local authority, although sometimes there are many major conflicts with some local interests. Network Determination A tourism network is identified and characterised mainly by the number, the types and the quality of links among the different actors, in a pre-confined influence area. The task of identification/determination of tourism networks is especially important in the case of informal and latent networks, where there is no institutionalisation and sometimes not clear organisation. This task can be accomplished by identifying all the tourism actors of the area together with the type and the intensity of the links and relationships among them. In Molyvos, there are many tourism actors and involved residents who, together with the local and other authorities, promote tourism development through the preservation of the special characteristics of the Molyvos landscape, which is considered as the key tourism asset for the area. This type of network co-operation can be considered as an informal tourism network, as there is no formality and organisation in the way it operates. It is also considered as a latent tourism network at the present time because although the links characterising the network exist, network activities are rather occasional for the last several years, mainly occurring when tourism problems are emerging. It seems that the network undergoes a period of hibernation. The Molyvos tourism network consists of local authorities (the key actor and co-ordinator) and diverse local tourism actors, cliques and key persons. 22 Figure 2.4 Schematic representation of the Molyvos network8 2.2.3.4 Kinsale, Ireland The Kinsale network is a mixture of both public and private sector actors that are organised both as individual enterprises and associations. The Kinsale network is, in essence, a network of networks, each of which has its own function, but it comes together as a network 8 The figure presents the latest stage of the network development. 23 for the purpose of tourism development. The focal node in the network, which for the purpose of our study, is of crucial importance, is the Kinsale Chamber of Tourism (KCOT). Though now constituted as a limited company, KCOT links together a vast network of business enterprises both directly and indirectly involved in tourism, and actors who would not normally fall within the boundaries of ”the tourism industry”9. The choice of KCOT is predicated on the fact that its primary activity for some time has been tourism promotion and development. Though still essentially a voluntary association, KCOT has links, both formal and informal, to other networks and agencies that have been active in and continue to constitute the wider Kinsale network. These include: Kinsale Urban District Council10, Kinsale Harbour Board11, The Tidy Towns Committee12, Kinsale Good Food Circle13, Kinsale Chamber of Commerce14, and crucial to their operations are Cork County Council, Cork/Kerry Tourism15, and recently, though to a lesser extent, West Cork tourism16. 9 Membership is segmented along the lines of tourist-related enterprises, services and “professional” members. In practice these distinctions do not exclude members from serving on the executive or on the multiple subcommittees of the Kinsale Chamber of Tourism. Membership includes business people from the hotel and accommodation sector, vintners, restaurant owners, marinas etc. However, it also includes local banks, auctioneers etc. 10 Kinsale Urban District Council (UDC) is the statutory local authority for the urban area. It is made up of 9 elected representatives and provides many of the essential environmental services for the town, often in conjunction with Cork County Council. 11 Kinsale Harbour Board is a statutory body with responsibility for regulating marine traffic. The board is made up of 9 harbour commissioners including two representatives from Kinsale UDC and two representatives from Cork County Council (CCC), three appointments by the Minister for the Marine, one nominee from Commercial Fishermen and one nominee from Commercial Shipping interests. Kinsale Harbour Board is a member of the Chamber of Tourism and has individual members involved in the Chamber of Commerce. 12 The Tidy Towns Committee has gone through various stages. This is a voluntary committee set up to coordinate activities for the Bord Failte (The Tourist Board) Tidy Towns Competition. The current structure of the committee dates from 1985 and includes representatives from Kinsale UDC, Cork County Council Area Engineers and County Architects Department, the environment committee of Kinsale Chamber of Tourism, Kinsale Irish Country Women’s Association, Kinsale Flower Club, The Town Foreman and the supervisor of the Social Employment Schemes. 13 The Kinsale Good Food Circle is a local association of restaurants set up originally for the co-operative development of the town’s restaurants. Over the years they have been instrumental in building up the accolade of the Gourmet capital of Ireland, through various food festivals, the food forum and symposia. 14 Kinsale Chamber of Commerce was set up recently as a vehicle for the development of Kinsale Businesses. Though complementary to the Chamber of Tourism its brief is wider than tourism. The Chamber of Commerce is the successor to the now defunct Kinsale Development Association which in 1977 commissioned the School of Architecture, University College Dublin, to produce a report ‘Kinsale A National Heritage Town. Kinsale has since been designated a National heritage Town by Bord Failte. 15 Cork/ Kerry Tourism is the Regional Tourist Authority. Kinsale Urban District Council has the power to nominate a director to the board of the authority. 16 Non-Statutory Tourism Body promoting West Cork as a tourist destination. It was established in 1993 by West Cork LEADER (Funded by the EU). West Cork Tourism has over 400 members and performs a similar function to KCOT on a regional level. There are crossover memberships with KCOT as well as official representation, Cork County Council, Cork Kerry Tourism and FAS (National Employment Agency) are also members of the board. West Cork Tourism has just won a National Community Enterprise Initiative Award 24 Figure 2.5Schematic representation of the Kinsale network Kinsale Chamber of Tourism (KCOT) KCOT has gone through a variety of transformations since 1969. In 1969 a group of individuals concerned about ensuring the future formed Kinsale Community Promotions. Initially the focus was on community development, to promote tourism and to bring any influence they could to bear on the development of shipping routes, transport infrastructure (including the development of Cork airport), and to counter the concentration of development on the East Coast. Tourism was confirmed as the primary activity in the renaming of the group as Kinsale Community Tourism Promotions; a title it operated under until 1983 when it was renamed the Kinsale Chamber of Tourism. The Chamber is formally structured with an annually elected executive and a number of committees, for example, Membership, Environment, Finance, Marketing etc. Additional committees and sub-committees arise as the need warrants. Membership is open to anybody 25 in business in Kinsale subject to a recommendation from an existing member17. The local public bodies with responsibility for the urban area (Kinsale Urban District Council), and for the harbour (Kinsale Harbour Board) are both official members of the Chamber of Tourism. The Chamber of Tourism is an affiliate member of West Cork Tourism, which performs a tourism development and promotion function for the West Cork Area. As a result of the focal groups’ heterogeneous composition and its formal and informal linkages with regulatory bodies, Kinsale has a highly flexible capacity to act and increasingly does so through initiatives explicitly linking environment and tourism and sustainable tourism. 2.2.3.5 Hidden Ireland, Ireland Hidden Ireland is a formal network of “accommodation in private Heritage Houses” dispersed throughout Ireland. Hidden Ireland was established in 1987 and by 1999 has grown to include 43 members among its ranks. The network links together privately owned houses of architectural and historical importance. Hidden Ireland is now a company limited by guarantee and in the last three years has developed new business by marketing selfcatering accommodation. The houses that are included in Hidden Ireland vary in size but some of them are set in estates or parklands with their own unique ecosystems. In some cases, for example, Bantry House Co. Cork, the owners have been the recipients of environmental awards and financial aid from the Bord Failte to restore the architectural and environmental heritage of the houses and their surroundings. The enterprises in the network cater for an alternative tourist market, using the history, heritage and natural assets as key dimensions of their marketing strategy. In the process, they are maintaining the houses in private family ownership, maintaining the distinctive heritage of the houses and, in many cases, bringing tourists into parts of Ireland that have not previously benefited economically from tourism. 17 There is also a geographical limit to membership in the Kinsale Chamber of Tourism which, according to various accounts, ranges between a four- and ten-mile radius of the town. 26 Figure 2.6 Schematic representation of the Hidden Ireland network Hidden Ireland has a fairly straightforward structure compared to many of the other networks in the EMPOST project including Kinsale. The membership is homogeneous to the extent that it is entirely made up of private enterprise. The membership is exclusively made up of owners of “heritage homes”, which are open to the public for accommodation. Hidden Ireland is run by a committee and has one full-time employee (who is also a heritage house owner himself), and support from two full-time employees in a central office for reservations, marketing and sales located in Dublin. The management committee meets every month and there is a general meeting biannually. The management committee regulates network recruitment and general policy decisions, however, ad hoc committees are also used to deal with specific issues. Hidden Ireland has formal linkages with Bord Failte (National Tourism Body) through a licensing arrangement that places it in the role of regulator for its sector. Hidden Ireland also has formal linkages with “Europe of the Traditions”, a European network of heritage houses that it helped to establish. Many of the members of Hidden Ireland are members of other networks at the level of the individual firm but not at the network level. While the entry criteria are quite strict, decisional autonomy 27 largely rests at the level of individual enterprises. The benefits of membership stem primarily from inclusion in a collective marketing strategy, a central booking facility and as a lobbying tool for the constituent enterprises. However, a substantial pool of knowledge regarding architectural conservation and environmental restoration (specifically regarding the restoration of historic gardens), has accrued to individual members of the network. Although environmental sustainability is not a primary purpose for the network there is evidence of an increasing orientation in this direction (see section 4.1). 2.2.3.6 Sälen, Sweden The “Sustainable Sälen project” was launched in 1995 within the framework of Local Agenda 21. This initiative was designed to build a network of tourism businesses to work with environmental questions. Environmental questions were given a strong priority at this stage. The project facilitated regular discussion meetings among local ski resorts, which otherwise strongly compete, other businesses, representatives of different departments of the local authorities, and universities. The first steps of the project focused on providing environmental education for the companies, which, together with an environmental inventory18 of the participating businesses, gave rise to several project ideas for enhancing the environmental performance of the area. The project proposals were discussed within the network and suggested joint financing by the local government and the network companies. The proposals were related to waste management and transportation issues in the area, and to the employment of the regional environmental co-ordinator. The local government did not find resources that were expected from them. This, together with several interruptions in the co-ordination of the project (frequent change of the LA21 co-ordinator) has made the network members doubt the possibility to continue working with this initiative. Each of the participating companies has performed several environmental projects not directly related to the activities within the network. 18 Term used by respondents. Term “the initial environmental review” stands close to the meaning of “environmental inventory”. 28 Figure 2.7 Schematic representation of the Sälen network 2.2.3.7 Åre, Sweden The Åre network was established in 1994 when the local business association, Åregruppen (ÅG), decided to set up a group to deal with the environmental problems of the village. The group was named Kretsloppsgruppen (KSG, eco-cycle group). The newly elected member of ÅG, who came up with the idea of creating KSG, became the head of KSG. The group consisted of several core individuals (4–5) and people who were joining KSG depending on their interest and availability of time. In addition to participation in KSG, all of the members have had other businesses to run and activities to perform. In order to identify priorities for their work, KSG made a survey of the local companies, which resulted in establishing waste management as a main working task for KSG. ÅG decided to finance establishment of the local waste management system conducting by KSG. ÅG’s funds covered the operational side of the system. Salaries for the eight previously unemployed local people, who joined the process, were paid through the employment system. Other activities conducted by KSG 29 were related to the education of the unemployed people and work with the companies and villagers’ environmental and social awareness. KSG worked closely with ÅG, other groups in the neighbouring villages, municipal government, the University of Middle Sweden, and other groups and individuals that came in contact through the projects or out of personal interest. Figure 2.8. Schematic representation of the Åre network The work of KSG created a very positive image for the Åre community, a fact that allowed the municipality of Åre to receive money for Village Development Project (VDP). EC and Lanstyrelsen (regional government) have jointly financed VDP for the period of two years. The overall agenda of VDP has been to increase the local participation of the villagers in the decision making. The project was supposed to encourage people to choose the future of the villages’ development. There were six groups established in six villages of the Åre municipality. Åre village received the possibility to establish one of the Village Development Groups (VDG) as well. The activities of the village groups were concentrated around the issue of increasing local participation, work with young people, education for the 30 unemployed and employd, creation of the local employment centre and local “social club”. The VDG co-operated with other VDGs in Åre municipality. ÅG, KSG, and VDG are the main cliques of Åre network. (Activities of Åre network are mainly concentrated within the boundaries of Åre village.) All three groups were in contact with each other. The main line of contact between the KSG and VDG, as well as VDG and ÅG was through one person who was simultaneously a member of KSG and VDG. For the moment KSG does not exist, as it lost the financial and most of the political support for its main waste management activity. Financing for the first part of VDG ended in 1999. 2.2.3.8 YSMEK, Finland YSMEK (The Network for Developing Environmentally Friendly Tourism in Finland) was established in 1992 by the Finnish Tourist Board. At the time, environmental issues were quite unknown to the tourism industry in Finland, but they had started to develop from different sources. Some German tourists were asking for environmental improvements in hotels and cottages. This fact awakened some entrepreneurs and official tourism bodies, but despite the initial interest the industry did not know how to deal with the new issue. As the responsibility for environmental issues in the tourism industry could not be addressed to any one main party, collaboration became the solution. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, Finnish Tourist Board, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of the Environment, Hotel and Catering Committee, Association of Hotel and Catering Personnel, Finnish Nature Protection Association, Travel Agency Association and some other parties sat together and started to discuss how to make Finnish tourism “greener”. By 1993 this group had turned into the management group of YSMEK, and started a project with the goal to improve environmental care of the Finnish tourism industry. The YSMEK management group discussed, for a year, the possible actions and ways of promoting environmentally benign tourism. Finally, they reached a consensus about the mode of operation. The idea was to hire a consultant and take in some pilot tourism facilities, within which the consultant would conduct an environmental review. The review was to be done in active co-operation with the pilot enterprises. Later on the results would be disseminated to the tourism industry in the form of a practical instruction report and 31 lectures given by some management group members. Getting the pilot firms to attend was not easy, but eventually environmental reviews were conducted in 10 pilot firms in 1993– 1994. However, the project was successful and attracted much public attention in Finland and some abroad. A guidebook on conducting an initial environmental review was published. One of the hotels continued by itself and received an ISO14001 certification. The environmental co-ordinators spontaneously set up an informal network, MAYAVAT, for sharing experiences and keep up enthusiasm for environmental work. One member of MAYAVAT is also a member of the YSMEK management group. Figure 2.9 Schematic representation of the YSMEK network In the second stage a similar type of pilot scheme was applied with the aim of developing an EMS especially for the hotel and catering industries. The project took place between 1996 and 1997. Unlike the first project, it generated much interest. Fifty firms applied, and finally 32 19 were selected as pilots. The criteria were that Finland would be quite widely represented geographically with diverse types of tourism industries. Also the firms belonging to chains were preferred in order to facilitate the dissemination of the results. The pilot firms were partially the same as in the first phase. After the second stage, an instruction book together with an EMS implementation frame both in software and paper format was made available. The EMS frame was tailored for three types of tourism enterprises: hotel-restaurants, catering enterprises and small accommodation facilities. The second stage of YSMEK led to the development of two regional projects. They were not officially directed by YSMEK management group, but they shared the same ideas and guidelines as the YSMEK projects. They were implemented in the Lapland and Kuopio regions. At the third stage (1998–1999) the YSMEK management group addressed the environmental impacts of mass events. The project was conducted with the same mode of operating as the previous ones. However, at this stage the pilot enterprises changed into mass events. Three events were studied and an environmental management guidebook was developed for organisers of mass events, such as outdoor music festivals and sporting events. The management group of YSMEK is currently planning the fourth stage of the project. As to the working methods of YSMEK management group, some of the members are more involved than others, especially the chairman from the Ministry of Environment, the director of Finnish hotels and restaurants association, and an environmental consultant. Other members are more passive. While coming to the meetings and providing ideas as well as give the opinion of their own organisation to the discussed matters they neither put in as much effort nor have a holistic view of YSMEK, tourism and environment, or the future of the field. The YSMEK network is actually a project on two different levels. First, there is the national level of promoting environmentally friendly tourism in Finland throughout the industry. This takes place with the help of guidebooks and an environmental management scheme that are being used as instruction in tourism enterprises and by tourism educators in the country. Second, there is the firm level, where the environmental issues are incorporated into the dayto-day routines of individual tourism facilities. This work is mainly done within the pilot firms, supported by a consultant. The firms do not have direct contact with the management group. After the project ends, the pilot firms need to develop and maintain the skills on their own. 33 The YSMEK management group has not officially promoted all the aspects of sustainability. Only environmental and economic issues have been at the agenda of YSMEK. Nonetheless, socio-cultural issues have emerged through the daily work at the enterprises and also into the speeches of some representatives of YSMEK’s management group. 2.2.3.9 Finnland Natürlich, Finland The Finnland Natürlich circle (FN) was established in 1993. The initiator was the Agriculture Centre of Pirkanmaa county. For many years the income from traditional agriculture had been decreasing throughout the country and as a response farmers had started to practice various kinds of tourism activities as a side industry. This made it possible to preserve old country houses and continue living on the countryside. When establishing the FN circle, the ambition of the county was to raise the quality of the rural tourism facilities in order to improve marketing opportunities. Since the Centre had worked closely with the farmers in agricultural issues for years, they managed to attract 20 farmers to the FN circle. Over the years the number of the member entrepreneurs has varied between 20– 30. The member firms of FN in Finland consisted mainly of country houses (farms) but also firms offering adventure trips, shipping services and bus services have joined the circle. In the very beginning, the management of FN network was delegated to an independent twoperson firm (the so-called FN office). These two people run the daily activities and are responsible for the co-ordination of the network. The funding for the network activity is received from the Ministry of Agriculture (through the Agriculture Centre of Pirkanmaa), EU, some municipalities where the farmhouses are located and participating members. New members pay a fee when they join the FN and there is also an annual payment to cover marketing activities and education. In the beginning, the activities centred on two issues. First of all, the FN office started to offer quality management training for its members in Finland. To be able to join the network, members have to commit themselves to specific quality guidelines. In 1994 environmental guidelines were added to the package. The head of FN office, who was personally interested in environmental issues, took some weak signals coming, for example, from the director of Finnish Tourism Board, to indicate that environmental issues would fit into the training of FN. In practice the training involves lectures on quality and environmental issues 10–15 times a year. The training was not compulsory but an entrepreneur could freely choose lectures s/he wanted. As a result of the training, a quality 34 system for each country house was created. The core of the system is a handbook with a detailed set of instructions on quality management of country houses. A few farms received firm-specific consultation (one day per firm) and study tours to other farm houses practising tourism were organised to support the lectures. The quality system was also created for the whole FN circle. The role of environmental issues sharpened when the FN joined the Nordic FINECO project where initial environmental reviews were made in six FN enterprises, and consultation together with lecture-based training were provided to them. FN also arranged a one-week study tour to German and Swiss country-side tourism enterprises. Despite the opportunities available, only a few country house members consistently implement environmental care in practice. Figure 2.10 Schematic representation of the Finnland Natürlich network Another task of FN is marketing activities in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. During the first couple of years the FN office together with a consultant established contacts with eight small tour operators at their target market. All of the tour operators specialise in Scandinavian countries and nature holidays. FN circle publishes a common brochure of all its member companies. Furthermore, they offer packaged tours that comprise canoeing, bicycling and stays in country houses (all provided by FN enterprises). Marketing activities 35 are fully organised by the FN office and all the contact and routines (for example booking and invoicing) go through it. This means that tour operators are not in direct contact with tourism facilities. Enterprise members naturally have other channels for their marketing than the FN network. In fact the FN provides common marketing services only for export markets and not for marketing inside Finland. In general, the role of FN as a marketing channel for most of its members is quite small. 2.3 Sustainable development and sustainable tourism in the national contexts Hajer (1996) asserts that in the early 1970s “Departments for the Environment” were erected through the Western world and worked on the basis that pollution as such was not the problem, rather the issue was to guarantee a certain environmental quality. Hajer’s contention is that from the mid-1980s, a new environmental discourse began to emerge and transform environmental institutions under the logic of a positive sum game, namely that environmental protection and economic development could not only co-exist but were a potential lever for competitive advantage. The countries in the EMPOST study, however, follow quite a variable trajectory as to how, when and in what forms this institutionalisation process unfolded. The traditions and focus of the conservation policy, the development of environmental protection and the embrace of ecological modernisation as a policy orientation all have a bearing on how sustainable tourism is currently being addressed. Although the importance of tourism as an economic sector is weighted differently in our five countries, a concern with the environment and more recently sustainable development is being reflected in discussions of the future of the tourism sector. In this section the relationship between sustainable development and tourism in the five countries are briefly described in order to situate the EMPOST networks against the backdrop of national policy styles and institutional arrangements for sustainable tourism development in the respective contexts. The purpose of the last section is to simply record pertinent contextual information against which subsequent analyses regarding the institutional fit between networks and sustainable tourism development can be assessed19. 19 See in particular the sections of this report on “Success and Failure Factors” and “Policy Recommendations”. 36 2.3.1 From “Tourism and Environment” to ‘Sustainable Tourism Development? - The Institutional Framework in Five Countries. Sweden Sweden is the most illustrative example in our study of a policy context that has embraced ecological modernisation (Kronsell 1997, Lundqvist 1998). In many respects, Sweden has been identified as something of a pioneer in the field of environmental protection. Kronsell argues that this can be attributed to a consensual policy-making style, which is characteristic of the Swedish approach to public policy making. Like many of the other EMPOST countries, conservation is one of the earliest organised manifestations of environmental concern. At the turn of the century, the parliament set aside a number of national parks in keeping with the scientific rationale that remaining wild areas had to be protected in a “natural state”. However, Lundqvist argues that from the 1930s onwards, a transformation took place in this reasoning towards “protection for” rather than “protection from” the people. In 1951, a proposal for the conservation of nature emphasised that decisions should involve “a comprehensive weighing of all interests concerned with the use of natural resources” (Lundqvist, 1998: 231). The principle of “balancing interests” has remained an important component of the Swedish national approach to environmental issues. The Swedish EPA was established in 1967 and given specific powers under the 1969 Environmental Protection Act to promote end-of-pipe solutions. Although policy making remained with the Department of Agriculture an “Environmental Advisory Council” was established in 1968 to advise the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on long term environmental issues involving several sectors in society (Lundqvist, 1998: 233). Recently the advisory council has begun to play an important role with regard to both Agenda 21 and in relation to sustainable tourism in mountain areas (Aronsson 2000). Lundqvist argues that one of the characteristic features of the Swedish central government is the separation between political ministries and administrative central agencies. Despite the early administrative response to environmental questions in Sweden, manifested in the EPA, the Ministry for Environmental Affairs was not established until 198920. Therefore, from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, environmental issues were predominantly steered by a variety 37 of administrative agencies at the national, regional and local levels. However, from the mid1980s, increased politicisation of environmental issues in Sweden has seen the locus of the initiatives shift more towards political steering of strategies for sustainable development. This shift gathered momentum under the social democratic administration between 1994– 1998, (Eckerberg 1999). The association between Sweden and the sustainability debate can be traced back to 1972 when the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm. More recently, however, attempts to address the challenge of sustainable development followed on from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Initial proposals placed recycling, the reuse of raw materials and particularly the use of renewable resources as an important strategy for the realisation of a sustainable society. The principles for this “eco-cycle approach” were developed in the “Ecocycle Bill” in 1993. However, Lundqvist (1998) argues that a downturn in the economy has placed a strain on the organisation of environmental policy in Sweden, whereby the administrative agencies and boards at all levels of government have suffered from budget cuts while the central government has progressively taken control over policy developments. From 1996, the emphasis has been on creating ecologically sustainable development. In January 1997 a Delegation for Ecologically Sustainable Development was created within the Swedish cabinet consisting of the Ministers for the Environment, Agriculture, Taxation, Basic Education and the Junior Minister for Labour. What is particularly significant is that it is the Cabinet rather than the Ministry of Environment or the Swedish EPA that establishes the criteria and makes decisions regarding applications for eco-sustainability funding. The tourism industry is significant for the Swedish economy since it accounts for 3.3% of GNP. There are three significant players on the national level regarding the development of Swedish Tourism. The Swedish Tourist Authority is a central authority responsible for developing policies and strategies to promote progress and growth in Swedish Tourism. The Swedish Travel and Tourism Council is a 50/50 collaboration between the Swedish State and the tourism industry to co-ordinate the marketing of tourism as a destination. Finally the Swedish travel and tourism industry is a sectoral organisation representing the interests of its members and promoting the development of the tourism sector. The emphases for 20 Prior to this, in 1987, there was a Ministry for Enviroinment and Energy 38 sustainable tourism are interesting since national policy directions are somewhat reflected within our networks. Two significant policy statements, from the Committee for Environmental Control for Sustainable Tourism and Svenska Turistföreningen, outline the Swedish approach. The Committee for Environmental Control for Sustainable Tourism was given responsibility to propose measures for the sustainable development of the country’s mountain areas. In 1994 Miljövårdsberedningen held a round-table conference on the public right of access and ways of achieving sustainable tourism in Sweden (Aronsson 2000: 45). In order to pursue its brief, Miljövårdsberedningen also established a consultative committee with representatives of the authorities, the sectors and the organisations concerned (Aronsson 2000). The report from the roundtable gives some insight into the official approach to sustainable tourism in Sweden. Segments of the report cited by Aronsson show that the emphasis is on the integration of ecological thinking into tourism, adaptation to the environment by mass tourism and integration at a local level with Local Agenda 21 efforts (Aronsson 2000: 46). The Swedish Tourism Authority also makes a distinction between ecotourism, which is small scale tourism and the need for environmentally adapted tourism that allows for the transformation of the tourism industry to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish tourism against other countries. Aronsson argues that the dual strategy is aimed at integrating environmental measures while ensuring competitive advantage. In general, the approach to sustainable tourism reflects and carries forward the tradition of “balancing interests” in Swedish environmental policy. However, it also mirrors the more recent emphasis on ecological modernisation identified by Lindqvist with a focus on local sustainability and more specifically co-ordination with LA21. Finland Joas (1997) argues that until the 1960s, Finnish Environmental policy was largely directed towards conservation and public health issues. It was not until 1970, following concern and public pressure regarding water pollution, that the first administrative body with environmental duties was established (the National Board of Waters). Joas contends that the period between 1970 and 1983 was a crucial period regarding the institutionalisation of environmental policy. The 1970s saw the creation of environmental units within existing ministries, however, the creation of a separate Ministry for the Environment was delayed until 1983 due to political conflict over the role of the new ministry. However, Joas concludes that in spite of this, Finland has reached high standards of environmental 39 protection (1997: 157). The debate on Sustainable Development, however, is well established and became the focal point of a broader debate on the future of Finnish society following the Brundtland report in 1987. The Finnish Government responded by establishing the Finnish Commission on Environment and Development. Later, in 1993, as a response to the Earth Summit in Rio, the Finnish government established the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development in 1993. The Commission is chaired by the Prime Minister and included five ministers on its executive committee. Niemi-Iilahti argues that the broad representation that the Commission encompasses is designed to “encourage and promote discussion, information, and public awareness of the aims of sustainable development”. According to Joas, the political goals of sustainable development in Finland were outlined in an official cabinet report “Charting Finland’s Future Options” in 1993. Sustainable development as an inter-sector goal became a theme of the 1995 cabinet (Joas, 1997: 140). Niemi-Iilahti points out that moves towards sustainable development tend to mirror the recent trend away from regulatory command and control towards greater selfregulation. She argues that “informational steering” has been an important mechanism used to promote sustainable development in Finland and that sustainable development has been incorporated into laws, government programmes and sectoral policies. Halme and Mäkinen argue that attention to the environmental effects of tourism is a relatively recent phenomenon since the numbers of tourists were relatively small and the problems were not as pressing as in countries with more popular tourism destinations. An important motivation for recent moves towards sustainable tourism development is that good environmental quality in urban and rural areas will allow industry to increase its competitiveness (Aronsson 2000). The co-ordination and implementation of tourism policy is the responsibility of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, however, at least seven other ministries are involved in tourism. The Finnish Tourism Board is a government agency responsible for the marketing and promotion of tourism. In 1993 the tourism board published a strategy document “Sustainable Tourism: The Challenge of the 1990s for Finnish Tourism”. In addition to the development of principles of sustainable tourism, the Finnish Tourist Board launched a project to provide guidelines for sustainable tourism development and to co-ordinate various projects on eco-labelling and sustainable tourism (Aronsson 2000: 42). However, since no one agency has the ultimate responsibility for environment issues in tourism, the response required that a range of actors collaborate. The Finnish Tourist Board established YSMEK (the network for Developing Environmentally 40 Friendly Tourism). Arising out of discussions on the “greening of Finnish tourism” between the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Finnish Tourist Board, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of the Environment, a variety of representatives from the tourism industry, and others such as the Finnish Nature Protection Society, the network has been an important part of the approach to sustainable tourism development in Finland. In keeping with observations by Joas and Niemi-Iilahti on the wider approach to sustainability, the approach to sustainable tourism appears to be based on co-ordination between a variety of social actors and an emphasis on “informational steering”. The analyses by Halme and Mäkinen, and Aronsson appear to converge on the observation that an important aspect of the Finnish approach, despite an underlying environmental concern, is the emphasis on the economic rationality of moving towards sustainable tourism development. Ireland Although Ireland has a long history of individual environmental laws, it is really only with membership of the European Union that a comprehensive body of environmental legislation has evolved. The Department of the Environment was formed in 1978, however, a substantial part of its responsibilities is the control of local government in Ireland. Initial attempts to develop a comprehensive national environmental policy within a strategic framework in the early 1980s were unsuccessful and put in abeyance until the publication of First Environmental Action Programme in 1990. The key commitments of the 1990 policy programme included: sustainable development, the precautionary principle and the integration of environmental considerations into all policy areas. The result of the policy programme and the obligations placed on the Irish government due to membership of the European Union, and the adoption of Agenda 21 has caused substantial development and change in the institutional landscape governing environmental issues in Ireland. The basic structural relationship in Ireland between the central government and local government in respect of environmental policy, places primary responsibility with the Minister for Environment and Local Government. However, the responsibility for implementation is placed on the local authorities (County Councils, Borough Corporations [municipalities] etc.). Since formation in 1993, the Irish Environmental Protection Agency has been given regulatory and enforcement powers in relation to environmental protection (McGowen 1999: 168). Since 1995, Ireland’s obligations under Agenda 21 have increasingly begun to have a structuring effect on the nature and institutions of national environmental policy. 41 However, it is probably more accurate to say that sustainable development in Ireland is still undergoing a stage of institution-building rather than institutionalisation (Mullally 1998 1999). In 1995 a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Sustainable Development was established in anticipation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, eventually published in 199721. The National Strategy for Ireland as well as laying out strategic directions for various economic sectors, including tourism has also created new co-ordinating structures like the “National Partnership for Sustainable Development”. The Strategy has also emphasised the importance of the role of the local level in implementing sustainable development through Local Agenda 21. At the moment these structures are limited in the degree of influence that they can bring to bear on the question of sustainable tourism. In spite of recent developments, the experience of Local Agenda 21 is not as embedded as in countries like Sweden and Finland. Rather, its pattern is somewhat closer to the experience in the Southern countries in the EMPOST study, that is, mobilisation by a handful of individual local authorities. Equally, although the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development has recently highlighted tourism as a critical issue for sustainable development it is not among the priorities for the working programme of the National Sustainable Development Partnership from 1999–2002. Until now the mechanisms for multi-actor co-ordination within the larger policy context of partnership for sustainable development are insufficiently elaborated to integrate the existing activities of sustainable tourism networks. However, the concept of sustainable tourism has begun to appear with more frequency in relation to tourism policy in Ireland. In spite of the fact that the 1997 “Tourism and the Environment” report notes that tourism is a relatively modest contributor to pollution it also stresses that tourism, more than any other sector is dependent on nature and the quality of the environment. The tourism-environment interface has been recognised as important since the formation of the National Tourism Board (Bord Failte) in 1952. The national tourism board’s role in conservation was also recognised by the fact that it is a prescribed body under the 1963 Local Government Planning and Development Act. National Tourism policy is essentially the responsibility of the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation and is implemented by the State 21 The ‘Joint Oireachtas Committee’ is a committee drawn from the lower and upper houses of parliament. Chief among the priorities assigned to the Committee was to investigate “measures designed to maximise the advantage to Ireland of environmentally sustainable sectoral policies” (Pepper, 1999: 7). Significantly, the 1997 report of the Committee recommended that Irish hotels should follow the Finnish model. 42 Sponsored Bodies and executive agencies under its control. While a number of other government departments are implicated in the public management of tourism, for example, Marine, Environment etc., it is the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, responsible for national heritage policy that converges substantially with tourism issues. Bord Failte is the main statutory body for tourism (the Irish Tourist Board has recently become active on an all Ireland basis), after a major restructuring in 1994, it has become responsible for the sales, marketing, and product development functions of Irish tourism. The administration of the Tidy Towns competition, which had previously been an important aspect of the Boards environmental function, has recently passed to the Department of the Environment and Local Government. The principle point of contact for the tourism industry at local and regional level are the six Regional Tourism Authorities and Shannon Development which offer annual membership to the tourism industry and local authorities and provide services in the areas of marketing and development of the tourism authorities. In recent years, one of the principle environmental issues relating to tourism has been the problem of litter and conversely tourism impacts are increasingly being identified in terms of increased pressure on basic environmental infrastructure, for example, roads, sewage treatment, water etc. However, there is also an increasing recognition that tourism and tourism development (often supported by government investment in tourism infrastructure) like golf courses is placing pressure on sensitive ecosystems and threatening biodiversity (Stapleton, Lehane and Toner 2000). The discourse of sustainable tourism began to make an increasingly practical impact on the Irish tourism policy from 1994 onwards. Bord Failte’s development plan (1994–1999): “Developing Sustainable Tourism” argued for a policy of sustainable tourism development that would “leave the physical and social environment undiminished, and ideally enhanced for future enjoyment”. The “‘Operational Programme for Tourism (1994–1999)” allocated IR£2.5 million for twenty pilot “Tourism and Environment” projects. The purpose of these projects was to demonstrate: “how particular problems affecting tourism and the environment might be dealt with, thus supporting tourism development while at the same time sustaining the environment on which it is based” (Stapleton, Lehane and Toner, 2000: 235). This includes projects to measure carrying capacity, visitor management, the exploration of new tourism routes and access control measurements to sensitive locations. Apart from their local significance, these projects are to be used to measure, correct and revise sustainable tourism programmes in the future (Stapleton, Lehane and Toner, 2000: 43 208). In this respect, the intention to move closer to models such as those used in the Finnish case are indicated but not yet in an implementation phase. Despite the fact that the Joint Committee Report on Sustainable Development identified sustainable tourism as a source of future competitive advantage, it also recognised that resolving the environmental problems associated with tourism is not the responsibility of the tourism authorities. They require coordination with local, nation and regional authorities (1997: 58-63). The publication of “Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland” in 1997 placed sustainable tourism development in the larger strategic framework of the national sustainable development plan. However, despite the growing promise of a more co-ordinated and integrated approach, there is still a substantial lag between policy and performance. For example innovations such as the BEATHA tourism quality mark in the West of Ireland and incremental moves in the hotel sector towards Environmental Management Systems, or integration with local sustainability initiatives, for example, LA21 have yet to impact on the actions towards sustainable tourism by the Irish networks studied. Greece Greece is one of the few countries with a constitutional provision placing responsibility on the state for the protection of the natural and cultural environment. Spanou contends that in the Greek context, environmental policy can be traced back to an amendment to the Constitution of 1975. However, in keeping with the broader European experience, Greece does have a longer history of basic environmental legislation. Despite this constitutional provision for environmental protection, by 1980, environmental units existed with fifteen different ministries (Spanou, 1998: 116). In 1980 a new Ministry of Environment, Physical and Town Planning was created, however, its competence was limited to basic responsibilities that did not conflict with the environmental services of other ministries. In 1985 this was rationalised somewhat through the formation of the current Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works (YPHODE) and in 1986 the first regulatory framework (On the Protection of the Environment) for environmental protection was passed in the Greek parliament (Ruzza and Fotiou 1998). Although Greece is a signatory to the Rio Convention, there is no national plan or commission for sustainable development. According to Fousekis and Lekakis the view within YPHODE is that the national strategy is the EU Fifth Action Programme on the 44 Environment (1997: 137). Yet as Hatziantonou22 recognises, Greece has one of the poorest records of enforcing environmental regulations in the EU. Tourism has a long history in Greece, however, tourism development began in earnest after the Second World War. The National Tourism Organisation of Greece (NTOG) was founded in 1953 and has continued in various roles as an important actor in tourism development. Throughout most of its history, the NTOG has been part of the Ministry of National Economy, however, for a brief period from 1987–1996 the NTOG was upgraded into an autonomous Ministry of Tourism, but was eventually reintegrated into the Ministry of Development. Between 1996 and 1997, there was the creation of a national, broadly-based deliberative forum on tourism development, however, this ‘National Council of Tourism’ ceased to exist in 1997. Up to the late 1960s, the emphasis of the NTOG was on a substantial public investment programme in tourism to stimulate interest from private investors. From the late sixties to the mid-1970s tourism was identified as a key sector in regional development. Ruzza and Fotiou note that while the attraction of foreign currency was a primary goal for the emphasis on tourism, a secondary goal was: “the use of tourism to a major extent for the promotion of the general development policy and the parallel protection of the natural environment and of tourist values” (1998: 24). By the end of the 1980s there was a shift towards re-orienting policy towards an emphasis on quality tourism, which Pridham argues opened the way for environmental considerations. The Greek National Operational Programme for Tourism (Tourism – Culture) adopted in 1995 is the current blueprint for the future development of tourism. Significantly, the plan details the need to develop alternative types of tourism including eco-tourism as well as the protection of environmentally significant places, for example, marine and wildlife parks. Despite the emphasis of the Operational Programme, there is no overarching national strategy for sustainable tourism, rather, as Pridham notes, the emphasis has been on focused projects. He goes on to note that while the concept of sustainable tourism was more favourably received in policy circles, sustainable tourism projects tend to come from local initiative: “The growing extent to which local initiatives are taken over tourism is significant. This was already the case before the EAP [Environment Action Programme] and reflected 22 See the description of Greece earlier in this chapter. 45 sensitisation of local authorities to the impact of degradation on tourism prospects in the area. These initiatives were often linked to seeking EU funding, for which the more dynamic mayors established direct contact with relevant personnel in Brussels” (1999: 112). Therefore, the national approach to sustainable tourism is, according to Ruzza and Fitiou, a matter of incorporating environmental principles into tourism discourse as part of a broader project of upgrading the quality of the tourist product to increase its competitive advantage in the world market (1998: 31). Fousekis and Lekakis, however, question the capacity of YPHODE to implement sustainable development because of sectoral fragmentation and the lack of inter-ministerial co-ordination mechanisms. In terms of horizontal co-ordination, the types of broadly-based consultative bodies visible in Sweden and Finland may prove more difficult to achieve. In Greece the perception of the role of NGOs is confined to the development of environmental awareness and social mobilisation rather than participation in policy making (Spanou, 1998: 124). Hatziantoniou also notes problems of vertical coordination, including difficulties regarding information dissemination through various sectors, particularly tourism, and the limited training of local authorities as barriers to the sustainable development of tourism. Spain Although Spain has a history of “natural parks” dating back to 1916, there seems to be a general consensus that the evolution of contemporary environmental policy can be traced back to the Constitution of 1978 (Font and Morata 1998, Pridham 1999). Significantly, the Constitution is also the source of the political and administrative structure that established the “state of the autonomies”, which makes Spain a decentralised State. The first attempt to bring together fields of environmental responsibility was in 1971 in the preparation for the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. This resulted in the formation of the Inter-ministerial Committee for the Improvement of the Environment. Also in 1971, the National Institute for Nature Conservation was established in the Ministry of Agriculture. However, Spain only recently established a single Ministry for the Environment in 1996. Responsibility for environmental protection is distributed among different levels. The central administration has responsibility for legislation, planning and the co-ordination of policy. The Autonomous Communities are responsible for developing and implementing environmental policies and the municipalities for the provision of environmental services (waste, water etc.). Font, Gomilla and Subirats argue that the development of the 46 environmental policy field is closely linked to membership of the European Union. While the formation of the Ministry of the Environment generated increased expectations of environmental performance, they argue that the Ministry lacked the capacity to design a national environmental plan or to design a national strategy for sustainable development. Spain, like Greece, has no overarching national sustainable development strategy or national commission for sustainability. Morata and Font (1998) argue that the de-centralised administrative structure in Spain has led to a great degree of complexity in environmental protection in general. This is “due to the pattern of allocation of responsibilities and competencies to the different levels of regional authorities, the development of environmental administration has not taken place in a uniform way throughout the country”. The inter-relationship between tourism and the environment has been an ongoing concern in Spain. Pridham (1999) and Ruzza and Fotiou (1998) argue that the discussion of sustainable development emerging from Rio and from the EU Environmental Action Programme, merely added an external stimulus to developments that had already begun for economic and cultural reasons because of the growing threat to tourism from environmental problems. The concept of sustainability was integrated into tourism rather late but has been introduced progressively throughout the 1990s. Since its expantion in the 1960s, tourism has been a critically important sector and it remains a significant sector in the Spanish economy. Consequently in 1998, the Directorate General for Tourism within the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Inland Revenue and the Ministry of the Environment signed an agreement to develop a “Sustainable Tourism Programme”. The Programme contains several specific sub-programmes: Tourism and Planning, Tourism and Environmental Management, Tourism and Protected Natural Areas, Training in Sustainable Tourism. The sub-programme “Tourism and Environmental Management” is basically aimed at encouraging the tourist industry to incorporate EMSs and become more environmentally efficient. While this recent response at the national level is encouraging, Pridham notes that the response in Spain has been more pronounced in the mobilization of local interests through regional and municipal initiatives when the prospects for tourism are threatened by degradation (1999: 111). 47 Table 2.3 Sustainable tourism and sustainable development in context of the focal countries contained in this research project Country National Tourism Development National Sustainable Tourism Strategy Finland Dispersed through Multiple Ministries Finnish Tourist Board ‘Sustainable Tourism: The Challenge of the 1990s for Finnish Tourism’ (1993) (Co-ordination and Implementation for Tourism Polices in the Ministry for Trade and Industry) National Environmental Policy Ministry of the Environment (1983) National Sustainable Development Strategy 1987 ‘Finnish National Commission for Environment and Development’ in Response to Brundtland 1990 Official response ‘Sustainable Development and Finland’ Finnish Tourism Board (Promotion and Marketing) 1993 National Commission on Sustainable Development Sweden Swedish Tourist Authority (Policy and Strategy) Swedish Tourism Council (Promotion and Marketing) Ireland Swedish Travel and Tourism Federation (Industry Interest) Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation (National Policy) Irish Tourism Board (Bord Failte), (Sales, Promotion, Marketing) Greece Regional Tourism Authorities (Marketing and Development of Regional Tourism) 1954 National Tourism Organisation of Greece 1986 Ministry of Development Committee for Environmental Control on Sustainable Tourism (Miljövårdsberedningen) (1994) Irish Tourism Board ‘Developing Sustainable Tourism’ 1994-1999 Operational Programme for Tourism ‘Tourism and the Environment Initiative’ [implemented 1998] No overall plan for Sustainable Tourism but Operational Plan for Tourism does speak about Alternative Tourism 1993 Support for Ecolabels and EMAS by YPHODE Spain Autonomous Government of the Balearic Islands Ecotour Initiative 1998 ‘Sustainable Tourism Programme’ 1968 Swedish EPA 1987 Swedish Environment Ministry 1978 Department of the Environment 1990 An Action Programme for the Environment 1998 Finnish Programme for Sustainable Development 1993 Strategy Document for a Sustainable Society 1997 Delegation for Ecologically Sustainable Development 1997 Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland 1999 Comhar: The National Sustainable Development Forum 1993 Environment Protection Agency 1975 Article 24 Greek Constitution No overall Sustainable Development Strategy or Council 1980 Ministry for the Environment, Physical and Town Planning 1985 Formation of the Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning & Public Works (YPHODE) 1986 Ministry for the Environment No overall sustainable development strategy or committee 48 3 Research design and methodology In this chapter, the research approach and methodology will be discussed. The research problem of EMPOST-NET project was exploratory. There was little previous knowledge about multi-actor cross-sectoral networks aiming at sustainable development. This condition guided our methodological choices. The chapter begins by introducing the main research problem with its subquestions. We then turn to data collection and analysis. In the analysis section we explain, in detail, the analysis procedure since we applied software for qualitative data, putting all interview data from the five countries in the same data base, in order to make it accessible to the whole research team. This solution entails certain novelties that may serve as an example to other international research teams dealing with qualitative data. We aimed at making different country data sets as comparable as possible, with the limitation that their originality would not be harmed. In the end of this chapter we assess the soundness of the research with regard to methodological solutions, reliability and validity. 3.1 Grounded theory approach The principal reason for us to let the conceptions of sustainability emerge from the data is that we wanted to explore how the actors in the field, who are the ones that should take action toward sustainability, perceive this imperative and act upon it. The area is underresearched and the relevant variables were not known. Therefore, the choice was made to apply qualitative research methodology (Miles and Huberman 1984; Silverman 1993; cf. Bartunek 1984; Dutton and Dukerich 1991) based on the grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss 1967). Grounded theory is suitable for settings like this one, where there is little previous knowledge about the phenomenon (multi-stakeholder networks that seek to advance sustainable development within the tourism field). This approach is based upon the premise that the new theory is grounded in data; we did not decide upon theories or models in advance, but rather we sought, during and after data collection, those theories that seemed most appropriate for understanding sustainability networks within the tourism area. When starting the research, we had a pre-understanding of the topic – emergence of partnerships within the field of tourism to enhance sustainability – but we did not want to impose our predispositions on the data. Data and theory were 49 generated at the same time, that is, during and after the data collection process we sought explanation from theories that seemed most appropriate to explaining the phenomenon. 3.2 Research problem Our main research priority was to investigate what kind of initiatives are being taken by multiple actors jointly in the field of tourism in order to take the field toward sustainable development. The concept of network appeared to lend itself best for the purpose of studying multiple actors’ joint efforts. As is typical for the grounded theory approach, the separate research questions became sharpened as we began to understand the crucial areas of attention regarding networks and sustainable tourism. Eventually, the main problem was divided into the following research questions: 1. What is sustainable development for different tourism networks? How is sustainable development understood and interpreted in these networks? 2. How do network actors, at the practical level, implement sustainable development? 3. Why do networks engage in activities towards sustainable development? 4. How do networks learn to work for sustainable development? 5. How does the quality of the network relate to the quality of its sustainable development outcomes? 6. Which factors lead networks to either success or failure in their efforts toward sustainable development? 7. How can the development of sustainable development networks be assisted by policy instruments under different conditions? 3.3 3.3.1 ! How can policy makers in the EU and regional/local levels assist in the establishment of networks that are striving towards sustainable development? ! What kind of self-regulation can the tourism industry practice towards sustainable development? Methodology Data collection We chose to study nine networks that consist of multiple participants both from public and private sectors of society. The criterion for choosing the networks was that they should be 50 aiming at enhancing sustainable development with respect to one or more of its dimensions: environmental, social, cultural and economic (WCED 1987).23 The selection of the investigated networks was based on the so-called maximising principle developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967). According to this principle, certain differences between the comparison groups are maximised. In the present study, these differences in the selection stage were whether the network is formal or informal, local or dispersed, or whether it has sustainability as its primary or secondary goal: a) Formality. The network is formal if it sees itself as a group and network members recognise that they belong to the respective group. The network is informal when there is no organisation in the way it operates and when the members do not consider themselves as belonging to the network. b) Geographical dispersion. The networks are either dispersed or local. In the local networks ♦ the majority of the actors are located in a restricted geographical area; ♦ they often belong to the same administrative zone or have the common area management and consequently follow the same regulative rules; ♦ they often share the same infrastructure. In the dispersed networks, ♦ actors are spread over a large geographical area; ♦ there are contacts among actors, which are characterised by information exchange, training, common policy and strategy. c) Sustainable development goals. In the sample networks, there are those whose primary goal is some dimension of sustainability as well as networks that were originally established for another purpose, but who have incorporated the goal of enhancing sustainability in their agenda (sustainability as a secondary goal). 23 Some of them like Calvià, Kinsale and YSMEK were recognised as pioneer networks in their national context. 51 Since the focal networks are from five different countries, we utilise the different national cultures and government environmental policies on network operations as a point of comparison. The goal, however, was not comparison as such. Rather, comparison was used for the purposes of identifying which characteristics of sustainability are worthy of further investigation. By comparing the networks to one another, data were generated about practical models and solutions for networking for sustainability. Semi-structured interviews of the network participants as well as documentation were used as the source of data. We interviewed 163 network members (Table 3.1), mainly during the period of spring 1998 – summer 1999. Interviews lasted from one to three hours and they were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded. Some respondents were interviewed more than once. In order to assess how different actors participate and perceive the network and the concept of sustainable development, we interviewed different types of members from the networks: authorities, business representatives, NGO actors, etc. In the Finnish networks and in the Sälen case, we also chose passive participants in addition to the active ones (that would most often be named by others as the ones that should be interviewed), and the so-called “needed members”.24 Analysed documents included educational and informational material published by networks, for example, brochures, leaflets, guidelines or guidebooks. Table 3.1 Number of interviews per network Network Alcúdia Calvià Ecotur* Finnland Natürlich Hidden Ireland Kinsale Molivos Åre Sälen YSMEK Total No. of interviews 11 13 16 23 10 15 17 22 17 19 163 * Ecotur is a pilot programme co-ordinated by regional authorities at Balearic islands. It co-operates within both the Alcúdia and Calvià networks, design to develop the destinations and its tourism facilities in a more environmentally sound direction. 24 ‘Needed member’ refers to an actor that network members refer to as a person or an organization that would be needed in order to conduct a certain network task. 52 3.3.2 Data analysis An international data and a research team consisting of five nationalities posed particular challenges to the data analysis. These challenges arose from: (1) multiple languages making parts of the data inaccessible to other members; (2) different logic based on different disciplinary and national backgrounds of the team members; (3) long distances which made it impossible to meet to develop the analysis on a continuous basis and; (4) the fact that all networks are somewhat different from each other, making it impossible to utilise the same analytical categories throughout the networks. We made considerable efforts to overcome these challenges. Our goal was to be sufficiently rigorous to avoid the pitfall of writing five separate country analyses with a shallow joint introduction, but yet allow flexibility to each country team to avoid the danger of forcing the data. Therefore, the data gathering and analysis procedures were harmonised to an optimal extent. As to the steps of harmonisation, in the inaugural meeting in Ireland, we drafted the preliminary interview themes and questions, and conducted test interviews with four members of the Kinsale network in Ireland. On the basis of the test interviews, we modified the questions. The set of interview themes and questions is presented in Appendix 1. We used a software package for assisting the analysis of data (see Tesch 1990; NUD*IST user guide 1996). In NUD*IST, the software we applied, transcribed interviews are indexed within the analysis program, which also allows a multitude of analyses to be conducted. In the beginning of the EMPOST-NET project, a researcher from each country participated in an international course on the NUD*IST software use. In questions regarding multilanguage data, we also received personal consultation from Dr. Lynn Richards, the developer of the software. After the project had proceeded for six months, we had a meeting regarding the preliminary coding scheme. After a discursive process of two days, we agreed upon the common coding tree.25 We also decided upon a policy where each research team would have an opportunity to add a separate “branch” to the coding tree, that is, individualised codes that described the respective team’s focal network. In order to import a code from the “individualised branch” 25 A coding tree refers to a set of main codes with layers of subcodes. 53 to the common tree, at least two members would have to support the codes, that is, consider it meaningful in his/her data set. The individual country projects were kept separate until the interviews had been conducted. In other words, each partner was only working with his/her own data set. After sixteen months had passed, we merged the data. This means that we used a special operation in the NUD*IST software called “Merge”, which merged separate projects together. After the merge operation, we had 22 main coding categories with secondary categories, a total of 450 codes (Appendix 2). Some of these categories were obviously more important than others, and some were irrelevant for the final analysis and could have been removed as redundant. The richest coding categories are “value-added”, “future”, “sustainability”, “barriers” and “success factors”. “Value-added” category contains statements about the contribution of the network to the person, to the business firm s/he represents, to the region, or to the network. “Future” code indexes the statement where the respondents speak about suggestions for future orientation of the network, or norms or expectations of how the network should function in the future. “Sustainability” refers to statements where the interviewee talks about some issue that relates to environmental, social, cultural or economic issues.26 However, after merging the data, a major question still remained. When dealing with qualitative data (speech and written text), we would need to understand the contents of other countries’ data. The Irish and Swedish data were gathered in English, so they were accessible to everyone, but the Finnish, Greek and Spanish data were accessible to those whose language abilities included these languages. As we did not have funds to translate all interviews, a compromise solution was formulated. Two interviews per network and statements out of the ten most important coding categories were to be translated into English.27 It should be mentioned here that within the EMPOST-NET project, a method was developed with which it was possible to deal with the Greek alphabet in NUD*IST. Namely, it was 26 The respondents did not usually mention the specific term of sustainability. They used their own language reflecting their reality. The interpretations lie with the researchers. 27 This principle was applied slightly differently by the project partners. Four Finnish interviews and most illustrative parts of ten categories were translated. From the Spanish data, two interviews and five categories, and from the Greek data, contents of eight codes were translated into English. 54 impossible to insert text with Greek to the software. The Greek interviews were converted with GW-BASIC programming language into the Latin alphabet in order to be inserted to NUD*IST, thus allowing it to be analysed similarly with the other countries’ data.28 3.4 Soundness of the research In the following section we address the soundness of the EMPOST-NET research process from three perspectives. First, we assess the methodological solutions against our own plans and aspirations. After that we will discuss reliability and, finally, validity of the study. 3.4.1 Assessing the methodological solutions We found that joint reformulation of interview themes and questions helped us to harmonise the data to a fairly great extent. Joint coding schemes assisted further in this task and also facilitated the creation of a common language for researchers coming from the fields of engineering, sociology, management, economics and environmental science. However, there were also instances were the methodological quality of the study could have been improved. One of these was the analysis procedure. Our plan was to develop the analysis with the assistance of the coding throughout the project, following the advice of Dr. Richards.29 As the team members could only meet every six months, the intention was to electronically discuss new findings, thoughts, and coding scheme development. For this purpose we created a web page.30 The web site provided a discussion platform for both intra-team and external purposes. During the most intense six months of interviewing and coding, the discussion was fairly active, but then the activity decreased. It was typical that before the meetings, discussion increased for a while, but did not flow on a continuous basis. We noticed that it was difficult to discuss the finesses of the analysess by e-mail or web site, so we needed to think of alternative solutions for conducting the analyses. 28 In detail, the process was: (a) Open the file with the interview written in original Greek characters ("text MS-DOS" form). (b) Read each character of the text and recognise its ASCII code number. (c) Then, through a converter matrix, the ASCII code of the Greek character was related to the Latin character that satisfies transmission to "Greeklish". (d) Create a new "*.txt" file where the text of the interview can be reconstructed by inputting the "Greeklish" version of the characters in the same order they were lined up in the original Greek interview. 29 A qualitative sociologist and the NUD*IST software developer. 30 http://www.web.ndirect.co.uk/empostnet/ 55 We knew that comparison of the different country data against each other would be the most fruitful source of findings. We decided to initiate a series of bilateral meetings in order to address the issue of quality control. The meetings made it possible to contrast data sets by discussing the data intensively. Altogether, we conducted four bilateral meetings.31 After each meeting, a memorandum was prepared to ensure availability of the main results to the other team members. As a result of these bilateral meetings, the final framework for the study (Chapter 1), a number of initial propositions, and 12 elements for building archetypes of sustainability network, emerged. The latter ones, the elements, are presented (see Table 3.2), as they do not appear elsewhere in the report. These elements were based on comparison of the networks against each other. The elements provide a continuum where a network can be roughly located between two extremes. From the original three strategic differences between sustainability networks, we developed the following set: The network’s actions that fall between community and business level can be presented graphically in a following way: Community level ------x---------------- business enterprise level Table 3.2 Elements for building archetypes of the nine tourism networks studied in this project ! Environmental protection toward: natural environment vs. built environment ! Actions lie at: community-level vs. business enterprise (organisation) level ! Sustainable development is primary vs. secondary goal ! Main network orientation is action vs. discussion/planning ! Involvement of important parties: involved – invited but do not come – not involved ! Choice of the issues on the network agenda occurs with: a top-down vs. bottom-up manner ! Sources of initiatives: one vs. many ! Core group’s role: facilitating vs. implementing ! Consensus of the vision: one view vs. multiple views/visions ! Association of members with the network in general – sense of belonging: high vs. low ! Initiation of the network: top-down vs. bottom-up initiation ! Municipality steered vs. spontaneous community origin 31 Finland-Sweden, Spain-Finland-Sweden, Sweden-Greece and Ireland-Finland. 56 To conclude, we succeeded in utilising the comparative opportunities provided by the international data due to the groundwork that was laid in the preparatory stages of the project and due to the fact that we applied a unified tool for analysis. However, we did not manage to utilise the whole capacity of opportunities, and therefore some of the partners intend to continue working with EMPOST-NET data after the completion of the project and will subsequently publish the results in scientific journals. 3.4.2 Reliability Like any research, the soundness of a qualitative study is evaluated in terms of the reliability and validity of its observations. Reliability is typically defined as the extent to which a research procedure yields the same result, however and whenever it is performed. For a qualitative study, where the context of the phenomenon is crucial and does not assume an unchanging universe where a study could be replicated, the above criteria are disputable. Rather, the questions to ask are: ‘how can we be reasonably sure that the findings would be replicated if the study was conducted with the same participants in the same context, and how can we be sure that the findings are reflective of the subjects and the inquiry itself rather than the product of biases and prejudices on the part of the researcher (Marshall and Rossman 1989)?’. There are different methods to assess the reliability of the different steps of a qualitative study: testing the interview schedules, the actual interviewing, documentation, and analysis. We did pre-testing of the interview schedules in Ireland, with four members of the Kinsale network. In addition, each country team adjusted the interview formula after the first interviews. We also conducted training for interviewing in the start-up meeting at the very beginning of the project. As for documentation, the interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. As to the analysis, the interview questions/themes, comprised the coding scheme. The list of interviewees is provided in Appendices 1, 2, and 3. Like interview transcripts, they are thus retrievable to researchers who wish to analyse the data. As to the reliability of the analysis, we intended to use a form of inter-rater reliability technique where the members of the research team would have cross-coded their data. However, this was not conducted systematically but only with parts of some interviews. The function of cross-coding was, to some extent, filled with extensive discussions about the meaning and contents of the most important concepts and coding categories in each meeting, and via e-mail. Often, these discussions led us to new perspectives of the data. 57 Abundant interview quotations are provided in chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7. First, quotations give a flavour to the data and an idea of the language used. Second, we found frequent citations the only, even though insufficient, means of alleviating the weakness, in that excerpts will only partially depict the data. Even though the use of quotations is deemed to be a good source of reliability, the procedure does involve ethical concerns pertaining to the identity of the respondent. Since the real names of the networks are given and the group of respondents is limited, it is fairly easy to recognise some of these persons on the basis of the organisational position that is provided with the quotation. Statements or document excerpts that might have a negative impact on personal relationships within the network are never quoted in the form that would make the respondent recognisable. In other words, in connection to a delicate citation, the organisational position of the respondent is expressed in a form that makes her or him unrecognisable.32 3.4.3 Validation scheme Validity, on the other hand, is the extent to which the research gives correct answers (Silverman 1993: 145). As with reliability, assessing the validity of a qualitative study differs somewhat from the techniques employed in a quantitative study. To address the internal validity of a qualitative study, we ought to ask how truthful the particular findings of the study are. According to Marshall and Rossman (1989), a qualitative study that explores a problem or describes a setting, a process, or a pattern of interaction, will derive its (internal) validity from the embeddedness of the data in the setting it studies. Within the parameters of that setting and within the theoretical framework, the research will be valid. The setting of the present study was described in Chapter 2. Furthermore, respondent validation was utilised as a means of assessing the internal validity of the study. By the end of the research project, the Finnish, Greek and Swedish teams had held feedback seminars for their network members, where the main findings of the EMPOST-NET project were presented. Although not everyone considers respondent validation appropriate for direct validation, it is, at the very least, another source of data (Silverman 1993: 159). However, when respondents confirm the ‘truth value’ of the findings regarding their network, we can also be reasonably certain that the results are not erroneous or strongly reflective of a researcher's bias. 32 E.g. instead of ‘a hotel owner’ we term the quotation as coming from a ‘business person’, which makes the respondent unrecognisable. 58 It is more difficult to assess the external validity of the present study, that is, generalisability of the findings to other settings, than to appraise the internal validity. To some extent, external validity is achieved by showing the concepts and models by which the data collection was guided. This study has ties to studies from business networks, social network theory, theories on inter-organisational learning, sustainable tourism studies and recent studies on partnerships for sustainability. In addition, the outcomes and practical actions are contrasted toward guidelines of WTTC and OECD about sustainable tourism. These provide at least a potential avenue for generalising some notions for future studies. Triangulation is sometimes suggested as an appropriate form of validation (Silverman 1993 156; Miles and Huberman 1984: 234). It involves using multiple methods and data sources for the same phenomenon (Miles and Huberman 1984: 234-235). One means of triangulation is the use of multiple case studies, as is done here. This study involves nine case networks, which provides us the opportunity of comparing different models for organising sustainable development within tourism, as well as making it possible to see in which way the contextual factors effect the network formation, choice of a goal, the interaction process and enactment of sustainability. The opportunity for triangulation was utilised to a greater extent with respect to multiple information and data sources. The main sources of data were interviews with network members. Participants from different parts, functions or groupings within networks were interviewed. The group of respondents included deviating informants as well. Their accounts are included in the analysis sections. In addition, all researchers of the team have worked with other tourism projects either in the practical arena or in research terms before and during the EMPOST-NET project. This has given the opportunity of contrasting the present findings to an overall picture of what is happening in the field of sustainable tourism. A number of us also work with a variety of environmental management tools and policies in other contexts. That provided the team with a triangulative mirror, which helped to evaluate and innovate the sustainability approaches and tools in the tourism field. Another, even if partial, data source, through which we have been able to triangulate our evidence, has been visits to the network locations as a team.33 33 This was done in Kinsale, Mallorca, Molivos and in a tourism destination in the Finnish Lapland. 59 4 Understanding sustainable development in nine tourism networks in Europe This chapter is primarily concerned with ‘how sustainable development is understood and interpreted’ in nine tourism networks in five European countries. The chapter begins with a brief discussion on a range of potential models for sustainable tourism identified by Coccossis (1996). Using Coccosis’s framework as a departure point, the principle argument is that most of the networks in the EMPOST-NET study are focused on ‘ensuring the long term viability of tourism by recognising the need to protect aspects of the environment’. In other words, the principle emphasis is on sustainable tourism development rather than sustainable development per se. That said, particular networks have engaged to a greater or lesser degree with the more holistic and integrative thrust of the wider concept of sustainable development with varying degrees of emphasis. The chapter begins by: [1] briefly outlining Coccossis’s framework of understandings of sustainable tourism as a stepping stone to a wider discussion of the meaning of sustainable tourism in the networks in the EMPOST project. In order to situate the emergent models of sustainable tourism the analysis proceeds by: [2] outlining the nature and primary purpose of the nine networks. Although, sustainable tourism is not the primary purpose of all of networks, connections are made between different dimensions of sustainability and tourism development. In order to determine where the emphasis lies, we focus on [3] the conceptual and practical understanding of environmental, socio-cultural and economic dimensions of sustainability in the nine networks. 4.1 Models of sustainable tourism As a concept, sustainable tourism has evolved in parallel to the related concept of sustainable development (Pridham 1999: 99). Sustainable tourism recognises the critical role of tourism for the development of certain areas (e.g. local, regional etc.), but incorporates the qualification that tourism growth must sustain the resource base on which it depends. Furthermore, it must reduce tensions ‘created by the complex interaction between the tourism industry, visitors, the environment and the communities which serve as hosts to holiday makers (ibid.). Pridham goes on to note that the concept of sustainable tourism, specifically the centricity of tourism, is heavily contested since it may not always conform to 60 the general concerns of sustainable development34. Coccossis (1996) provides a differentiated model of sustainable tourism that attempts to capture the variable emphases animating the concept. There are four principle interpretations in Coccossis’s schema. The first is basically a sectoral interpretation where the basic goal is the viability of tourist activity. This interpretation is basically in line with the economic sustainability of tourism where the primary emphasis is on ‘strengthening, upgrading, and even differentiation of the tourist product’ (1996: 8). The second interpretation is based on ‘ecology as a socio-cultural and political viewpoint’ which stresses the need for ecologically sustainable tourism. The third interpretation is somewhat of a synthetic development of the two previous interpretations in that it emphasises the need to ensure the long-term economic viability of the tourist activity while recognising the need to protect certain aspects of the environment. The interpretation here is one of sustainable tourism development where according to Coccossis ‘protection extends over those dimensions of environmental quality which are directly involved in the development and marketing of the tourism product’. The final approach is tourism as part of a strategy for sustainable development where he argues that sustainability is defined on the basis of the entire human/ environment system. The difference here is that ‘tourism policies are integrated with social economic and environmental policies but do not precede them’ (Coccossis 1996: 9). The majority of the networks considered in the EMPOST study, gravitate, in varying degrees, towards a model of sustainable tourism development with the exception of Calvià, which explicitly operates within a model of sustainable development through Local Agenda 21. 4.2 Situating the networks An important consideration in the EMPOST project is the utility of ‘the network’ as a form of organization for dealing with the issue of sustainability in tourism. The generic interpretations presented by Coccossis can be usefully projected onto our networks to suggest the emergence of a paradigm of sustainable tourism, however, there are substantial differences in how these understandings are constructed and the underlying social commitments that they reveal. The nine networks in the study have varying structural, cultural and institutional bases and encompass a range of inter-organisational relationships 34 For a recent summary of the critique of the concept of sustainable tourism see Welford, Ytterhus and Eligh (1999). For a good summary of the concept of ‘sustainable development’ see Meadowcroft (2000). 61 in different national contexts. Ebers (1999b) argues that inter-organizational relationships are subject to inherent development dynamics whose evolution is driven by three processes of learning; understanding, revaluation and adjustment. He elaborates a theoretical framework wherein feedback loops are created between motives for engaging in networks, the preconditions and contingencies of forming these relationships and the content, institutional forms and outcomes of these relationships. The principal emphasis in this section is, however, on the process of understanding sustainability in the networks. This must also be conceived as a dynamic concept that evolves and mutates under specific contextual conditions, presenting a range of opportunities and choices as well as constraints. The nexus of tourism and environment can be traced back to the conservation movement of the late 19th and early 20th century, however, developments in environmental policy discourse moving into the new millennium have substantially recast the debate. What this means is that the emerging paradigm of sustainable tourism can encompass a wide variety of visions of environmental sustainability from old style conservation, to an administrative state response to environmental protection to environmental management. 4.2.1 Exploring the contours of the networks To begin with, we need to consider the composition, origin and purpose and to tentatively explore the factors underlying the growing orientation of the networks towards sustainable tourism in order to create a picture of the networks in the EMPOST study. It is important, at the outset to state that there is a high degree of variation regarding the EMPOST networks. Until now we have operated with binary distinctions based on the primary social base making up the networks i.e. a generic distinction between business and community networks, or the scale of resolution at which they operate i.e. whether they are local or dispersed. In practice, our networks are far more complex since they contain a combination of public and private actors in different formations, a variety of emphases regarding the modes of environmental management a constellation of identities that are not always linked to their primary purpose. A diversity of structural forms It is clear that the diverse combination of structural elements such as membership mix, leadership and co-ordination in our networks presents a highly differentiated picture. A more 62 detailed description of the structural elements is given in chapter 2 (section 2.2) and 7 (section 7.2). Temporal origins Some of the networks predate the general dissemination of the idea of sustainable development. Kinsale and Molivos have existed and evolved over three or more decades. The Kinsale network is gradually being re-positioned within the context of sustainable tourism. Other local networks are far more recent and tend to reflect the emphases and methods of the post-Rio debate on environment and tourism e.g. Åre (Environmental Management Systems), Calvià, Sälen (LA21). Hidden Ireland was formed in 1987 and while there is a strong emphasis on the cultural and economic dimensions of tourism, the idea of sustainable tourism has not yet become embedded35. The dispersed networks in Finland, formed in the early to mid 1990s tend to emphasise environmental management, education and information dissemination. The purpose of network formation The original purpose of the networks is quite varied. Some of the networks were formed for a distinctively environmental purpose while others see the environment as increasingly instrumental to business or socio-economic development. Local networks like Kinsale and Molivos emerged as a response to the challenge of local socio-economic development in which tourism was identified as playing a central role. In this context the environment has gradually become more thematic as a means to an end. Recently, particularly in Kinsale, this has found a more pronounced expression as sustainable tourism in response to specific opportunities e.g. the European Environment and Tourism Prize36. Nevertheless, the primary purpose of the Kinsale Chamber of Tourism today is frequently characterised as a mechanism for the collective marketing of Kinsale as a destination. The purpose of the Molivos network is more difficult to discern because of its informal character and its evolution through a succession of manifest and latent phases. However, a progression from 35 The idea is, however, being used as a rhetorical device in lobbying by more prominent members of the network. 36 Generally speaking the language of sustainability is more readily used in the abstract in the policy discourse of public actors e.g. Kinsale UDC, Cork County Council, Cork – Kerry Tourism, Kinsale Harbour Board. When it is used directly by KCOT, it tends to be in connection with specific events like the European Prize and the international conference held in Kinsale. 63 an emphasis on socio-economic development with a strong emphasis on community through a concern with environmental protection (through regulation), to a more pronounced emphasis on environmental sustainability appears to underpin the current manifestation of the network. The designation of Alcúdia as an ‘Ecotourist Municipality conveys the intent ‘to protect the environment and preserve the natural and cultural heritage’ of Alcúdia. There is, however, some recognition of the broader concept of sustainable development among some of the networks’ members37. In practice the focus has been on the integration of environmental management at the level of tourism enterprises. Åre is an unusual case since the two principal networks (KSG as development of a specific action by AG) and the Village Development Group though linked appear to have distinct purposes. The former relates to environmental issues specifically through a waste management initiative the latter to democratic and social planning both of which are tied to the availability of specific funding. Sälen on the other hand is also unusual in the sense that its purpose is to build a network of tourism businesses to work with environmental issues but is co-ordinated within the framework of LA21. The choice of LA21 as an instrument appears from the outside to be unusual given that the Sälen is primarily a collection of businesses. Calvià on the other hand appears to have a far more integrated purpose. Formed in the context of LA21, the purpose of the Calvià network is to address all aspects of local development. Dispersed networks such as YSMEK, Finnland Natürlich and Hidden Ireland have variable purposes. YSMEK was established in order to create a network to improve environmental care in the Finnish tourism industry. Although the establishment of Environmental Management Systems has been among the network’s principal activities the primary emphasis of the network is one of information dissemination. In contrast the aim of Finnland Natürlich has been to raise the quality of rural tourism to enhance the marketability of the product. The purpose, however, is primarily the preservation of the rural Finnish way of life. The environmental emphasis appears to be linked very closely to the issue of quality, which to some extent has been addressed through environmental management. Hidden Irelands’ primary purpose is also the maintenance of a way of life. It emerged to ensure the economic viability of its members through both marketing and lobbying. However, it is underpinned by a desire to both valorise and thereby ensure the survival of ‘heritage homes’ 37 See the statement cited (Al.Buades, 293) 64 a specific aspect of Ireland’s cultural heritage that had been largely neglected within broader national tourism policy. The historical and institutional contingencies of network formation and development In each network the original purposes and subsequent elaboration, developments or changes are shaped by specific historical and institutional circumstances. In the case of Kinsale, the active consideration of the environment as a key issue for tourism development can be traced to the opportunity structure created by the ‘Tidy Towns Competition’ administered by the National Tourism Board38. Equally, the nomination of Kinsale by the ‘Tourism Board’ as candidate for the ‘European Environment and Tourism Prize’ created the opportunity to embrace the discourse of ‘sustainability’. Although the network was generated from the bottom up, the current form of the network as a limited company stems from a requirement by the National Tourism Board and Cork Kerry Tourism (Regional Tourism Authority) for the purpose of funding. In other words, although the selection of certain strategic options comes from within the network there are also certain institutional priorities shaping the choices available to the network. If we take the case of Molivos, the role of the mayor seems to be crucial to the dominant interpretation of sustainability within the network e.g. the more liberal attitude of the current mayor than the previous mayor regarding environmental sustainability. In Calvià, the LA21 network was formed in the context of tourism decline: “Let’s say, our product was in a mature phase and we wanted – speaking about the life-cycle of the product it was in a mature phase – we wanted to increase the quality of that product to obtain that the maturity lasted as long as possible and even being able to increase the curve. We did many activities in that programme, among them clearing out, demolitions of hotels – twelve hotels in the coast in order to construct marine strolls, green areas, etc.-, it was a very broad programme, but immediately after the Rio Summit of 92 we realised that it was not enough, that we needed a broader concept, we needed to integrate the environment and the public participation in the process and it was when they asked us from Madrid if we wanted to begin with that Local Agenda 21 process.” (Ca_LA21 coordinator 20). Here the combination of the objective decline in the tourism product, the linkage between quality and environment understood in a previous project (‘Tourism Excellence Project) and external encouragement by national government converged in the choice of LA21 as a vehicle for sustainable development. In Alcúdia the primary purpose of the network is also linked to the issue of quality. However, it is also closely linked to the “ECOTUR 38 Now administered by the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Ireland). 65 programme’, the initiative of the Autonomous Government of the Balearic Islands, which tries to evaluate the environmental situation of the tourist destination and to design an action plan for environmental improvement of the area. In both Sälen and Åre the larger institutional context in which the networks operate is crucially important. In Sälen the lack of financial support from the government and the lack of stability in terms of co-ordination of LA21 affects the wider development of the network. In Åre the sustainability of the wider network is jeopardised by uncertainty regarding the future funding of the initiatives on which the model of sustainable tourism is being constructed. Table 4.1 Contours of sustainable tourism networks evident within the nine tourism networks studied in this research Network Basis (Community or business)* Scale of Resolution (local or dispersed) Temporal Origins (before or after Rio) Original Purpose/ Orientation Alcúdia Community [Steered by Municipality but Dominated by Business Actors] Local After Rio (1992) Åre Community [Mixed – KSG business actors – Åre Village Development project – community steered Local After Rio (1994) Ecotourist Municipality :Protection of the environment and the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage KSG – Integrating Environmental Concern into business. Community [dominated by Business Actors, but public authorities are structurally accommodated with KCOT] Local Network Kinsale Before Rio (1969) [Kinsale Community Promotions (1969) Kinsale Chamber of Tourism (1983)] Village Development Local social and democratic development Socio–economic development through tourism development Historical Contingencies of Network Formation and Development Threat of Destination becoming degraded Institutional Contingencies of Network Formation and Development Ecotour Project of the Autonomous Government of the Balearic islands. Activities of KSG was a factor in securing funding for Village Development project Dependent on External Funding therefore future is uncertain Socio-economic decline reversed through tourism development Tidy Towns Competition of the Irish Tourist Board (Later administered by the Department of the Environment). Nomination by Tourist Board for European Environment and Tourism Prize 66 Table 4.1. Contours of sustainable tourism networks evident within the nine tourism networks studied in this research (continuation) Network Basis (Community or business)* Scale of Resolution (local or dispersed) Temporal Origins (before or after Rio) Original Purpose/ Orientation Molivos Community [Originally dominated by mayor but more diversified in current phase] Local Before Rio (1958) (Informal Network: Phase 1 1958- 1965 Phase 2 1965 –1982 Phase 3 1982-1997 Phase 4 1997 – to date) Socio-economic development through tourism development Sälen Business [Dominated by Business Actors but Operates within public mechanism LA21 After Rio (1996) Ecologically sustainable development undertaken by businesses Calvià Community (LA21) Local (But developed during the research to encompass other resorts) Local After Rio (1995) A strategic programme of local development as sustainable development. Network FN Business [mainly business but some public input to steering] Dispersed After Rio (1993) YSMEK Business [Mainly business but steered by a mixed management committee dominated by public bodies] Business Dispersed After Rio (1993) Dispersed Before Rio (1987) Hidden Ireland Raise the Quality and Competitiveness of Rural Tourism in Pirkanmaa County Improve the Environmental Care of the Finnish Tourism Industry To market ‘Heritage Homes’ as a tourism product and lobby for their preservation/ conservation. Historical Contingencies of Network Formation and Development The Molivos Network has gone through several stages of development and the concerns have reflected different priorities Institutionalisation of environmental concern in society Existing Tourism Model Matured/ Saturated/ exhausted Threatened livelihood of agriculture Environmental questions of tourism were not a clear responsibility of any single authority Sector not recognised by Public Tourism Bodies. Recent and Limited Accommodation to official discourse on SD in terms of the built environment. Institutional Contingencies of Network Formation and Development Protecting Molivos from mass tourism Local Agenda 21 Interest by National Government in creating a pioneer municipality. Linked into the wider Tourism Excellence Programme. County’s Agriculture Centre’s alternative activity Institutional model required to integrate environmental concerns into tourism sector Some availability of Funding for Environmental Actions beginning to focus attention on environment as a business/ network concern 67 4.3 4.3.1 Interpreting the dimensions of sustainability What is environmental sustainability? The framing of environmental issues is not simply a reaction to the specific manifestation of physical problems in any given case but reflects a complex interaction of a variety of factors. This is reflected in networks in the way in which ‘environmental sustainability’ is not seen merely as the negotiation and management of ‘natural’ (physical, biological) opportunities and constraints. Rather environmental sustainability is embedded in diverse economic, social and cultural understandings that shape the overall meaning that the concept of sustainability holds for tourism in specific contexts. What this means is that ‘sustainable tourism’ is not simply an abstract concept being painted onto a blank canvas, but must build on and perhaps compete with existing understanding of tourism-environment relationships. Environment as natural and cultural heritage In many of our local networks the understanding of environment to a large degree, encompasses both the ‘natural and built’ environment. In the case of Kinsale, Molivos, and Alcúdia there is a pronounced tendency to emphasise the cultural as well as the natural legacy of the locality. In Calvià, this is encompassed in the frame of environmental sustainability that emphasises balance: ‘between urbanism and nature, between the large natural areas, the green lungs and the public areas and the construction of accommodation units, buildings etc’. Rather than simply emphasising the protection of the natural environment there is also a focus on the historical character of the urban forms in which tourism takes place. This understanding is embedded in specific programmes and projects e.g. Kinsale as a Heritage Town, the Walled Town project of Alcúdia and in the nomination of Molivos as a traditional settlement and the use of archaeological zoning. In each case, the networks are operating within a model of the environment that provides geographical, ecological or historical limits on economic growth. In Alcúdia this is manifested in the realisation that the availability of natural resources such as land, water and energy will inevitably place limits not only on development but also on the quality of life. What is clear in this case is that aside from considerations of the intrinsic value of the environment that there is a sense that left unchecked, the potential for a ‘zero growth’ scenario is apparent. In Molivos the archaeological heritage acts as a brake on development as certain areas are 68 protected from development. Hidden Ireland tends to have a strong concept of the environment as the cultural environment because of the intimate linkage between the conservation of cultural heritage and the nature of their tourism business. Environment as social context In many of the local networks environmental sustainability was viewed as having an intimate connection to the community. In Calvià, Alcúdia, Åre, Kinsale and Molivos the environment was as both the context of everyday life as well as the material base for the tourism product. In this sense the environment was seen as an issue of social well being linked to place as well as being an issue for welfare of the community through socioeconomic development. The dispersed networks (Finnland Natürlich, YSMEK and Hidden Ireland) because they are not embedded in a common community, tend not to view the environment as a social context on the network level. Environment as an external business problem In networks like Kinsale and Molivos the environment is seen as an external problem in the sense that the issue of environmental protection falls within the responsibility of government departments, state agencies and local authorities. In both cases the networks are proactive with regard to environmental enhancement but despite considerable progress in many respects, environmental management is still seen within an older model of environmental regulation. Therefore, a deficit in environmental infrastructure and environmental regulation (planning, traffic management, etc) threatens the development of tourism. In Hidden Ireland, outside of activities in relations to individual properties, the issues of litter and physical planning are seen as the key environmental issues negatively affecting tourism development. This is best seen in contrast to an understanding of environment as an internal business problem. Environment as an internal business problem In this case, many of the networks see the environment as an internal issue for tourism enterprises. In Åre, the environmental performance of business is seen as an important source of legitimacy among the local community. For networks like Sälen, Calvià, Alcúdia and YSMEK, the emphasis on managing their environmental impacts makes good business sense in terms of demand for environmental quality in the tourism sector (see table 4.2). 69 Table 4.2 Interpretations of environmental sustainability in the nine networks studied in this research CONSERVATION Conservation of the natural environment Alcúdia Strong Pressures from Development on the Coast Need to balance urban and coastal ecosystem ECOLOGICAL MODERNISATION Regulation, Legislation (environment as an external problem to be regulated by government) Environmental Restructuring of Industry Part of a wider strategy Active management of the environmental impacts by businesses None Åre Kinsale Cultural (in the sense of the built environment e.g. archaeological, architectural, townscapes etc.) Preservation of Cultural Identity through Archaeological and Architectural Preservation ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Pressures on the marine from multiple use of the harbour, Pressures on surrounding environment from development Molivos Active management of environmental impacts by business Emphasis on Arhitectural Heritage and Streetscapes Regulation by local authorities Very Strong Emphasis on Archaeological and Architectural Preservation – long history of cultural tourism Regulation by local authorities through building permits, zoning etc Regulation by local authorities (building permits) seen as confining development Part of a wider Strategy Sälen Calvià Preservation of Farm Houses FN YSMEK Hidden Ireland Confined to the immediate surroundings of the houses Strict Preservation of Buidings LA21 which reduces Sustainable Development to Ecological Modernisation LA21 provides Holistic Approach which includes Ecological Modernisation A subset of the issue of quality tourism An issue to be integrated into tourism enterprises Planning and Litter Control responsibility of local authorities 4.3.2 The question of social sustainability: a concern for local networks? Socio-economic development is an important goal in the case of many of the local networks, but tourism is seen as having different effects in terms of social sustainability that potentially contains negative feedback loops for sustainable tourism. Invariably, for many of the local networks, tourism plays an important, if not central role in the local economy. The question of social sustainability is not simply a matter of the well being of individual enterprises, or often confined to the economic development of the sector but is rooted in a 70 wider social context. In the case of the dispersed networks, lacking the shared context of the local community, the issue of social sustainability is far less pronounced and tends to be manifested as issue for individual enterprises and members rather than on the level of the network. Sustainability as a problem of local social development. In the Åre, Kinsale, Molivos, Alcúdia, and Calvià networks, the local communities are seen as benefiting socially through increased seasonal employment. The long-term development of these communities is seen as being tied to the ongoing development of tourism. In Åre the Village Development Project is focused on establishing the social infrastructure for development through courses for the unemployed, the provision of a centre for the unemployed etc. In Kinsale and Calvià, socio-economic development, through tourism, has brought about important socio-structural transformations. In Kinsale, this is clearly manifested in the imbalance between property ownership and the local availability of workers for the tourism sector. As the town has developed through tourism the value of property has increased making it largely unaffordable for both the children of residents and workers for the tourism sector39. In Calvià, the resident population has increased almost tenfold between 1960 and 1997 without a proper planning framework. In Kinsale and the Majorcan cases, tourism has also contributed to substantial socio-cultural transformations. In the case of Kinsale, a process of integration has occurred which gives the town a multicultural and cosmopolitan character which is seen as both a positive effect of tourism, and a crucial ingredient in the character of tourism in Kinsale. In the Majorican cases there have been low levels of cultural and social integration. Although, there have been specific actions by both Alcúdia and Calvià the cultural dimensions of sustainability are seen as being inadequately addressed. The issue of social and democratic integration (participation) is understood differently in the various networks. In the case of Calvià this is institutionalised as broadly based public participation through LA21. In Sälen, although LA21 is the primary mechanism for addressing sustainability issues, the emphasis is on business development rather than socio-economic development. 39 This is not unique to Kinsale. The Irish economy, in general, and the property market, in particular, are currently undergoing a period of rapid growth. 71 Despite the involvement of public authorities in the steering of the network, the emphasis tends to be more directly on environment-economy interactions. Although, there is an emphasis on job creation through environmental activities, the aim is primarily one of securing social legitimacy rather than social inclusion. In contrast, there is a strong emphasis on the inclusion of the local community in Åre through the village development project. In Molivos, public participation is addressed through the medium of public meetings as a means of providing information but also generating consensus. In both Alcúdia and Kinsale the situation in practice is more structurally closed although the networks e.g. the KCOT view themselves as being equivalent with the society. In Kinsale, the Chamber of Tourism is seen as emblematic of social cohesion and working together in the wider community, but in practice, participation is restricted to membership. There is a latent recognition, however, that sustainable tourism requires the ongoing social acceptance of tourism in the local community40. In Alcúdia, the question of participation is mediated by the Eco-tourism Plaque committee and the Board of Tourism, however, not all of the eligible bodies are able to participate. For the dispersed networks, the issue of social sustainability is not as apparent. On the network level the issue for YSMEK is primarily environmental and economic sustainability. However, some individual members have indicated that some actions that they undertake are not immediately profitable but are socially and economically rational in terms of image building and marketing41. In Finnland Natürlich, while social sustainability is not a central issue, the environmental theme does resonate with aspects of cultural tradition e.g. the preservation of farm houses and a linkage between environmental sustainability and social practices of re-use embedded in peasant culture42. Likewise, in Hidden Ireland, the social dimension of sustainability is not a pronounced goal of the network, however, the preservation of an aspect of cultural tradition and identity is nevertheless significant. 40 Some of the key actors are aware of the Irridex model which gauges the social tolerance of the local community towards tourism development. 41 A very good example of this point is the citation (Y –Kekäle, 58) in the Finnish report 42 See the quotation (FN – Ylä-Tuuhonen) 72 Table 4.3 Interpretations of social sustainability in the nine tourism networks studied in this research Socio-economic Alcúdia Åre Tourism is central to socioeconomic development of the town. Seasonal Employment Increased Housing Prices Increased valorisation of private (commercial) space over public space. Molivos Seasonal Employment Shift from Agrarian base to more diverse sources of development through tourism Environment as a direct source of employment. Not all of the 1,500 workers are resident – taxes are paid elsewhere Tourism is a central, but not the only source of socio-economic development Under-employment and unemployment in the low season. Diversification of rural economy through tourism. Not directly within the remit (but see economic Sustainability) Not directly Within the remit (but see economic sustainability) Calvià FN YSMEK Hidden Ireland 4.3.3 Sociocultural Need to protect archaeological and architectural heritage (in terms if identity as well as for tourism purposes). Despite some perception of over-development tourism is seen as contributing to socio-economic development Seasonal Employment. Social Sustainability linked to long term economic development of tourism sector. Kinsale Sälen Socio-structural Change in social profile of home owners, and holiday home owners in the town. Economic and structural change seen as creating negative feedback loops in terms of labour supply and potentially in terms of social acceptance of tourism Highly cosmopolitan social mix. Identity is seen as a product of this mix. Cutural heritage, townscape, architecture etc revalorised and preserved through tourism development. Some pressures to develop. Cultural Development through tourism. Very Strong Emphasis on maintaining local traditions and heritage Issues of social and democratic participation Board of Tourism, Ecotourist Plaque Committee. Recognition that social acceptance is necessary for tourism development. Subsidiarity is an issue through involving broad social mix in decisions. Prioritisation of social inclusion through VDG. Democratic participation achieved through cooperation between KCOT and elected bodies. Participation through Involvement in Thematic Committees No Public Forum Social Inclusion through Social Employment Schemes Occasional meetings surrounding key decisions LA21dominated by business actors Resident population transformed 2914 to 27,037 from 1960 to 1997. Need to curb urban population growth Low levels of sociocultural integration among tourist and resident populations. Cultural Identity not adequately addressed through LA21 Preservation of a way of life. LA21 comprehensive social engagement and planning for SD Citizen Forum Preservation of a way of life Doing business with the environment: business development, economic sustainability or ecological modernisation Given the fact that our primary focus is on tourism networks, it is not surprising that the economic dimension of sustainability is emphasised. What is interesting is that this is framed in very different ways within our networks. Generally speaking when considering 73 economic sustainability we are speaking about the wider context of ‘the efficiency of economic systems to ensure continuous socially equitable, qualitative and quantitative progress (Sachs 1999)’. However, in much of the business literature, economic sustainability is focused on the notion of sustainable competitive advantage at the level of the firm (Srikantia and Balmoria 1997: 388). This divergent conceptual understanding of economic sustainability is reflected in the tourism networks. Economic sustainability in the EMPOST networks is interpreted on a continuum from the broader socio-economic development of a locality, community or region to the enhanced economic performance of individual enterprises. As is the case for other aspects of sustainability, economic sustainability is seen relationally e.g. in relation to environmental, social or even cultural sustainability. Economic sustainability in our local networks, as we have seen, very often has a strong social dimension e.g. the development of the community rather than just individual (enterprise) well-being. An innovative aspect of some of our networks, however, is the framing of economic issues in environmental terms. This was reflected most prominently in networks that embraced a win-win scenario i.e. seeing opportunities for economic development and advantage in environmental actions (YSMEK, Alcúdia, Sälen, Calvià). Each of these levels of understanding was present to some degree in most of our networks, however, they are presented here in terms of the dominant understanding of economic sustainability. Equally, in many of the networks, the simple correlation between economic growth and development is no longer accepted uncritically. Sustainability as a business issue In many of the EMPOST networks, economic sustainability was interpreted in terms of the economic survival and continued success of individual firms. For dispersed networks like Hidden Ireland and Finnland Natürlich this was largely a matter of increasing competitiveness of individual firms by emphasising quality. In the case of Hidden Ireland this referred to the optimisation of the existing business through marketing and increased sales. The strict conservation criteria means that development does not necessarily depend on growth, however, individual business have diversified by developing alternative self catering accommodation or by branching out into other tourism related activities e.g. cycling holidays or genealogy. In terms of the broader context of economic development the management committee of Hidden Ireland see it as contributing to the sustainability of ‘heritage houses’ as a sub-sector in the Irish tourism industry. In the case of Finland 74 Natürlich, the original concern with quality training has opened the door to training on environmental issues but this was largely confined to and developed within the pilot enterprises in the FINECO project, which has taken a more systematic approach to their environmental impacts. Sustainability as economic development The priority of sustaining and developing the tourism product was a key issue for all of the EMPOST networks at different levels. However, it was most acute as an issue of economic development for local networks like Åre, Molivos and Kinsale. In Calvià, quality and sustainability were seen as interrelated: e.g. ‘sustainability is part of quality, there is no quality tourism without sustainable tourism. Underlying the discourse of environmental quality as a key to economic sustainability, was the recognition that environmental limits necessarily restricted the potential for the expansion of tourism in Calvià43. Therefore, a key goal was diversification of the existing product. In Kinsale, sustained economic development was linked to the need to develop a training infrastructure for the labour force of the future. In order to be economically viable, the local tourism industry was seen as having to address this issue, however, there was no explicit linkage to environmental issues in this respect. That is not to say that the environment is absent from the understanding of sustainability. The economic goal of extending the tourism season is frequently framed in terms of managing the environmental impacts of tourism. Similarly the success of Kinsale in environment competitions is actively marketed in the promotion of the town. There was, however, a direct and dependent linkage between the beneficial economic impact of tourism and the efforts of the network towards environmental amelioration and enhancement. For Sälen, the issue of economic sustainability was primarily directed at the ‘sustainability and growth of the businesses’. Although there is a strongly proactive dimension to the network’s engagement with environmental activities, the restrictions on expansion from the local authority was viewed as counter to goals of the individual enterprises. For both Finnland Natürlich and Hidden Ireland, the issue of quality and competitiveness/development of tourism enterprises is the primary goal. In FN, the integration of environmental concerns is more systematic than in Hidden Ireland where cultural sustainability has been more pronounced. Aspects of environmental management are only beginning to be considered in 43 See the quotation (Ca- Alenyar 52) 75 relation to specific opportunities or individual awareness e.g. the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Scheme. Sustainable tourism as a win-win opportunity Mol (1997) characterises the recent transformation of the economic responses to environmental issues as constituting a new wave of environmental concern in western industrialised societies. Rather than being concerned with just the ‘burdening of the resource base’ by economic development, he identifies an institutional change whereby ‘an environment induced restructuring of the processes of production and consumption’ is taking place. Here there is a shift from emphasising environmental enhancement, amelioration and restorative action to more preventative, proactive and positive embrace of economy - environmental interaction. Environment is reconceived as an opportunity rather than a threat for economic development and private economic actors become active participants, alongside the state, in environmental reforms. Generally speaking, the ecological modernisation theory has focused on production-oriented sectors of the economy as opposed to services like tourism. However, in the context of tourism, there has been a recent emphasis on greening the production of tourism services through the introduction of management and auditing systems and using registration and certification standards as the basis of marketing the service to potential consumers44. What is interesting is that in a number of networks, or in some cases in sub-sets of the EMPOST networks, the interpretation of ‘economising ecology’ plays an important role in the interpretations of sustainable tourism. There is a tendency in these networks towards enterprise level environmental management and auditing strategies and the networks are explicitly formed to address and build competitive advantage directly on environment-economy interaction. One of the best examples of this approach is in YSMEK, where the network was established to develop environmentally friendly tourism in Finland. YSMEK is an institutional innovation designed to attract more tourists by increasing the level of environmental management in the industry. The management group of YSMEK is careful to stress the economic rationale of environmental action as a way of promoting sustainable tourism. For individual enterprises 44 For the state of the art regarding tourism, see EMAS report of the EMPOST-NET project, for a recent evaluation of the national implementation status of EMAS and ISO14001 in general and its contribution to Sustainable Development see Steger (2000: 24). Sweden: 176 firms are registered for EMAS, and 850 have ISO 14001 certification, in Spain: 37 EMAS/ 337 ISO, in Finland: 27 EMAS/ 214 ISO, in Ireland: 7 EMAS/ 96 ISO, in Greece: 1 EMAS / 10 ISO (Randa Group 2000) 76 environmental management was seen as emblematic of good business management. The explicit linkage between business development and environment was an important justification in many of the EMPOST networks. In Alcúdia, Sälen and Calvià environmental issues were strongly related to quality and were seen as a key basis for the future development of tourism business. Table 4.4 Interpretations of economic sustainability in the nine tourism networks studied in this research Network Alcúdia Åre Kinsale Molivos (Current Business Development of Individual Enterprises* Economic Development of sector, destination, region or County** Ecological Modernisation** Main Emphasis Environment as a long term quality issue for businesses, Consumer Demand Business Development dependent on social legitimacy To prepare the sector for future economic development based on environmental quality. Central to the Purpose: e.g. the importance of ecolabel. and Ecotourist Municipality Ecological Modernisation Long Term Development linked to long term development of tourism sector Medium: AG through KSG engaged in Waste Management and some local environmental education Collective Marketing for ongoing success. Economic Development is largely synonymous with tourism development. For public actors tourism is a strategic part of a mixed economic development. Economic Development of Molivos through sustainable tourism development. Very Low: Main Example is the Blue Flag Marina, One respondent argued for the importance of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Very Low: But some interest in environmental management systems Ecological Modernisation in KSG (with very strong social dimensions) Economic Development of Kinsale (but this is contested by some network members). Economic Development of Molivos Resorts represent an economic resource for the region (not a primary understanding). High: Environmental review, environmental management of enterprises Ecological Modernisation Strong Awareness of the interrelated dimensions of sustainable development. Awareness that an unchanged relation to the existing tourism model could lead to economic collapse. System to Improve Quality in participant firms in Pirkanmaa High: economic success is clearly linked to proactive environmental management in an understanding developed through an extensive social process of consultation. Ecological Modernisation but as part of an integrated strategy for sustainable development. Low - Medium: Not systematic through network although some have taken environmental review on board through participation in FINECO project High: Strong Emphasis on economic rationality of environmental actions. Emphasis on Environmental Management Systems Very Low: Individual examples of beginning to consider aspects of environmental management. No systematic engagement. Business Development Concern for Individual Investments, Developing New Tourism Products and more competitive services phase) Sälen Calvià FN YSMEK Hidden Ireland Extra Competitive Advantage through Addressing Quality Demands of Consumers Individual Cost Savings, Preparing individual firms to compete in markets of the future Increase sales for individual enterprises Development of new professional skills that are good business management Promoting Finnish Tourism, raising the quality of tourism Collective Marketing, Individual Survival Economic Development of Heritage Houses as a sub-sector in the tourism industry Ecological Modernisation Business Development *Business Development of Individual Enterprises = Understanding of economic sustainability for the firm **Economic Development of sector, destination, region or country = Understanding of economic sustainability above the level of the firm ***Ecological Modernisation = Economy and Environment seen as a ‘win-win’ scenario (usually indicated by systemic engagement of environmental management). 77 5 Actors’ motivation and implementation of sustainable development at a practical level The present study addresses two research questions: (1) why do actors engage in networking toward sustainable tourism and, (2) how do they implement it on the basis of their subjective interpretations? In other words, we first address the motives of actors to engage in networking toward sustainable development. Second, we discuss how the actors in different conditions and network settings implement sustainable development. Regarding motivations, the EMPOST-NET findings indicate that there are different types of motives, some of which are personal ones, while some relate to organisational or regional interests. Moving from motivations to practical implementation of sustainable tourism, we found that the networks represent three crude categories based on the focus of their activities. The focus can be either tourism enterprises or community development, or both. Business-action networks are mainly interested in improving environmental management of tourism enterprises of the network. Community-action networks, on the other hand, mainly direct their activities toward socio-cultural enhancement of the community, including some environmental activities like waste management and water quality. The focus of action does not so much depend on the membership basis of the network. Rather, the implementation is guided by the local conditions and initial problem setting of the network. 5.1 Motives to engage in networking towards sustainable development This chapter discusses different motives and reasons that actors have for participating in sustainability networks. As highlighted in Chapter 2, one of the important things to understand is that each sustainability network is unique in terms of the original problem, goal and context, and consequently, the motives of actors also vary from one network to another. Not only do context and problem influence the motives of networking for sustainability cause; there appear to be motives on different levels. On the one hand, we can distinguish motives that are directly personal, or relating to the firm or organisation the actor represents. On the other hand, there are more collective types of motives that relate to the benefits expected to accrue to the region or society. Moreover, one actor may hold several motives 78 simultaneously and the motives may change over time. In other words, the initial motives of the actor/s may be different than those that facilitate in keeping the network activity ongoing. Motives for action are usually related to the expectation of a certain outcome or outcomes. Thus we cannot discuss motives without a connection to outcomes. Finally, we present our conclusions about other reasons or pressures for working toward sustainable development than the network-related ones. 5.1.1 Motivation for the start of the network The introduction of sustainable development to a network lies within individual actors. In other words, the actual process of taking sustainability onboard is started by individuals. Thus, it is interesting to observe the motives of critical individuals in the networks. Later on, if successful, groups and finally networks engage in sustainability activities (Crossan, Lane and White 1999). The networks studied in this project seem to fall into two categories based on the number of points of initiatives for sustainability activities. In the first type of network, it is mainly one person who developed an interest in sustainability and actively worked to get issues into the network’s agenda. This individual started to consciously think about sustainability issues and ways to promote them on a larger scale at the network level. Thus, the personal interest of a person or persons who were holding a powerful position in the network seems to be crucial for taking up sustainability issues at the network level. Of the studied networks, FN, Sälen and Molivos, the first initiative was mainly taken by one active actor. For example, the Sälen network was initiated within a LA 21 process where the co-ordinator held a decisive position. Similarly, the co-ordinator of FN network describes the development of getting environmental issues into their network agenda: ”Well, they came really, well I brought them actually, but in those seminars this really, I don't even remember the beginning anymore, so the former president of the Finnish Tourist Board, Bengt Pihlström, he used to talk a lot about these environmental issues and he was here talking to us in some kind of a meeting, and he gave us instructions that this is the way we should head off in this kind of a development project.” (FN 116, coordinator of FN) Yet for some of the networks, interest and initiatives simultaneously arose in many places and by many individuals. This kind of process took place in the YSMEK, Alcúdia, Calvià, Åre, Kinsale and Hidden Ireland networks. For example, in Åre village, there were different 79 projects that initiated activities among smaller groups. The Åre network, a configuration of three subnetworks, emerged from the activities of the groups. Similarly, in YSMEK the initial interest was held by many representatives, who formed a basis for the YSMEK network (the management group). A respondent describes the establishment of YSMEK as follows: “So this is quite a funny thing actually. In a way there are people who think this is important, who are passionate about this in a way . . . they have found each other, contacted each other and then . . . maybe there's been this core group, some 4 or 5, and then they have kind of thought that, hey, if we want to make this thing work credibly, we have to get this and this kind of people with us.” (Y 102, consultant of YSMEK 2) Actors’ motives vary depending on the original problem that the network seeks to address. Kinsale, Molivos, and Åre Village Development network were started to keep the community alive, or enhance sources of livelihood. This involves preserving cultural heritage, traditional way of living and the community. For Alcúdia and Calvià, on the other hand, the principal motivation for the network activities was the willingness to increase the quality of the tourism product from the excessive urban, tourist-driven and residential development. YSMEK and Sälen networks’ principal motivation has been to improve the environmental management within tourism, the driving force being the growing importance of environmental issues in society. FN and Hidden Ireland networks provide an example where the main motive for starting the network has been the attempt to preserve the way of living in the countryside. For those networks, tourism was seen as the vehicle to maintain the property in family use but also to fulfil a proximate social role to that of the past. Many of the members argued that their sustainability activities were not primarily market driven but mainly related to social and cultural enhancement. One key member of the Hidden Ireland network summarised what he felt was the principle driver for the network: “A family attachment to the building that they have got and all the trappings that come with the house over five or ten generations, and very often the house isn’t just the history of the family but part of the history of the locality the whole thing can go together. Much of the ill feeling that was there is gone now and I would think that it is seen as a genuine addition to the area. The owners work hard and put back more than they take out very often”. (Hi, 147-148, house owner and spokesperson of the network) Economic motives are interrelated with the above motivations. Expectation of improved competitive advantage (of a region or an enterprise) was present in all of our sample networks. For example to the YSMEK, network signals for environmental improvements came from the market and made different tourism officials and enterprises interested in improving environmental care in the Finnish tourism industry. For some networks, positive publicity on national and international levels, as well as the recognition from tour operators 80 and customers, are important motivations. The following descriptions came from the Spanish and Swedish networks: “Because clearly when we speak about tourist areas we are speaking of competitiveness, that's about it, because..., clearly that leads you to take decisions that because perhaps they are risky you would leave, but you have to take them.” (Al_technican and environmental representative of the municipality 260) “And than we also wanted to have a recycling group (KSG) that is thinking very much of what we want to do in Åre, how we want to have this target for the guests in the future. That is that we are going to have a good place to be a tourist in twenty years and than in fifty years and that the air is as clean as now and the water is as clean as now and so on. That is why we started the group. (Åre member of Kretsloppsgruppen, 13)” For some networks, public funding allowed networks to develop their operations towards sustainability, and political support gave an opportunity to the networks to proceed with their activities. A good example of this is Calvià, where the decision to start a Local Agenda 21 was influenced to a great extent by the financial and conceptual support of national authorities. The impulse for the project came from DG of Tourism of the Spanish Government, which was interested in having a pioneer municipality. Also, the first phase of the project got funding from the National and Autonomous Government. This “moneymachine” factor is also discussed in connection to triggers for learning in Chapter 7. In HI, funding availability has spurred the development of network activity more directly linked to sustainable development. “The fact that there has been European money available and people are doing things like gardens and stable buildings, now what we are trying to do, and I am not quite sure how successfully, is trying to put in place an advisory service for people trying to do something. That has not gone as far as I would like it and it would need to be formalised’ (Hi_House owner, 64).” 5.1.2 Motives of networking at different levels In the text above, we examined why networks initially adopt the sustainability imperative. The studied networks appear to seek different kinds of benefits by networking, that is, the actors expect certain outcomes to materialise from the efforts. Their continued motivation depends on the fulfilment of these expectations and unexpected benefits experienced. Consequently, when speaking about motives and drivers, they need to be discussed in connection with outcomes. Human and Provan (1997) find two types of outcomes from participation in network activities: transactional (e.g. enhanced resource acquisition, gains in performance) and transformational outcomes (e.g. changes in how members in networks think, act, or both). Both kinds of outcomes could be distinguished in the studied networks. Initial drivers to start network co-operation related to expectation of transactional outcomes 81 but later on transformational outcomes also occurred, often unexpectedly. Both the transactional and transformational outcomes materialised for persons, firms, networks, industry or society.45 In the following paragraphs, the outcomes are divided into the outcomes for persons, firms, industry and society. They are further divided into transactional and transformational outcomes. Personal motives The most significant transactional outcomes is ensuring the livelihood of the region to be able to continue living there. Within the local networks, an important underlying driver for an actor’s engagement is long-term survival of the region. It was seen that making the region more sustainable (with the help of the network) promised a continuum for the business in future, and consequently ensured livelihood for the present generation as well as their children. Another motive for a number of actors of the local networks was the ability to live according to one’s values (e.g. protecting the local environment, maintaining the farm or heritage house in the family). Transformational outcomes that motivated continuing participation in the network materialised after the network had been up and running for some time. For some, working conditions had improved. For example in a few YSMEK pilot enterprises, financial savings resulting from energy and water savings had been used for acquiring better equipment. In some instances, the planning of environmental management in a small or medium-sized hotel or restaurant had resulted in better planning of work. Participation in the network often provided a feeling of “belonging to something”, that is, a basis for community spirit (in a local network) and an active citizenry. Moreover, values such as civic pride, pride in the region and a certain degree of anti-bureaucratic sentiment are channelled through network activities. One of the strongest drivers that emerges in the case of Kinsale, for example, is a sense of agency or the idea that people have a positive capacity for individual or collective action. Linked very closely to this idea is a sense of pride in achieving goals and reaching, surpassing or setting standards in their collective endeavours. Some of the core members were driven by a desire to reverse deterioration in environmental quality: “I think it started really because we didn’t like where we were living. We realised we were living, you can imagine, if this room was littered with papers under your feet, and banana skins and so on and so forth you 45 See Halme and Fadeeva 1998. 82 would feel uncomfortable after a short while. I think that was sufficiently dirty to shock us and I think if we go to areas in Ireland where I’m sure, I know I’ve seen it abroad as well, where there isn’t some regular cleaning and attention to being dedicated to a nice environment, it gets very dirty and very uncomfortable. That was the first thing, we didn’t like where we were living and set about trying to change it”. (K- Gift Shop owner). Another motive for continuing participation in the network, was the feeling of empowerment through self-help, that is, belief in a personal ability to take responsibility for an issue at the local level. In other words, through the network’s activities, it is possible for people to improve their ability to influence their own life. Another personal benefit was the rise in the awareness about sustainability issues (e.g. long-term vs. short-term considerations, life cycle thinking, environmental impacts of different activities). The interviewees appreciated this awareness for both personal and professional reasons. Firms’ motives As to the firm-level drivers, the interviews reveal that the main reason for the implementation of sustainable development actions for many individual enterprises is to gain competitive advantage through the improvements. This finding is consistent with those from business network studies in general. Companies and organisations are searching for new and innovative ways to reach competitive advantages. Old strategies and narrow views of one’s company is not enough in the highly competitive market. Dyer and Singh (1998) suggest that a firm’s critical resources may span firm boundaries and may be embedded in inter-firm resources and routines. They argue that an increasingly important unit of analysis for understanding competitive advantage is the relationship between firms. The sources for inter-organisational competitive advantage lie in networks of relationships (Dyer and Singh 1998). From the viewpoint of sustainable development, motives relating to the pursuit of competitive gains may at a first glance appear irrelevant. However, from the motivational viewpoint, the significance of this secondary set of value-added should not be underestimated. Competitive advantage through cost savings and image improvements were initial motivations for a number of firms to start implementing sustainable development actions. Cost savings materialised through resource optimisation, for example, lower energy usage or minimisation of waste. These are not different from those generally observed in the environmental management context, for example, cost savings, systematising the normal routines, image improvement, or competitive advantage. However, the enterprises would not have been able to achieve the latter two if they had done their environmental management 83 alone. In a dispersed network, education services were bought together by the network enterprises. In a local network the enterprises started the joint purchasing of ecological goods thus making it possible to create sufficient demand and obtain them at a reasonable price. One of the most obvious transactional outcomes is information increase for the firms belonging to a network. Examples of such instances are sharing information when cooperating with other tourism enterprises, learning from other entrepreneurs’ experiences, and obtaining new knowledge from the network’s expert members, for instance trainers or consultants in the case of formal networks that organise training and employ consultants. For some firm members, the motivating factor was “learning new things”: “We wouldn't have hurried with these things [environmental improvements] otherwise, and we also wouldn't have known what the situation was like in general and what we should be aiming at, so it was the fact that we were among the advanced ones, and we felt we were privileged to hear about these things among the first [when joining FN].” (FN_ 84, ship captain of a lake cruise line) Image improvement and increased credibility for the firm was realised through the publicity and credibility provided by the network. Local networks appear to provide smaller enterprises with the opportunity to market the destination and, consequently, their business on a much broader scale than would otherwise be possible. For a tourist, the tourism experience is created on the basis of the whole surrounding, and consequently a sole enterprise alone can do very little. Within dispersed networks, it appears that a similar kind of benefits resulted from getting publicity for belonging to the network (membership acts as proof of a certain level of environmental quality). Long-term business sustainability was significant at the firm-level as well. In addition, networks could facilitate better relationships to authorities within some enterprises. A number of transformational outcomes for the firm level occurred. The sustainable development improvements lead into the development of business on a larger scale, a fact that seems to provide the motivation to continue also with sustainability improvements. The environmental co-ordinator of YSMEK pilot firm says: “Secondly it is the development of business as a whole. We can talk about the greening of business but for me it is at the same time quality development. For us it is natural development that, after going through the first and second stage of YSMEK, we started to do quality management. It has produced new tools: cost and consumption calculations, purchasing policy, reporting, all of these. And as far as I understand for example for us the result is that we can not talk about quality without adding environmental quality as a strong value.” (Y_ 38, environmental co-ordinator of an YSMEK enterprise) 84 Industry-motives The network or the results of its activities can function as an example for the tourism industry at large. For instance, the international recognition that has come from Kinsale’s tourism development and awards such as the European prize have provided other community tourism bodies with an example and alternatives to mass tourism. However, this is inevitably leading to competition from other destinations and regions. Many of these have developed on an accelerated learning curve because of Kinsale’s example and also because of the availability of targeted resources. Calviá’s examples can be utilised in other Mediterranean resorts with similar environmental and social characteristics. Another such example is the environmental management system scheme created by the YSMEK network. For one, the YSMEK pilot enterprises set a standard for other enterprises to follow. For another, YSMEK’s guidebooks for environmental management in tourism facilities, and EMS scheme are utilised by educational institutes and enterprises. Furthermore, in countries like Finland and Sweden, where the societal decision-making is still based on the structures stemming from the era of the manufacturing industry domination, networking within tourism was seen as a way to improve the possibilities of the tourism industry’s influence at a national level. Tourism, as a service industry, is considered “soft” or “low-status” industry. Thus one aim is to change the status of the industry through the creation of a new image. Motives at a regional level The network activities can contribute to society (destination, region, country, or the locality) in a number of ways. These contributions were mainly experienced at a regional level in connection with local networks. At a regional level, one impact of networking was to augment the attractiveness of the region as a tourism destination, that is, improved tourism product. In this way networking contributes to long-term survival of the region and its villages. It also brings a competitive advantage to the region over other tourism destinations. Furthermore, it was possible to increase the lobbying power of the region through networking. Individual enterprises alone would not have been influential enough. 85 5.1.3 How crucial is the network for implementation of sustainable development? The above may give the impression that without networks, there would not be any action of the tourism sector toward sustainability. For some of the sample networks, the network is a unique vehicle for sustainable development, but for others there are other drivers for sustainability. A crucial question to ask is, what is the role of a network in relation to implementation of improvements? From the studied networks, there are examples where the role of the network is not so crucial for the implementation. In Spanish networks, for example, it seems that firms would have started to implement sustainable development actions without the existence of networks, but networks had a facilitating function. At any event, the pressure from tour operators would have led to some action, at least in terms of environmental sustainability. For example, a large tour operator, TUI, asks hotels, clubs and holiday apartments to fill in an annual environmental check list, informs the contracting managers about the results of that evaluation and states the environmentally sound practices in its TUI brochures. The hotels participating in the TUI initiative are spread all over the island of Mallorca and there is no evidence that hotels in Calvià or Alcúdia are more active in this sense. On the other hand, the networks have helped to implement some environmental actions (training in Alcúdia, waste management in Calvià), but there is no correlation between network help and hotel action. Another source of external pressure is enforced legislation. According to the Lake Cruise Line member of the FN: “Not really. Let's say that Natürlich has given training and information, and then fixed by law there are these health officers who come and check our drinking water and health matters and hygiene, and then there is the Finnish Maritime Administration, who inspects the ships anyway. Those are the quarters, I guess.” (FN_ 102) 5.1.4 Key findings • Motivation and the reasons why actors are in sustainability networks differ depending on the network’s aim, the problems it faces and the context. Networks are often started with the expectations of transactional outcomes like increased availability of sustainable development information, or credibility created to the 86 region’s or enterprise’s sustainability policy. If successful, transformational outcomes usually materialise on the course of network action. • Reasons for working towards sustainable development or sustainable tourism are usually interrelated with other motives, experienced at a personal level, for the firm or for the municipality. These seemingly secondary motives are important from a motivational viewpoint, especially if networking is on a totally voluntary basis.46 Economic motives are seldom the primary drivers for action, rather they are usually always somehow interrelated with other motives. For instance, improvement of the livelihood of a region or competitive advantage of an enterprise is such a motive. For somebody wanting to establish a network, or seeking to persuade a network to include sustainability issues on their agenda, appealing to economic motives is likely to be useful. However, if and when the awareness of actors increases, they are likely to become more intrinsically motivated.47 5.2 Networks’ actions directed towards sustainable development Despite the numerous efforts to set and formulate the principles of sustainable tourism development, the concept still lacks common understanding and an even more common working definition (Fyall and Garrod 1997). This fact, although it provides greater flexibility and adaptability, allows the adjustment of the principle to whatever seems relevant, with no specific and common accepted criteria. So, the gap remains between theory and its translation into practical steps for implementing sustainable tourism goals. Until now, the sustainable tourism debate has been limited to what can be sustainable tourism development with emphasis on “green” or “eco”-tourism products or to the tourismrelated environmental impacts and resource management issues. There is also another debate going on, concerning the tourism development in developing countries and its social 46 Activities conducted by a network are fairly often under the task of municipal actors. In other words, they are “doing their job” by participating in a network rather than adopting voluntary activities. 47 They [environmental issues] are like brilliant ideas… And I see it that I am going in the right direction. Somebody brave says that this looks good or that is a good idea and then you just take it and use it.… And then I feel more self-confident. I know that I am on the right track that this is the way to go forward and everybody should do this. (FN_LAHTUA 137, member of FN network) 87 implications for the host communities and their culture (Stabler 1997). But, when we come to the practice of sustainable tourism, it seems that we have to be confined to lists of “guidelines” and “codes of good practice” proposed by different parties of the tourism industry. These voluntary codes of contact as Goodall and Stabler (1997) say, mainly “seek to create awareness within the tourism industry and governments of the importance of sound environmental policies and management practices”. The “sustainable” initiatives coming up from different parts of the tourism sector (tourism business, local communities, governments) are mainly concentrated on environmental issues (resources, wastes, emissions, species conservation, heritage respect). The most active part is the tourism industry (mainly the tourist accommodation sector) and the practical outcomes are mainly the adoption of environmental policies or of environmental management systems. The evaluation of the existent sustainable initiatives presupposes the development of a methodology for setting sustainable goals and measuring the progress towards sustainable development. So it seems that the sustainable tourism debate is now shifting to the “how to implement sustainability” question in contrast to the “how to define sustainability” question. (Fyall and Garrod 1997). Although there is still much work to be done in the field, there is a point that is considered as very crucial in implementing sustainability goals: the involvement of local communities and the different tourism stakeholders in the decisions and actions to be taken for sustainable tourism development. As to this study, it appears that there are three types of networks: (1) community-action networks (ComAct) that seek to enhance sustainable development at a community level, (2) business-action networks (BusAct) that implement sustainability at a business enterprise level and (3) ComBus networks that combine the two approaches. ComAct networks tend to emphasise problem-solution relating to socio-cultural sustainability, such as traditional architecture protection, or tidiness of town. Unexpectedly, ComAct networks do not consist predominantly of public sector actors. Despite the community-level orientation of sustainability efforts, ComAct networks can be business-dominated in terms of the number of members and steering responsibility. BusAct networks, on the other hand, tend to focus on environmental sustainability, mainly environmental management related improvements conducted in tourism enterprises. Conversely, these networks did not consist principally of 88 business actors, but there were BusAct networks that were steered by public sector actors, for example, municipality authorities or ministry representatives. ComBus networks made efforts at both levels: community and enterprises. However, in the analysis of this chapter, the networks are divided into two groups, ComAct and BusAct, because Alcúdia, which represents the ComBus (both community and enterprise orientation), is the only one of its kind and is grouped as a ComAct. 5.2.1 Implementing sustainable development 5.2.1.1 Diversity of sustainable outcomes The analysis of the concrete actions of the studied networks and the network members led to rather diversified outcomes concerning the characteristics of the activities. The type of the network, the tourism context into which it operates, the emerged (environmental or social) problems (see Chapters 2 and 4), and the awareness level of the network actors are some of the factors that influence the nature of the practical outcomes of the networks. The community-action networks (ComAct) show, in general, a broad and diversified sustainable development activity depending on the goal setting, the severity of the problem and the type of stakeholders involved. This is the case of the municipality-centred networks like Alcúdia, Calvià, and, to a lesser extent, of Molivos, where the municipality has the key responsiblity for local management and development issues (social services, builders of economic infrastructure, regulators of economic activity, managers of natural environment; ICLEI, 1999), who plays the leading role in planning and implementing broader sustainable development policy goals at the community level. At the same time, the municipality, especially in mass tourism areas, has to show pronounced environmental activity due to its competence or to the available subsidies (EU and national) which indirectly motivates environmental priorities for action. So, the environment constitutes the central field for network planning and activity, but at the same time other issues of a socio-economic and cultural nature are considered depending on network goals and the outside problem context. Only in Åre’s case, there is a strong and dominant social focus (job creation, social club, education of locals), as tourism development is seen as an opportunity for keeping the population in area while the environment is recognised as a means to increase local economic resources or to create new jobs. The tourism enterprises in ComAct networks, depending on their network direction, show an environmental performance ranging from: (1) 89 environmental policy (Eco-tourist Plaque for hotels in Alcúdia, EMS aspects and waste management projects in Åre) to (2) agreements with other tourism stakeholders in an effort to solve emerging tourism impacts (Calvià), or (3) fragmented actions as individual examples (the Kinsale case) (see Appendices 4 and 5). In the BusAct networks, the actions are addressed mainly on the enhancement of environmental management issues at the enterprise level as these are seen as more relevant and manageable than other sustainable development aspects. The type of network activities range from facilitation, motivation and promotion of the level of environmental management in the Finnish tourism sector in YSMEK and among the involved enterprises in the FN network to planning and action priorities settings as in Sälen case. In the FN and HI networks there, is also a strong marketing orientation in network activities based on the promotion of good environmental performance (FN) or preservation and elevation of buildings and surroundings (HI). These can also be seen as an indirect network’s environmental or sustainable direction which dictates in a way an individual member’s environmental performance. The network’s member enterprises translate the network directions to more or less concrete environmental management issues depending on the type of the network goals, the implementation strategy and the personal commitment. In YSMEK network – and, to a lesser extent, in the FN network – the individual enterprises have started their environmental work with integrated waste management issues while many of them have moved further to include environmental management aspects or even to purchasing policy and other value chain activities. In the Sälen network, waste management issues are the main environmental projects run by the individual companies while in the HI case, the individual projects are heading mainly towards preservation/conservation of the heritage houses through the adoption of elements of environmental friendly behaviours and even of consideration of adoption of EMS by the most aware actors. Almost all of the studied networks – except the Åre network – are concentrated mainly on environmental activities although on a different level of integration. Appendices 6 and 7 present the different networks and their environmental activities against the Environmental Pressure Fields (OECD and EUROSTAT) that are used to “ensure integration of environmental consideration into sectoral policies, to measure environmental performance and to help determine whether countries are on track towards sustainable development” (OECD 1993). Although the evaluation of the environmental performances of the networks 90 is out of the scope of the project, it can be seen from the tables that the environmental actions of the networks are relevant to the major environmental pressure fields that can be considered as relevant for them. Wastes, the marine environment, energy savings and urban problems are the main focal points for the most of the networks. Of course, the most integrated and systematic the network policy, the most diversified the goals or outcomes are. The economic dimension of sustainable development is dominant in all the studied networks, as the tourism business development and wellbeing constitutes a central issue and one of the major goals for all of the cases. The tourism enterprises-network members are concentrating on developing a good and caring environmental image and see it as a market advantage and response to the greening of tourism industry. The community-acting networks are heading towards the economic development of the region through the support and promotion of the local tourism sector as major income producer at local level. The social dimension of sustainable development is more pronounced in the communityacting networks but mainly as an effort for involvement of the local community in designing, deciding and implementing environmental/sustainable development goals and not as socio-economic planning (employment and labour issues, poverty and social equity issues etc). Some other aspects of socio-economic development are also considered in the networks with pronounced social orientation. In the Åre case, equitable access to information, democracy, social work, employment issues or decentralised decision-making are central issues in the network agenda. For the Kinsale network, residential accommodation issues and attention for elderly people, are examples of the social dimension of the network activity. The Spanish networks are shifting towards local social issues through projects like the affordable housing plan for Calvià or Strategic Plan Alcúdia 2020 for Alcúdia while in Molivos there is a pronounced policy of local involvement when big local issues come onto the agenda. The cultural dimension of sustainable development emerges especially in the networks where this is considered as an important parameter for local tourism development. The heritage conservation and amelioration, and the preservation of local characteristics and culture (i.e. local food, local architecture) and tradition are also some directions of network activity. The built environment plays an important role as a local tourism asset and constitutes a central issue for most of the studied networks. Alcúdia, Kinsale, Molivos and Hidden Ireland networks are concentrated on architectural heritage conservation and 91 promotion, while the FN network emphasises the cultural scenery and traditions preservation needs. The extent of authority involvement and support of network operation determines, in many cases, the type of network outcomes. The authorities are involved either by drawing and supporting the network policy (FN) or as key actors in implementing it (Calvià, Alcúdia, Molivos, YSMEK). In other cases, they represent important key members (Sälen, Åre), minority members (Kinsale) or network supporters (HI). (The rationale for Kinsale: there is only one authority, UDC, for approximately every business with a formal membership in Kinsale network.) In all cases, the top level/authority support can stimulate environmental performance at the actor level and can lead to more concrete results, depending also on the individual member commitment and active involvement. In YSMEK’s case, the authority support led to the dissemination of environmental management information among tourism enterprises/key members, triggering their environmental initiatives. In the Alcúdia network, the hotel and restaurant sectors have been chosen as target groups for spreading the municipal environmental policy to the tourism sector, prompting the participation of tourism enterprises into the local eco-label scheme. In Åre’s case, the political and financial support from authorities provides the opportunity for the active members of the network to proceed with their own activities. In the Kinsale case, the linkages with regulatory bodies gives the network increased flexibility and effectiveness to act towards sustainable tourism and environment. The environmental/sustainable development information dissemination among network members seem to be another important factor influencing the type of network sustainable performance. In networks with emphasis on environmental information and education issues, network actors show growing awareness that can be translated into a more concrete environmental activity. The staging of the Sustainable Tourism Conference, the sponsorship of schools’ environmental education projects, the transmission to the hotel sector of information about environmentally friendly activities in the Kinsale case, the on-going education for local people and the environmental festival in the Åre case, or the more organised information services like the Municipal Environmental Service, the “Green phone” and the information campaigns in Calvià network are some ways of how the different community-acting networks can share ideas and stimulate environmental activity at an individual member level. YSMEK and FN business networks have invested highly on 92 members training on environmental management issues which has proved very effective in prompting individual behaviours (waste management and monitoring systems, ISO 14001, life cycle perspective) and in creating channels for further dissemination of the results throughout the tourism business. The Sälen network also performs environmental education and training programmes using university experts, in order to help local businessmen to incorporate environmental aspects into their strategies. On the other hand, in networks where there is limited awareness about environmental policy and environmental management issues, the network outcomes are confined to fragmentary environmental activities of the main or the more aware actors. In the Molivos network, the municipality has chosen to keep the leading role in environmental infrastructure and destination promotion issues but shows unawareness of how to promote sustainability issues through networking activities. The network actors are not familiar with environmental management issues, so the bulk of the activities is still mainly addressed to end-of-pipe solutions and less to preventive techniques (EMAS, LA21, eco-label). The network’s and network actor’s activities will be further analysed in relation to some characteristic factors influencing and explaining the diversity in their performance. 5.2.1.2 Community-action networks Type of problems The ComAct networks’ agenda was usually closely related to the existing or dominating problems in the area. In the majority of the community-action networks tourism decline was the catalyst for collective action towards a better tourism image of the area. In these public-private collaborations the sustainable tourism planning imposes a pronounced environmental activity escalating from strategies for environmentally friendly tourism development (Calvià, Alcúdia) to fragmented actions for amelioration or protection of the environment threatened by tourism (Molivos III, IV). The severity of the tourism decline problem has led to a dynamic and diversified environmental performance in the Calvià case. Environmental education and community involvement in implementation of sustainable tourism development are two major axes of Calvià’s network response. The municipality takes a leading and co-ordinating role in the environmental management of tourism pressures exerted on the environment: waste and water strategic management plans, 93 eco-regulations, local energy saving plan, and nature conservation plans are some of the concrete actions of the network’s main actors. In other tourism destination cases where there are no serious or pressing, according to the perception of their members, environmental problems to remedy (Alcúdia, Molivos, Kinsale), ComAct networks tend to show fragmented environmental activity heading mainly environmental infrastructure construction and to a lesser extent to environmental policy settings and proactive behaviour. In Alcúdia’s case, the municipality shows a rather fragmented type of sustainable development activity which mainly motivates the improvement of the environmental quality of the offered tourism product and services. The “Eco-tourist Plaque” constitutes the main activity of the Alcúdia network towards the sustainable tourism development goal. This is also the case of the Kinsale network, which has been motivated by the Tidy Town’s Prize in working towards the further improvement of the town’s image as a quality tourism destination. In Molivos’s case – where there is lack of environmental policy settings – the central environmental issues for the municipality’s key actor are waste and drinking water management, the preservation of the townscape, and traffic control in terms of tourism infrastructure provision (waste treatment plant, water reservoir, periphery road and parking places). In community-action networks, the socio-economic or cultural aspects of sustainable development have also emerged and in some cases even dominated, giving priority to related activities. Especially for networks that have been set within communities with economic decline problems, the main network strategies are focused on the revitalisation of the local economy. The main core of activities is towards job creation, education of employed and unemployed people, social support and involvement of the local stakeholders into goal setting and implementation in order to shift the community towards the common vision of (tourism) sustainable development. Åre and Molivos (I, II) networks are the two characteristic cases where the socio-economic orientation was necessary in order to create the appropriate context for dealing successfully with the dominant local problems. 94 Goal setting Clear network goals and policy settings result in more tangible and concrete outcomes. The more integrated and specific the planning, the more diversified and multi-dimensional the outcomes can be. This is indicated by the Calvià, which has adopted a long-term planning towards tourism sustainable development as a response to the serious environmental problems and the consequential tourism decline. The LA21 action framework has been chosen by many communities throughout the world “to create a shared vision for local development that is consistent with the sustainable development concept” (ICLEI, 1999). The Calvià network, through the LA21 framework, has proceeded with certain planning actions concerning the major environmental issues/pressures and certain socioeconomic and cultural aspects. The network activities cover almost all the environmental fields (resource depletion, wastes, water pollution, and urban quality). The Alcúdia network, on the other hand, adopting the profile of an Ecotourist Municipality, proceeded with actions showing its commitment to preserve the natural and cultural heritage. The tourism business is the target sector for exerting sustainable tourism policy. The Ecotourist Plaque constitutes a central activity in this municipality-centred Spanish network in order to deal in a preventive way with the environmental impacts of tourism development. At the same time, the municipality promotes a more environmentally friendly tourism profile through concrete actions concerning the management of wastes, the traffic and noise control, environmental regulations and training and information strategies. On the other hand, there are the networks with specific goals, which are not-directly related to environmental sustainability issues but to the improvement of the area’s environment. The practical outcomes are not closely related to environmental management issues although the co-existence of increased environmental awareness among the key members can easily broaden the network goal context. In the Kinsale network, for example the main concern is the quality of everyday life and the improvement and preservation of the urban environment and its pioneering position among similar ones (Tidy Towns contest). The main core of activities relates to cosmetic environmental enhancement, the revitalisation of the cultural environment, while there is a focus on informational or educational activities concerning environmental issues. Examples are informational signposts at the Wildlife Sanctuary, dissemination of information within 95 restaurant and hotel sectors about environmentally friendly practices, lobbying for environmental improvements, and environmental education campaign for local schools. In the Molivos case, the tourism development and wellbeing is the main network priority leading to actions for amelioration, preservation and promotion of the offered product (clean, traditionally built environment). The municipality is the main network actor concerning environmental issues. Unfortunately the lack of information and awareness about environmental policy issues and the limited economic resources restrict the diversity of activities into better environmental and tourism infrastructure and lessens the preventive environmental actions at the municipality or enterprise level. The preservation of the local architectural character is the main activity at the network level. All network members comply with their leader’s guidelines and they actively participate in maintaining the cultural and natural local heritage (they build their houses with local materials, maintain a clean environment, offer locally produced food). In the network cases with pronounced social character, the environmental physical activities are not the only network priority although the environment can be considered as an essential economic factor especially when environmental awareness is elevated. The economic decline of the Åre area is stimulating support for activities that ensure the economic development/revitalisation of the region. The activities are mainly directed towards democratic development and support (involvement of people in activities, discussion of priorities, communication of results, support of local development projects) as the only way to successfully deal with local problems. Social work is also one main concern in the Åre case: courses for unemployed people, establishment of an employment centre, creation of a “social club”, and work with youth and children. Environmental activities are also an action priority brought in by the business sector, mainly, concerning waste management issues and environmental education and awareness (environmental festivals) ones. All of the community networks from the loosely to the formally structured partnerships show a pronounced effort of the promotion of joint decision-making among key local stakeholders. The public participation in open meetings like in Molivos informal networks or through the Citizens Forum (Calvià) or the multi-stakeholder Board of Tourism (Alcúdia), or the involvement of people in network activities and discussions (Åre) or voluntary participation in thematic committees (Kinsale) are some different forms of the 96 effort for achievement of community involvement in planning and implementing sustainable tourism development at the destination level. (Jamal and Getz 1995). 5.2.1.3 Business-action networks The quality and quantity of the practical outcomes of the studied business-action networks seem to depend on the network goals and on the awareness and involvement of the network actors for implementing the network direction-settings. Goal-setting The BusAct networks, either local or dispersed, more clearly address concrete actions towards environmental sustainability. Environmental management issues and environmental education and training are among the first priorities in goal setting especially when rather large enterprises are involved. The environmental awareness and environmental stimulation of the tourism enterprises are the two direction settings by the management group of the YSMEK public-business network as a response to the greening of tourism industry and the growing awareness of the tourists-clients. Spreading information, sharing knowledge and implementation of environmental management improvements, in practice, are the chosen strategies for implementing the main network goals, which also aims to foster development of new forms of environmental collaboration. The practical outcomes of the tourism enterprise sector are the results of network motivation, which has escalated from development of environmental issues like waste and energy management to environmental management systems and even to life cycle perspective and orientation. The good environmental performance of the local tourism industry as a market competitive advantage of the whole region is the response of the Sälen network to the sustainable development question raised after the Rio Summit within the Swedish community (Olin, 1999). The environmental education and awareness training is the main network strategy in enhancing the good environmental performance in the local tourism sector. The Initial Environmental Review (IER) in the network’s member-companies and joined request for environmental management projects are the tangible outcomes of the Sälen network activities. Reactive approaches like the development of a waste management plan in the Sälen ski resort or the establishment of a waste separation system by Lindvallen 97 restaurants, together with proactive stances like design and implementation of elements of EMS, are some types of activities undertaken by network members within the environmental sustainability framework. In the small tourism enterprise networks, selling traditional tourism products, like FN and HI, the size of the involved enterprises seem to confine the environmental performance to fragmented actions for the aesthetic improvement of the business’s environment with some aspects of environmental management systems in some cases. Besides, the environmental impacts of such enterprises are not significant and the lack of a manager to understand and co-ordinate their environmental performance results in a rather passive attitude. The FN topdown network has as its primary goal the promotion of a quality and environmentally sound tourism product through the environmental awareness of the network members. But the involved tourism farmhouses are mainly utilised for their economic viability and less for their environmental performance, which they do not feel is problematic anyway. Their environmental activities are related to waste management and energy saving issues although not all members consider them equally significant business priorities. The dissemination of environmental awareness by the network co-ordinators is not always enough to stimulate green strategy setting at the level of the firm. In small business networks with pronounced cultural character like traditional or heritage tourism enterprises, the environmental performance is synonymous with the provision of an upgraded, non-mass tourism, expensive high-end products based on a traditional and well preserved/conserved natural environment. The common vision or concern of the individual entrepreneurs when it is present, leads to concrete activities at the firm level while the environmental awareness levels can broaden the network environmental goals and actions. Green strategy The studied business-action networks present diversity concerning their structure (stakeholder diversity, type and the size of the involved enterprises), and their strategy to implement their goals. In all networks, the main goal is market oriented but environmental considerations are among the first priorities, although in different levels of integration and perception. 98 The green strategy repertoire chosen by these networks escalates from physical objects (mainly waste minimisation and management or diffusion of environmental management systems) to purely social activities such as lobbying. In the Finnish networks, YSMEK and FN, the network green strategy is designed at the top level in an effort to spread the environmental proactive attitude throughout the Finnish tourism sector. Both networks are directed at supporting, training and disseminating environmental information among the enterprises’ network members, in order to stimulate their environmental friendly strategy and performance. YSMEK network provides a mechanism for mutual learning and action by the different enterprises’ network members about environmental issues. The concrete network actions were towards the support and accomplishing of pilot EMS projects and publication of relevant material (guidebook and software) while some of the network members have moved further by developing their own green strategy (ISO 14000, waste handling and management issues, energy issues, construction materials, sub-contractors and suppliers). In FN farm holiday houses, the network’s aim is to enhance the livelihood of the Finnish countryside through the improvement of tourism marketing opportunities offered by these traditional settlements. The network’s main core of activities is towards members’ environmental education and quality training and to the effort of EMS adoption through the implementation of Initial Environmental Reviews in pilot firms (FINECO project) in an effort to motivate environmentally sound performance from individual members. The network members’ performance vary greatly concerning the way they are addressing environmental issues. Waste management is the main environmental issue they are dealing with while some more active members, have their environmental work well organised. For Sälen, the Swedish business-action network, environmental issues are also identified as the strategic driver for the future and as a field for securing their position among their competitors. Market motives or concerns for securing a good tourism market is the dominating factor driving environmental actions in the network. The green strategy chosen by this network of tourism businesses is the creation of Sustainable Tourism Area initiative by LA21 framework. In this case LA21 process is seen as cross-sector networking in a local context (Olin 1999) aiming at bringing extra competitive advantage to the enterprisesnetwork members. Waste management, water purification, transportation and environmental education are the target areas for the network actors as steps towards a more environmentally sustainable performance. The network serves as a general co-ordinator and 99 supporter of tourism enterprises especially concerning environmental awareness and training issues and joint applications for financial resources. The strategy of lobbying is the green choice for HI, the Irish network of heritage houses – tourism enterprises. The idea of respecting environmental limits represents the philosophy of the network. The practical implementation of sustainable development takes place at the individual firm level while the network serves as an added value to the individual activities of concerned network members. Besides the aesthetic improvement of the houses and the conservation of the natural surroundings, many network actors move further in adopting elements of environmental management systems or environmental friendly behaviours like reducing the amount of laundry, use of alternative cleaning agents and even the introduction of a bio-cycle sewage system. 5.2.2 Key findings • Sustainable tourism development remains a vague concept with many practical interpretations from tourism practitioners. This is not surprising as the same happens among scientists dealing with the issue. Sustainable tourism development is perceived to be the promotion of an environmentally more friendly – or less consuming and damaging – tourism product, which will give to the tourism activity an important tourism market advantage ensuring its economic viability. In some cases, when social or economic problems are more pressing, these aspects of sustainability become the dominant ones. • In most cases, the networks proceed in a more or less fragmented way to the setting of sustainable tourism goals, without a review and prioritisation of the major problems of the sector or the area. The only exception was the Spanish network Calvià, which through the LA21, tried to identify and determine the thematic areas for action. Network actors are also dealing with sustainability in a fragmented way (environment, socioeconomic, cultural aspects) depending on the existing or pressing problems and on their awareness level. • The business-action networks help in the spread of the environmental or sustainable attitude throughout the sector, but the support of the public sector is needed in order to be effective. As tourism is far more dependent on market forces, the existence of business-action networks or sub-networks is very important for keeping tourism 100 development on the track of sustainability. The community-action networks, when they gather and keep the important local tourism stakeholders actively engaged, can proceed towards sustainable development as long as there is a strong and effective mechanism present (see success and failure factors). • The existence of a clear policy and implementation strategy, together with authority support, seem to increase the effectiveness of network performance. • The awareness and training of the network leaders and members is a crucial parameter in the setting of targets and the successful implementation of them. • The national context also plays an important role in the promotion and dissemination of information or policies about sustainable tourism. The northern countries and especially the Nordic ones seem more advanced in this field. There is a very important environmental and even sustainable awareness among practitioners, which is promoted and supported by the national policies, in contrast to the southern Mediterranean countries, where there is still much to be done in that field. 101 6 Success and failure factors of the sustainable tourism network This chapter analyses potential success and failure factors of the studied tourism networks heading towards sustainable development. Networking towards sustainable development means a dynamic process of collaboration between multiple and interdependent stakeholders. Despite that a significant number of studies have investigated how factors from different levels of analysis influence the formation of inter-organisational relationships (see Ebers 1999), research has focused mainly on the motives and contingencies of inter-organisational networking. Less is known about the processes that translate motives into particular outcomes and about the conditions that facilitate and constrain different forms of inter-organisational co-operation. Success and failure factors are likely to shift as the network evolves over time. If we assume that success and failure differ from phase to phase, what are the main phases of network formation? Some researchers suggest three developmental phases (Gray 1987; Larson 1992; Snow and Thomas 1993). For instance, Gray (1987) distinguishes a problem-setting phase in which potential partners identify one another and mutually scrutinise possible joint interests; a direction-setting phase in which potential networking partners articulate their values and begin to develop a sense of common purpose; and a structuring phase in which the partners develop and build the structures that are intended to support their co-operative activities. Jamal and Getz (1995) use this three-stage model for collaboration processes in planning and development of local, community-based tourism destinations. This model seems useful to explore the contingencies that facilitate and constrain different development stages of public-private tourism networks. They also help to increase understanding about the conditions necessary to move through each developmental phase. Even though we find that there is no sequential model of network development but rather an ongoing processes of learning and translation of ideas (see Chapter 7), in this chapter we will treat the above mentioned three phases as basic elements of networking processes. Within each phase, we identify some of the most important factors that appeared to influence the formation of the nine networks under study. The factors have been classified in different interpretative categories and are discussed regarding problem-setting, direction-setting and structuring of networks as illustrated in Figure 6.1. In an attempt to highlight the dynamic processes of networking, afterwards, the role of trust formation is analysed. 102 Awareness Commitment Shared goals Proximity PROBLEMSETTING DIRECTIONSETTING Context Conflict & Competition Management & Leadership Power STRUCTURING Resources Figure 6.1 Success and failure factors that influenced formation and development of the nine tourism networks studied in this research project 6.1 Problem-setting: joint appreciation of the need to network Problem-setting is concerned with identification of the stakeholders related to a common problem or interest and mutual acknowledgement of the issues which joins them. Initially, the situation has to take an explicit form or identity that allows stakeholders to communicate about it and eventually act upon it. Unless the stakeholders appreciate the interdependence that exists among them, they will not initiate a network process. Before actors will engage in network activities towards sustainable development, they must believe that collaboration will produce positive outcomes (see Chapter 5, section 5.1). Table 6.1 shows the potential success and failure factors in the problem-setting phase, which are discussed in detail below. Table 6.1 Success and failure factors that influenced sustainable tourism networks at the problem-setting stage of their development Problem-setting: Joint appreciation of the need to network Success factors • High awareness of network actors; • Prevailing norms and experiences of collaboration; • Personal engagement of key actors; • Strong sense of community/agency. 103 Failure factors • Individualism; • Low awareness of network actors; • Self-interest and short-term thinking of business actors; • Tourism boom and lack of time availability; • Conflict with legislation and standards; • Under-supply of the necessary primary and secondary infrastructure; • Lack of enforcement of environmental laws; • Lack of integration co-ordination. 6.1.1 Awareness of network actors A minimum of awareness in environmental and sustainability issues is critical for individuals engaging in networks dealing with these topics. Accordingly, in the interviews, the most frequently mentioned factors for ensuring successful networking refers to individual concern and personal interest in environmental and sustainability problems. Therefore, it has to be taken into account that institutionalisation of environmentalism is much more advanced in Northern European societies than in Southern Europe. Calvià’s experience underlines this, where the success of the participation by citizens is generally explained with the very high percentages of foreign residents (about 10%) and of residents younger than 25 years (40-45%). Whereas, foreign residents are seen to be much more sensitive to the environment, young people simply are seen as more active than the older generations. However, environmental opinions do not necessarily lead to environmentally protective behaviours. "Concerning the citizen of the street, well, [..] there are more sensitised people, the surveys say that they are sensitised, but the behaviours, there is still a lot to do about, related to the consumption of water, in being responsible with the consumption of natural resources, there is still a lot to do." (Ca_Director of a service company 66) This large gap between environmental attitudes and actions is widely documented in the literature (e.g. Ungar 1994; Íñiguez 1996). For example, Akis-Roney conducted a survey in 104 a Turkish Mediterranean tourist resort that showed that even though the majority of the respondents believed in the delicacy of nature and importance of environmental protection, when people’s commitment to "saving the environment" was tested, the proportion of respondents declined drastically (Akis-Roney 1999). Some researchers explain this by arguing that structural conditions matter more than attitudes. For example, Derksen and Gartrell showed that when there is access to a structured, institutionalised recycling programme, it increases the level of recycling behaviour in the society regardless of the level of concern about the environment (Derksen and Gartrell 1993). This is in accordance with the higher environmental awareness in Northern European countries, where the social structure may contribute to a higher level of environmental activism than in Southern European countries. This also could explain why Nordic tourists in Spain and Greece seem to be more sensitive to the environment than local people, when it comes to behaviour. According to other researchers, even if people are concerned about the environment, they are not willing to incur significant costs or to change their daily routine (Stern and Gardner 1981). However, if there is an opportunity, at a low cost, they will engage in actions to protect the environment. According to this study, the tourism entrepreneurs are concerned for the environment as long as they can save money and it is not perceived as an obstacle for their businesses, which is the case in most of the networks. Just as having a high awareness level of network actors appears to be one decisive motivational factor for network actors, one of the most commonly stated obstacles for participating in the network activities is the low awareness of environmental or sustainable development problems. Usually the low awareness is linked to the rigidity to any change of personal habits, especially among older people: "It has been always done in this way, why we are going to change?" Attitudes towards the protection of the environment can be distinguished as indifferent and negative. Persons who are not willing to participate in network activities due to their indifference appear to have little or no interest in concepts such as Sustainable Development that seem too theoretical and removed from daily concerns. Another group of people show definite refusal reactions to sustainability initiatives. This negative attitude is probably based on fears and irrational reactions, lack of awareness or due to previous negative experiences. 105 "There are two types of obstacles: obstacles of indifference, people that do not attend to environmental questions, they are not interested . . . that do not feel that there is a relationship with their everyday problems and with their everyday eagerness. Then you meet a wall of indifference . . . There are some groups that present negative resistance, clearly negative, from my point of view, hardly reorientable to levels of rationality. These reactions are very emotional and full of biases and finally of false beliefs that this goes against their own interests, when an open dialogue would demonstrate that it goes in favour of all common interests and also in favour of their own interests." (Ca_representative of a bank 176-178) A particular variation appears to be the self-interest and short-term thinking in business enterprises. Small and medium-sized companies especially tend to focus on gaining profits in the short term, offered by the rapidly growing tourism activity. In some instances, a network’s sustainability activities are considered to be in contradiction with business goals, for example, the construction sector clearly opposes the halting of building projects in Calvià. Also, environmental issues appear to be quite new for the entrepreneurs or even to the customers, and thus entrepreneurs do no recognise outside pressure for improvements. Other specific attitudes found as barriers for engaging in sustainable development activities were the bureaucratic attitudes in public organisations (e.g. Kinsale) and the lack of experience of the citizens and the local parties to take part in public participation processes and get binding solutions (e.g. Calvià and Alcúdia). This leads to a reflection on the actual understanding of a democratic system, about voting and taking responsibility: "The European participative system is very old, it is about a century old, it is very outdated. To find new formulas of participation is complicated, firstly because people are very busy, minding their own businesses, we live in a very individualistic society. Perhaps, the issue of the environment is one of the first things that you begin to reflect on commonly, the individual behaviours have a collective result and can even serve to do a reflection about public and collective systems. But in fact, in all Europe, when you vote you are meaning, “take charge of this”, like to the president of the owner associations, “take charge of this, I have already voted”. Then, to change that sense of participation for a more responsible, more active sense, that change of values, I believe that the environment could be a channel..." (Ca – Director of a service company 74.) The success of the networking process is influenced by the prevailing norms supporting collaboration and participation. In this sense, the specific cultural and traditional context has a major influence. For instance, Swedish network participants commented on the need to belong to the community, to participate in decision-making and the resistance to changes in Swedish society. Irish actors often mentioned the deeply rooted ambivalence to the problem of littering and a culture of tolerance towards the problem by the state. Interviewed actors from the Spanish networks refer to the individualistic character of Majorcans to explain the relatively low degree of association in voluntary bodies. 6.1.2 Commitment of network actors Co-operation between network members needs commitment on the part of the involved 106 actors. One of the most important success factors for networks is the presence of key persons showing a high level of engagement with a certain cause. In some instances, such “sustainability champions” were critical for leading the way to initiatives towards sustainability and for the start-up of the network (Åre and Sälen). In other cases, the enthusiasm of important network members led to spontaneous activities or even establishment of network subgroup (e.g. MAYAVAT in YSMEK). Mostly, the personal characteristics of these key persons play an important role, that is, if they show a strong personality “appropriate for the job” and if they have a wide acceptance (e.g. mayors). The personality of the first LA21 co-ordinator of Sälen is reflected in the following description given by her successor: “Sometimes someone told me that when they were asked if they knew what agenda 21 was, they didn't. If they were asked if they knew who Brigitta [the LA21 co-ordinator] was, they knew.” [SÄLEN – LA21 co-ordinator 147] On the other hand, statements about key persons like “difficult to co-operate with”, “not sufficiently strong personality” etc, were made in relation to potential barriers. The personal commitment and dedication to network goals are able to inspire trust and keep alive the involvement of network actors similar to that in the case of Molivos – even during periods of the network’s passivity. The feeling of association with the network group – the sense of belonging – seems to facilitate the networking process. In community-based networks, the presence of a sense of community proved to be decisive for success. In Molivos, the network members almost all agree that in their town there exists an advanced community spirit with minor political or other juxtapositions. Members of Kinsale agree on the fact that there is a strong sense of community and furthermore, a strong sense of agency, that means that the community feels that it has some control over its own future. Consequently, tourism is seen as affecting the community in general, rather than just the tourism industry. In contrast, degrees of individualism as a barrier to collective responsibility were felt to be a problem for network functioning. The general consensus regarding the community dimension as an important motivating source for the network is exemplified by the statement by the respondent from the Regional Tourism Authority: "Twenty [five] years ago Kinsale could see the big picture on tourism. Twenty years ago the baker in most towns in Ireland did not think they were involved in tourism, nor did the garage man think he was involved in tourism. It was atypical to see the benefits of working together. Kinsale has been a role model for other towns." (K 7, Regional Tourism Authority). 107 6.1.3 Specific context of networks Success and failure factors can refer not only to internal factors of the network but also to external conditions. In most of the networks, the recession in the tourism industry set up awareness about sustainability issues, either directly (Calvià) or indirectly (Alcúdia, Sweden). On the other hand, the booming of tourism business hinders entrepreneurs from thinking about the environment and sustainable development. Similarly, the tourist destinations that experienced a mass tourism “boom” complained about a lack of time for training and adapting to the new tourism model (e.g. Molivos). Another common failure factor is the conflict with legislation and standards other than sustainable requirements, for example, fire and safety, food and tourism taxes. For instance, the MALO quality-rating standard for Finnish holiday cottages gives stars according to how luxurious the cottage is in terms of electrical and other equipment, for example, dish washers, dryers, etc. Therefore, farm holiday entrepreneurs who wish to run energy-saving cottages cannot get a good star-rating for their cottages even if their cottage would be well managed with regard to, for instance, cleanness, preserving old buildings, beautiful landscapes. Other common failure factors related to state authorities were: • Under-supply of the necessary primary infrastructure (e.g. sewage treatment) and secondary services to maintain the quality of the environment (e.g. recycled products), inadequate traffic management; • Lack of enforcement of environmental laws; • Lack of integration co-ordination: conflict between environment and development objectives, conflict between tourism vs. other industries. 6.2 Direction-setting: developing a common vision Direction-setting pretends to articulate the values that guide the individual pursuits of stakeholders and identify a sense of common purpose. The process of stating the individual goals shall serve to develop a common vision of network participants and, ultimately, 108 correlate the network actors activities’ towards mutually desirable ends. Networks can come through potential success and failure factors, which are summarised in Table 6.2. Table 6.2 Success and failure factors that influenced sustainable tourism networks at the direction-setting stage of their development Direction-setting: Developing a common vision Success factors • High priority of SD goals; • Identification with a common cause; • Common background; • Previous working culture; • Continuous collaboration with all stakeholders; • Public participation process. Failure factors • Conflicting goals or strategies, unmet expectations; • Geographical distance between network members and/or network centre; • Competition/conflicts inside the network; • Conflicts with parties outside the network; • Lack of co-operation with important stakeholders. 6.2.1 Shared goals among network actors Sustainable development can be either the primary goal of the network, or the network may have another main reason to exist, alongside with which it aims at enhancing sustainability. Of course, the reason for the initial formation of a network and the priority of sustainability goals in all or some of its dimensions – environmental, social, cultural and economic – will play a major role in the success of the network actions heading towards sustainability. Furthermore, direction-setting for achieving the network goal(s) is facilitated to the extent that network actors develop a coincident appreciation of their problem and a similar set of values to guide the search for a solution. A strategic tourism planning network at the community level even can require the formulation of a shared vision on desired tourism development and growth (Jamal and Getz 1995). Problems arise from non-complementary or conflicting goals or strategies and false expectations among network initiators and actors. Åre network members relate the major failures to unmet expectations and a lack of problem 109 understanding faced by the network. In Alcúdia, members of the Board of Tourism are willing to collaborate with the City Council in environmental issues and to take part in the municipal decision making process, but are disappointed because of the purely informative meetings. Similarly in the YSMEK network, the environmental co-ordinators expected more continuous support and information sharing whereas the management group sees the project as providing information for their purposes to improve the environmental care in the industry as a whole. In contrast, in Calviá, the network actors admitted the importance of the re-orientation of the actors’ motivation from purely business driven to those facilitated by the broader considerations of sustainable development. In some networks, conflict of goals seem to derive from the fact that goals are not clearly stated to other members and thus, the actors are unaware of each other’s goals. For example, in the Finnland Natürlich network the entrepreneurs’ preference is to attract more customers whereas the Finnland Natürlich office has, as a more important objective, standardisation and quality improvements in enterprises. While the lack of clarity regarding the goals or strategies may have lead to failure of the whole network in some cases (FN, Sälen), in other cases it only meant that some sustainable development activities or some parts of the network did not succeed (YSMEK, Alcúdia, Åre). 6.2.2 Proximity between network actors The existence of a common frame of reference or a common language is a crucial condition for communication to generate interpersonal understanding (Boons 1999). In the networks under study, a common background in tourism often played a role in providing a level of mutual understanding and contributed to the success of the network. It was especially evident where the actors of the common background were performing complementary functions, for example, KSG struck up a relationship based on good co-operation with the municipality actors previously engaged in the tourism business. In the case of business actors, co-operation even depends on the domain similarity of the firms that compose the network (Human and Provan 1997). Regardless of the membership of the network (public or private actors), a sense of identification with a common cause seems crucial for collaboration. 110 At the same time, the history of interaction of the co-operating organisations or individuals may play an important role for the network’s success (Boons 1999). The network actors of YSMEK, Calvià, Åre and Sälen have earlier experiences of working together, and this previous working culture has influenced the co-operation in the new network situation to a greater or lesser extent. Mostly, previous initiatives relate to tourism services that required a high level of co-operation and were restricted to the private sector. Finally, geographical distance between network members and/or the network centre can become a barrier. In the cases of Finnish networks (YSMEK and FN) the pilot firms that are situated all over one county, Pirkanmaa, or even all over Finland, feel that they are too far away from each other to be able to keep sufficiently close contacts or even to be able to cooperate: “Well, I think it's very minimal, the communication, actually it's more that you have to find things out on your own. There is information there all right. I've thought it's good that when we have those HoTrend seminars then there are always shows about the coming . . . the new products that are coming out . . . new . . . everything to do with this sorting and collecting of waste, the things that make it easier. You get good information there and the shows are really good. Those have been really good, so I really wish there were more of them.” (Y – 156, environmental co-ordinator of an YSMEK enterprise) However, in YSMEK, the distance barrier was overcome, to some extent, by establishing the subnetwork MAYAVAT. Also, in the case of the dispersed network Hidden Ireland the domain similarity and the sense of identification with a common cause (old heritage houses) may be an important factor contributing to the sense of community even if geographical proximity does not exist. On the other hand, without a sense of identification with a common cause, even close proximity will not create the sense of community, as the example of Sälen shows. 6.2.3 Co-operation and competition among network actors In networks operating at the community level, it is important to engage all relevant stakeholders, that means at least the following key groups: local government plus other public organisations having a direct bearing on resource allocation; tourism industry associations and sectors (Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitor Bureau); regional tourist authority; residents organisations (community groups): social agencies (e.g. school boards, hospitals) and special interest groups (e.g. environmentalist groups) (Jamal and Getz 1995). Determining the specific mix of key stakeholders is a critical task, particularly since adequate representation of residents has to be ensured. Furthermore, community 111 participation has to take a dynamic and active form to consider the continuous change of economic, social and environmental conditions in the residents’ perception. The biggest success factor of the Molivos network was the continuous effort of the leaders to actively engage locals in local development issues and in big decision making, and to achieve a continuous interactive process among leaders/planners and citizens. The links developed among network members and their collaborative attitude even proved to be strong enough to overcome the network’s passivity phase without letting the network to fall apart. Similarly, in Calvià, the local population was invited to take part actively in the planning and decisionmaking process through a personalised approach. The success of the personalised approach has been also demonstrated in Åre. “What happens is that active, intense and multitudinal participation is very difficult and I believe that it is necessary to do a work of "petite committee", to reach all the houses, not through advertising or communications by means of media, but there has to be a very personalised work, which is what our neighbours, our citizens do like, I believe that on all the levels but I believe that in Calvià in a special way. (Ca – Mayor 40) In networks comprised of potential competitor firms (domain similarity), the firms have to learn to work together regularly to overcome their instincts to compete rather than to cooperate (Human and Provan 1997). For example, rather than accumulate and gain control over scarce resources, firms are being asked to share resources (skills, knowledge, etc.). This can lead to difficulties in co-operation, as in the case of Sälen where enterprises are competitors due to high geographical proximity, whereas the complementarity of Åre businesses facilitates collaboration. In YSMEK the different geographical locations of network companies has been, in some way, a facilitator, yet it has made it possible to share information between similar enterprises that cannot be considered competitors. Another phenomenon are organisations that are not familiar with collaboration and may be reluctant to join, out of fear of losing control over their domain, and may prefer to utilise their resources in a traditional, non-network strategy. For example, the construction sector in Calvià opposes the network actions because they go against their traditional building activity instead of seeing the potential of emergent restoration and preservation activity. In networks operating at both the business and the community level, lack of co-operation can turn into competition or even conflict. Some networks have major internal conflicts. For example, the breaking of the Molivos network into two parties: the “Friends of Molivos”, a clique of intellectual and concerned persons opposed to mass tourism, and the core of the tourism entrepreneurs and the town’s mayor. However, the “Friends of Molivos” have been 112 acting as a control factor to network activities, forcing the municipality and the entrepreneurs to rethink their activities and keep them inside the preservation framework, even during periods of rapid tourism expansion. In Åre, the hidden struggle for control resulted in the resignation of the village group leader. Explanations for these internal conflicts range from personal dislikes to more general tendencies for power control or an inability to relinquish power. Furthermore, some networks face conflict with parties outside the networks. Sälen network actors commented on external struggles with the municipality, claiming that they were unable to understand the reality of tourism business. In Alcúdia, the City Council stated that environmentalist groups are not within the network committees because they refused, whereas the environmentalists say that they were interested but have not been invited. Involvement of all important parties is strategically essential for networks operations. All networks face the problem of lack of co-operation with important stakeholders as authorities, institutions, NGOs, neighbours, and other networks. In particular, network members complain about failed co-operation with regional or national authorities for solving local problems like territorial planning, infrastructure, waste management, waste water treatment etc. Also, in many cases, a need for co-operation between the business actors of the network and the authorities has been emphasised (Molivos, Calvià and Alcúdia). “Nowadays a region that wants to be competitive has to consider the problems at a regional level and has to consider the image at a regional level and to do communication at a regional level. The region isn’t competitive as a sum of good communications of 1,000 enterprises that work in there but there are some issues that can’t be achieved with a simple sum of individual efforts but they need the initiative and the leadership of regional authorities” (Ca – representative of a bank 64) 6.3 Structuring: managing the interactions For dealing with complex problems, stakeholders have to create long-term structures to support and sustain their collective appreciation and problem-solving activities and to manage the needed interactions in an increasingly systematic manner. If the network wants to deal with its purposes in an efficient manner, a structure must be created, either formally or informally, to regulate the collaborative activities. Table 6.3 shows the potential success and failure factors regarding the structuring of networks. 113 Table 6.3 Success and failure factors that influenced structuring of sustainable tourism networks among the nine studied in this research project Structuring: Managing the interactions Success factors • Adequate network administration; • Explicit commitment of network leaders; • Power potential of network leaders and key persons; • Expertise; • Supporters in a political or financial form (official sources, authorities, companies); • Enough money and time for individual members; • Information flows inside and outside the network. Failure factors • Inadequate network administration, lack of strategic planning; • Too strong leadership; • Lack or threatening of power; • Lack of knowledge and expertise; • Lack of information flows; • Lack of financial resources; • Lack of political support from official sources; • Lack of support from the top management and employees within participating organisations. • Lack of human resources and time for individual members 6.3.1 Management and leadership of the network Some network administrative organisation is clearly needed if a network is to act as a network. The role and identity of the administrative structure is critical for ensuring an adequate structure and strategic planning. It should have the following characteristics: legitimacy, authority, expertise, resources, and may be derived from a government agency, industry firm, or a local tourist organszation. If a network management group exists, the composition of this group and which parties are represented need to be decided upon. For instance, in YSMEK tourism, business companies feel that they should have been more widely represented in the YSMEK directing group. 114 In networks headed by local authorities, a clear political commitment of the municipal network leaders is necessary for the initiation and furtherance of network activities (Molivos, Calvià, Alcúdia). However, too strong leadership can lead to passivity of network actors because they get the feeling that they are not responsible for acting, as the Presidency Director of Calvià states: “there is certainly a latent paternalism inherent in these activities . . . clearly this has the counterpart to say: ‘well, the Town Council will already do it’.” (Ca – City Council representative 194) The importance of the planning process is illustrated in Calvià, where an exhaustive analysis of all sustainability-related areas was jointly undertaken by experts and citizens, in order to assess the situation and establish a priorities of the needed network actions. In contrast, in Kinsale, the strategic planning is identified as a general need for the network, and without this the success of the past seems unsustainable. The lack of long-term planning and the problem-solving functioning of the Alcúdia and a certain phase of the Molivos networks were also perceived as a barrier. 6.3.2 Power within the network The network process has to ensure the power potential to implement its policies or goals, especially regarding the voluntary basis of the networks. The leaders or key persons of the networks should have sufficient authority in planning and implementing the decisions arrived at (which they had in Molyvos, Finland, but did not have in Sälen and Åre) and in finding sufficient resources (which they had in Finland). In the Molivos network, the mayor mostly had the needed power to enforce laws and decisions that led to successful policy implementation. For instance, the mayors are responsible for the allocation of water supply permits for new hotels and in that way they are able to keep the tourism infrastructure under control. Also, due to their close co-operation with other authorities in their effort to control building expansion of the town (Regional Curator of Antiquities, Ministry of Culture), the mayors manage to nominate the town surroundings as archaeological zones with certain restrictions in land uses. At the same time, the ability to use opportunities has become a factor contributing to the success of some networks. The network actors and network supporters of Åre managed to find opportunities for continuation of the activities within the regulative constraints, even after some cliques ceased to exist. A representative of Åre municipality, the leader of the opposition party, comments: 115 “”. . . only one official rule for [choosing the products to be purchased by municipality] is price. But we have to consider [the environment] and to have our own measures . . . and we have already begun to do this. So there is a space which we can use before they [higher positioned authorities] grab us. And we have to use that space, or a little bit more of it, regularly.” [Åre – head of political opposition of the municipality 22] Jamal and Getz (1995) argue that the issues of legitimacy and power are also critical considerations in the selection of stakeholders as power struggles may exist. For instance, some important stakeholders can feel threatened by a potential loss of control over decisionmaking and resources. An interesting example is the Åre network, where a representative of KSG indicated that the support form the majority of Aregruppen representatives was withdrawn when representatives of KSG became a power in Aregruppen. Other, less influential, groups, can feel that networking will not empower them to be able to influence decision-making over future development, like the case of the business associations that participate in the Board of Tourism of Alcúdia. 6.3.3 Resources for networking Network functioning requires a critical amount of certain resources, to name the most important expertise, information, financial and political support, human resources, time etc. Resources have to be allocated at the network level as well as inside the participating organisations. At the level of the network itself, the most important factors are wide expertise and enough support from different sources. The expertise can be either of network leaders or through external consultants, like in the cases of Calvià and Molivos. A sufficient number of supporters is needed to secure political support and financial contribution. Lack of consistent support from powerful actors in political or financial form was clearly pronounced as factors jeopardising the networks’ efficiency or even their existence. For instance, the problem of Åre network sub-groups was that at the moment when decision/support was most needed, it did not come. At the level of individual organisations the critical factors are more likely money and time. An essential success factor is securing the information flows inside and outside the network. Within the network, a continuous spreading of information is needed (e.g. regular meetings), while outside relationships with reviewers and journalists may be cultivated in order to develop a marketing image. In some instances, emerged sub-networks became additional information sharing media. However, it was found to be important to maintain the 116 information exchange among the sub-groups. Åre demonstrated a negative experience with this respect – the emerging sub-groups were not co-ordinating their activities. Missing information links between subgroups were also apparent in YSMEK, FN and Sälen. In networks with business members, participating enterprises need support from top management and employees. In YSMEK, environmental co-ordinators of enterprises sometimes felt that they were left alone and received no support, which makes it difficult to make environmental improvements. According to one environmental co-ordinator of YSMEK: “Awfully, many environmental co-ordinators feel themselves lonesome. Firstly because they lack information and secondly they are already alone in their own enterprise with these issues. The others do not see the issues in the same way as the one who is responsible. That leads very fast into burn-outs.” (Y – camping site manager and environmental co-ordinator 127) Nevertheless, this leads to the establishment of MAYAVAT, where the environmental coordinators can share experiences. Most often, the failure factors are lack of money and time. Generally speaking, for medium and big enterprises, time was the biggest barrier whereas for small enterprises, it was money. A specific time-related problem for some enterprises of the Finnish network was the work on a project basis and the lack of continuity and time scale between project phases. Intensive educational activities seem crucial in order to create a network capacity and expertise. Some of the networks had shown a need that the first actions should be relatively small and big decisions are to be made after creating sufficient awareness. For instance, some of the small-scale actions developed in Alcúdia brought relative satisfactory results (e.g. Ecotourist Plaque, environmental training of entrepreneurs): “I believe that the interesting thing about the eco-label is that with a very little amount of money by the City Council and with a little amount of money by the hoteliers we are achieving many things. I think that is the point.” (Al – Greenpeace representative 368) In the case of the local networks, it was important to involve the entire population of the area in educational activities about the questions related to sustainable development and the activities of the core members of the network. 117 6.4 Trust: a dynamic element In the introduction to this chapter, we argued that networking should be regarded as inherently dynamic as opposed to static. Several researchers have stated the importance of development dynamics within networks (see Ebers 1999). The dynamics driving these development processes have the structure of feedback loops: the specific outcomes of networking may in turn change the (pre)conditions for networking and thus drive the evolution of inter-organisational relationships. For instance, changes in the actors’ expectations of their network partners’ behaviour and actions will result in a gradual change of the structuring and functioning of a particular networking relationship. Hence, the concept of trust seems to play a prominent role in the adjustment of forms of interorganisational networks. For example, with regard to trust among networking partners, the perceived outcomes of trusting behaviour towards another party (favourable or unfavourable) will influence actors’ expectations for the next interaction with that party. Depending on the perceived outcomes, actors’ growing experience with one another can thus either lead to an increase in mutual trust or result in the build-up of distrust among partners. In this sense, trust can be regarded as an outcome but as well as a necessary condition for networking. Trust within the networks could be defined in the following way: “[Trusting] participants share certain ends of values; bear each other a diffuse sense of long-term obligations; offer each other spontaneous support without narrowly calculating the cost or anticipating any equivalent short-term reciprocation; communicate freely and honestly; are ready to repose their fortunes in each other hands; and give each other the benefit of any doubt that may arise with respect to goodwill and motivation” (Clegg and Hardy 1996). Trust assumes dismissal of immediate self-gain and is built on the perceived reliability of the actors now and in the future. Issues of trust came up on several occasions in the studied networks. It is difficult, however, to observe any cross-case correlation between trust and any other networks’ characteristics like domain similarity, power or number of active actors. Frequently, trust relates to specific relations and events and not to the entire network. This is not so surprising if one considers that trust is very much an account of the current “level of trust” and very much dependent on 118 the “now and here” feeling about trust. At the same time, the interviewees might not be concerned with the issue of trust if there are no major problems associated. Although not pretending to be complete, figure 6.2 summarises the essential elements affecting trust in different networks. The explanatory description follows. Initial trust + - Recognition Credibility Reciprocity of actions of actions of actions + - +- + TRUST Initial stage of network formation Later stages Figure 6.2 Factors affecting level of trust in the tourism networks studied in this research project 6.4.1 Initial trust One of the critical elements is an initial level of trust among the network actors coming together. Important conditions for initial trust building relate to the specific situation and relationships among network actors in the initial phases of networking (see above sections about problem and direction setting). Conditions for building trust are particularly connected to co-operation and competition of network actors. For example, the business actors in Sälen are long-time competitors and the level of competition has been increasing for several years. Work within the LA21 was a novel co-operative experience that did not let them take tasks that were too ambitious. This missing collaborative experience and lack of initial trust made the actors act in a very conscious and calculating way towards each other. Actors in Åre, on the other hand, have complementary businesses in the same area. There is a high degree of initial trust based on the long and non-conflicting history of working together. This fact also 119 shows the importance of the common background of the network actors. Actors in Åre express trust to the municipal leaders who have a background in tourism and therefore understand the realities of the Åre village dealing with tourism. A similar situation exists in Molyvos, where the mayor of the city is a hotelier himself and is trusted by the tourism actors. 6.4.2 Recognition of actions Public recognition, both negative and positive, played a very essential role in trust or distrust building within the networks. The best example for positive external recognition through awards and standards is Kinsale, where the history of achieving recognition has fostered a spirit of participation (Tidy Towns, Entente Florale, European Environment and Tourism Prize, etc.) and the desire for further success and recognition. The importance of publicity as an external and internal reinforcement was also demonstrated by Molyvos, Åre, YSMEK, Calvià, and Kinsale. The reinforcing of trust in network functioning is essential because lack of tangible results or inconsistency of initiated work, discourages and dissatisfys involved network members. As an example, in the regular meetings of the Board of Tourism of Alcúdia, members try to solve some specific problems (like carbon emissions from truck transportation to the power station, or effluents of sewage water to sea and lakes), but so far they have not succeed in many issues and they lost trust in the Town Council. 6.4.3 Credibility of actions Trust among network actors may be fostered by credible commitments and actions. One of the most reinforcing issues in all networks were the positive values experienced by the network participants through the undertaken actions (“value added”). The most commonly named benefits were: cost savings, competitive advantage, ensuring the livelihood and improving the status of the industry, positive publicity, “destination’s fame”, an increase in income, long-term impacts, and improvement of the social system (see also Halme and Fadeeva 1998). Experiences that have proven visibly successful create a feeling of satisfaction and pride for the common efforts. In this sense, Calvià has carried out some spectacular actions (e.g. demolition of old hotels, halting of construction projects) to increase the credibility of network initiatives and inspire trust among citizens. “I believe it was a really positive experience, this period in which the idea is launched to the civil society and from the local government it is felt that no credibility does exist about its performance. Then to prove it wrong, the suspension of the General Urban Management Plan was done. . . . And then to ensure credibility the old 120 Plan was stopped and the draft of the New General Plan started, introducing the philosophy of the Local Agenda.” (Ca – Head of environmental department of the city council 86) Furthermore, positive feedback from the undertaken actions gives reason to continue with improvements (“success breads success”). On the other hand, the Alcúdia Town Council lost much of its credibility because of the many municipal activities that are not in accordance with the declaration of principles of an Ecotourist Municipality. 6.4.4 Reciprocity of actions The influence of reciprocity of actions on trust has been shown in the situations where actors were expected to look for greater consensus or to respond with the actions that go beyond the “traditional” way of doing things. For instance, actors in Alcúdia did not find that the municipality was acting in accordance to the style that is expected on the bases of the claims to be an Ecotourist Municipality. Active agreement seeking seems to have become an indication of reciprocity. This point is illustrated by different ways of organising the municipal waste collection in Alcúdia and Calvià. An extra effort is shown by the municipality of Calvià to recognise the actions of the companies. The Hotel Associations of Calvià have always been in a participative collaboration with the Calvià Town Council, as stated by a hotelier of Calvià: “In this area, selective waste collection is done in 90% of the hotels, they have invested in containers, practically all the associated members do, . . . the Town Council did a free pilot project, that means you don't have to pay for it, in the future probably it will charge for that (laughs). . . . We also proposed that those hotels that are doing the selective waste collection could have a discount in the organic waste tax, because clearly, if they make it on the one hand they will have less volume on the other. Then in this aspect (?), the good will of this Town Council is really pioneering” (Ca – Hotel director and president of a hotel association 71, 85) On the contrary, the Hotel Association of Alcúdia complains about the City Council that shows no recognition of the companies’ efforts to reduce the waste volume by buying their own cardboard and paper presses. Another example from Sälen shows the relations between reciprocity of actions, future commitments and trust. Historically, the relations between tourism businesses and the municipality were among the most productive. The tourism business representatives state failure of the municipality to respond to their demands with respect to, for example, adequate provision of social and municipal services. As a result of the missing trust, the reciprocity of the actions manifesting themselves in taking equal financial obligations in the future activities, became the only conditions for the future actions. 121 6.5 Key findings Potential success and failure factors of the studied tourism networks have been analysed and discussed. Implicit in this discussion is the idea that network dynamics can be managed to improve the collaboration among multiple actors. • In order to start networking successfully towards sustainable development, the multiple stakeholders have to appreciate the interdependence between them and acknowledge the issues of common interest. Facilitators and barriers in this initial stage relate to awareness of network actors, commitment of key members and the specific context of networks. • Crucial for networking among different public and private actors is the development of a common vision. This process of articulating individual values and preferences should lead to the identification of a sense of common purpose. Important influencing factors found are shared goals, proximity of background and geographical location and cooperative versus competitive attitude of network actors. • As for the institutionalisation of the network as such, a formal or informal structure has to be created. For the network structure to be efficient, the issues of management, leadership, power and critical amount of resources have to be taken into account. • Surprisingly, top-down versus bottom-up mode of running the networks does not seem to influence success or failure of the networks. • Trust can simultaneously be considered an outcome and a necessary condition for networking, as the perceived outcomes of trusting behaviour among network actors will facilitate or constrain future interactions within the network. Conditions affecting the level of trust in networks are initial trust, recognition, credibility and reciprocity of undertaken actions. 122 7 Processes of Learning and Institutionalisation of Sustainable Development in Tourism Networks This chapter discusses processes of learning about sustainable development in a network context and highlights institutionalisation of ideas. These two frameworks, learning and institutionalisation stress the importance of the process of network evolvement with regard to the outcomes of the activity. The learning and institutionalisation discussions are to some extent overlapping – a fact that begs for the reader’s indulgence. The reason for applying both discussions is that they reveal a number of different aspects of the process. The learning chapter brings a contribution by providing new insights to inter-organisational learning for sustainable development, grounded in data from nine tourism networks. Then it describes the process of learning, drawing attention to events and examples that promote or hinder learning for sustainable development. An attempt is made to connect the process of learning to outcomes. Next learning vis-à-vis structure of the networks is examined. The second part of the chapter (7.2.) discusses how ideas proceed in the network. This section illustrates how diverse public-private constellations of actors are able to select certain ideas, transfer them into actions and then dismiss them or suggest them for future use within the network or for broader outside use. Among factors affecting attention of network actors to certain ideas and the process of objectification of these ideas. In the end of the chapter we discuss how structural and dynamic characteristics of the networks influence translation and transfer of the ideas. 7.1 Learning for sustainable development in tourism networks As alliances and partnerships in sustainable development connect actors from different public and private sectors of society that have traditionally tended to be more isolated from one another (Hartman et al. 1999). As such partnerships develop, they face the challenge of learning. Often this challenge is bigger than in homogenous groups, for example, networks that consist only of business enterprises. In the public/private networks for sustainable development, very different rationales and mindsets meet, thus making the creation of a common basis for learning more difficult. 123 The mainstream evidence about inter-organisational learning comes from business network settings (e.g. Larsson et al. 1998, Inkpen and Crossan 1995, Lütz 1999). On the other hand, studies on social networks provide some evidence of how ideas and patterns of action develop among groups of individuals (e.g. Scott 1991, Wasserman and Galaskiewicz 1994). However, except for few exceptions (Boons 1998 and 1999, Clarke and Roome 1999), there are few data about how knowledge is created and sustainable development acted upon in public-private partnerships. 7.1.1 Inter-organisational learning for sustainable development The empirical evidence of inter-organisational learning (Larsson et al. 1998, Inkpen and Crossan 1995, Hamel 1991) is still somewhat limited since organisational research has only recently begun to take the leap from intra-organisational learning to development of knowledge collectively between organisations (Larsson et al. 1998). As for the concept of organisational learning, Weick and Westley (1996) recommended that it should focus on how organisations or similar groups acquire knowledge as they gain experience, how this knowledge is embedded in such entities and what the effect of such changes in knowledge has on later performance. The notion of embeddedness is important, because the knowledge is embedded in work group structures, roles and procedures, or in individual members of the group. Interorganisational learning on the other hand can be viewed as a collective acquisition of knowledge and skills, and can be considered different from organisational learning by including the learning synergy or interaction effect between the organisations that would not have occurred if there had not been any interaction (Larsson et al. 1998). The phenomenon of learning becomes more complicated when extended to the inter-organisational setting. Regarding knowledge transfer or knowledge creation at an inter-organisational arena, there is not “the one organisation” that potential learning would serve. Different members of the network may have different motivations, goals and strategies for learning from co-operation (Hamel 1991). Working in networks requires different skills and worldviews than those of traditional market or bureaucratic transactions (Ebers 1999). This factor is accentuated in the sustainable development context where networks tend to consist of actors from various sectors of society, which means that the language actors use and the approaches they apply to address sustainability may differ vastly. In general, in the sustainable development context, one of the first aims is unlearning traditionally polarised ways of communicating 124 between stakeholder groups representing different views, and instead bridging dialogue between business actors and authorities or NGOs without losing one’s own identity. 7.1.2 Learning in the tourism networks In this chapter, we discuss factors that can set learning in motion (triggers), sources of learning during the process and outcomes of learning in the tourism networks striving to enhance sustainable development. Due to the empirical scope of this article as well as limited previous research, the intention here is not to give a full presentation of all possible triggers, sources and outcomes of learning, but rather to highlight those that appear central in the focal networks. Figure 7.1 illustrates this process in a simplified form. Figure 7.1 A simplified framework for learning in the tourism networks towards sustainable development included in this research project Even though the above framework depicts learning as a linear process, this is not an underlying assumption guiding the research. The framework should rather be conceived as guidance to the structure of this paper. A peculiarity with learning is that the same word “learning” refers to both outcome and a process, giving it a circular, tautological sense, and concealing rather than revealing the dynamics of the process and the exact nature of the outcome. Therefore we would like to emphasise that when speaking about learning in 125 networks, we refer to both the learning process of the network actors and the outcomes of such process (cf. Weick and Westley 1996). To illustrate this point, let us refer to the start of environmental work in Kinsale Chamber of Tourism (KCoT). Almost universally throughout the Kinsale interviews, a similar story was told about “how Kinsale came last in the Tidy Towns competition in 1979 and turned defeat into victory by winning the competition in 1986”. This appears to be the commonly agreed “genesis story” of the Kinsale networks” interest in environmental sustainability. During the process of turning Kinsale from a “dirty town” to a “tidy one” the actors of the Kinsale network developed a mode of operating which can be perceived as one outcome of the learning process. In this chapter, we will discuss triggers, process factors and outcomes of learning in the sustainable tourism networks. 7.1.3 Triggers of learning Learning can be triggered by various events and experiences (Dutton and Duncan 1987). In the networks of the sample, we can recognise negative triggers like failure, or anticipation of a threat, and positive triggers like availability of funds or anticipation of better marketing possibilities in the future.48 Often these triggers are entangled with one another. Nevertheless, failures, crises, or external shifts do not by themselves lead to learning, they only create the need (Gersick 1991). In other words, the triggering event, as such, will not keep learning going, but the learning process needs to be reinforced once it has started or else the system will return back to the old (Halme 1997). Learning may eventually lead to transactional and/or transformational outcomes (Human and Provan 1997). Anticipation or realisation of a decline. In a number of instances, anticipation of some kind of a threat has set learning in motion. In Calvià, the threat of decline of the number of tourists has triggered learning. In Kinsale and Åre, sustaining the livelihood of the community has been the trigger for networking locally. In Molivos, the tourism recession in recent years has revitalised the network, being a trigger for new actions. In Alcúdia, the anticipation of exceeding the limits of the carrying capacity, and thus losing the reputation as a tempting tourism resort has occurred due to bad examples from other Mediterranean 48 Some of the triggers discussed here can also be considered as motivators for starting an action. While there are certain driving forces, for starting action, these very same forces may also trigger learning for sustainability. 126 resorts. Institutionalisation of environmentalism in the society and demand of customers/market, on the other hand, have triggered learning in some of the networks like YSMEK, Sälen and FN. The latter ones have not met the constraints (in the form of a dying village or lowering number of tourists), but rather the observation of a societal trend has triggered learning. Money-machine. It could be argued that availability of funds was another important trigger for learning in Calvià, Sälen, and Åre. The General Directorate of Tourism in Spain offered to fund Calvià’s Local Agenda 21, and the process was started in 1995. Also, later on, Calvià has successfully used the money-machine to fund its various sustainable development projects. The Town Council is collaborating intensively with other authorities on the national and autonomous level (Majorcan Island Council, Balearic Autonomous Government and National Government) and on European level with the European Commission. The co-ordinator of Local Agenda 21 is also responsible to look for European funded projects (LIFE, TERRA, Integrated Management of Coastal Zones etc.) and currently Calvià is collaborating in several European projects. In Åre, available public funding catalise the initiation of the Village Development Project (VDP). Work by KSG (Eco-cycle group of Åre Business Association) created a very positive image for the Åre community that allowed the municipality of Åre to receive money for village development from EC and the regional government, who have jointly financed VDP for the period of 2 years. At present all subgroups of the Åre network are concerned with fundraising issues. Since Åre municipality is an objective six area within the EU, most of the actors are busy applying for money available both from the EU and regional authorities for the development of the area. While external money is directed towards activities benefiting the entire community, for example work with unemployed people, money from local companies (Åregruppen, ICA shop’s contribution derived from their plastic bags) have been devoted to the establishment of the schemes, that are directly beneficial for them, like waste management projects by KSG. It is clear that money is a major concern for most of the groups carrying social and democratic work. Sälen is an example where the promise of the money-machine was present, but never realised, thus leading to stagnation of the network functioning. The “Sustainable Sälen project” (launched in 1995 within the framework of Local Agenda 21) initiative aimed to build a network of tourism businesses that shall work with environmental questions. The 127 network sought joined financing from the local government and the network companies to the waste management and transportation issues in the area, and to the employment of the regional environmental co-ordinator. The financial contribution from the government was rejected. This, together with several interruptions in the co-ordination of the project (frequent change of the LA21 co-ordinator) stagnated the network. Yet it appears that joint applications for funding might be one of the main powers holding this network together. 7.1.4 Sources of learning during the process As mentioned above, after learning in the network has been set in motion, it may still return back to old patterns unless the started process keeps moving ahead (cf. Hedberg 1981). The following discussion illuminates sources of learning that were found to keep the process ongoing in the present networks. Sometimes learning follows from improvisation. In such instances, learning may be felt rather than programmed or monitored. Improvisation requires the capacity to tolerate and elaborate errors. Learning moments, like surprises may only be known after they are felt. For instance the start of the YSMEK network can be considered improvised. In Finland, tourism is seen as an unimportant industry. As environmental demands arose in the beginning of the 1990s, no official constituency was ready to take the responsibility. The Finnish Tourist Board said it has no environmental expertise and the Ministry of Environment considered that they did not have responsibility for tourism enterprises. Therefore, a compromise was made to bring all the tourism-related actors together. This group decided on a very inexpensive way of starting to green the Finnish tourism sector. They hired one consultant to do environmental reviews in ten pilot enterprises. Based on the review, a guidebook was to be published for the rest of the industry to utilise. Funding for the consultant was provided by the participating ministries and a small fee was asked from the pilot enterprises. This improvised model turned out to be successful due to the light official structure: hired consultant, voluntary management group and pilot enterprises. The guidebook was soon sold out, both the Finnish language version and the English translation. It was acquired, not only by tourism industry people but also by educational institutions. The management group could see results very quickly – in a year – compared to their usual slow bureaucratic experiences. Thus, what originally was a minimal solution to a neglected industry’s problem resulted in higher-level learning, which led to a novel system of operation. 128 “So, this makes sense. My own personal view is that this YSMEK group is really the best and most efficient working group where I have ever participated. Compared to the effort and money that society has invested in it.” (Chairman of YSMEK 152) Mimicry (DiMaggio and Powell 1991) is a significant mechanism for learning in tourism networks. It takes place both within and between networks. Calviá is a model that other, especially Mediterranean, tourism destinations imitate. Hidden Ireland exchanged experiences in the European arena and, Kinsale did the same in an even larger international context. For instance, the idea of restoring and turning the old Desmond castle into a wine museum in Kinsale was found during a visit to Australia. The enterprises of YSMEK actively exchange information, and environmental representatives visit other firms (intranetwork mimicry). They have even started a sub-network MAYAVAT for the latter purpose. Actually the whole concept of YSMEK is based on the logic of imitation: YSMEK pilot enterprises serve as a model for other Finnish enterprises. But is there any innovative learning in the networks? Our data indicates that the innovations mainly lie in designing and setting up network functioning while the logic of imitation is associated with finding the means of achieving the established goals.49 Occasionally the networks demonstrated a significant level of innovation even when applying an existing concept. The Calvià network was designed within the model of Local Agenda 21, but the genuine and comprehensive attitude to the process for the Agenda setting made it a prototype. It has been argued that positive experience reinforces learning (Henry and Hope 1994, Ariño and de la Torre 1998). This could also be observed in a number of the present networks. Within the above “genesis story” of Kinsale, the first instance of, “learning from failure”50 (becoming last in Tidy Towns competition) was followed by a positive experience (winning the competition six years later), which can be seen to have reinforced learning that had started from failure. Within YSMEK, the first project was successful in the sense that the pilot enterprises conducted a good number of environmental improvements, and the report guidebook for the rest of the industry was soon sold out, indicating an interest among the whole industry. 49 For example, YSMEK has established a new way of operationalising the process of greening of the national tourism industry by bringing together actors that traditionally were not co-operating. On the other hand, the idea of the means of greening, environmental management was borrowed from the manufacturing industry. 129 YSMEK-project and the pilot firms attracted a fair amount of publicity. At the enterprise level, finding out that together with environmental improvements, costs can be saved, workloads lightened or environmental image improved were experiences that acted as reinforcing factors for environmental learning. In Calvià, the fact that the town has become an internationally known “sustainable tourism process” model has provided positive experiences to support the learning within the municipality. On the contrary, the paralysing effect of lacking positive experiences can be illustrated with examples from FN and Sälen networks. In FN, the network’s co-ordinator arranged environmental training (mainly in the form of lectures), but most of the members could not see the feasibility of such issues in the context of their farm holiday activity. They expected to get more customers with the help of FN, and as this has not occurred. The network is nearly in a paralysis even though it is still exists. Even the originally active members, like a lake cruise line respondent, wonder: ”Our interest in them has gone down, because during the past few years not much has happened what comes to us, so we are considering whether we should be part of it in future or not. … So, we are really considering whether it's worth it for us to be part of it or not, whether it is for us or not. Do they need us, and on the other hand, do we need them, so that we are interested in slightly different things. And then, on the other hand, if they need us, of course we are always ready to serve them and we are of course interested in the customers, but maybe our attitude towards the ring [FN] has changed.” (ship captain 44) In Sälen, the Local Agenda 21 co-ordinator was the initiator of the network. However, the co-ordinator was constantly changing. The business members of the network expressed their frustration with interrupted communication in the phases between different LA 21 coordinators. According to them, it poses uncertainty for the prospects for the networking initiative. This indicates that the co-ordinator was the glue holding the network together, while other members are not sufficiently committed to taking joint responsibility. The network activity has been fragmented, positive experiences have not occurred, and the network is now in stagnation. In Alcúdia, the network members did not report positive events, but rather incidents that do not reinforce learning: low demands placed on the coordinator (municipality) by itself, and a lack of systematic planning. A hotel association respondent felt that the municipality of Alcúdia is not setting the example it should: 50 see Arino and de la Torre 1998. 130 “It has to be the local authorities who take the lead. And I believe that they have said: "You have to do this", but there is a low or almost zero level of demand.” . . . But I don´t agree that they demand us without demanding themselves who are the ones who created the ecotourist plaque and without applying it, in a very self-critical way.” (Hotel association representative 35, 41) The norm of reciprocity may explain at least a part of the failed learning in Alcúdia, FN and Sälen. The rule of reciprocity implies that in multi-actor co-operations, only those actors willing to give something will receive something in return (Lütz 1999; Sydow and Windeler 1998). In FN, the enterprise members expected the office to provide them with more customers, and except for few active members, they themselves were not willing to invest in the network. In Sälen, the enterprise actors wanted the local agenda co-ordinator to run the network, and did not spend efforts to keep the network action going when the co-ordinator changed. In Alcúdia, the enterprise members felt that the municipality requires improvements from them, but does not engage in similar improvements itself. In other words, the expectations of “getting” were higher than willingness to give in these networks. One solution for trying to overcome the problem of reinforcing positive experiences may be the so-called small wins. They are one way of creating positive experiences to support learning for sustainable development. If the first actions of the network are relatively minor the actors will have some time to learn new, often complex sustainability issues. Small wins are controllable opportunities of a modest size that produce visible and tangible outcomes. A counter argument is often posed that resistance to chance is countered only by changes that are dramatic, that is, small wins encourage people to learn too little. However, the crticism overlooks that series of small wins often pave the way for a larger shift, and small wins provide a chance to learn gradually. Transparency and receptivity of network actors influence the learning process. Transparency refers to the “openness” of the organisation to its partners, whereas receptivity indicates the organisation’s ability to absorb skills from its network partners (Hamel 1991). From a learning point of view, transparency represents the co-operativeness of disclosing knowledge to the other organisation and receptivity corresponds to the assertiveness of absorbing the disclosed knowledge. Transparency was a concern mainly in those networks that include members that could compete with each other, like hotels, restaurants and different resorts in Sälen. They are in the same location and could compete for the same customers. However, in the present network’s receptivity, that is, the ability to take in knowledge coming from other network members was perhaps more pronounced learning determinant than transparency. 131 Occasionally, “critical actors” are a good source of learning in sustainability networks. In a number of the present networks an NGO actor was involved. Receptivity of the dominant actors to ideas of the critical actors may be difficult, even though it may turn out to be very useful. In the Molivos network, a lobby of Molivos citizens supported external artists and politicians. Friends of Molivos (FoM) was, for a number of years, in confrontation with the tourism actors who formed a predominant part of the network. FoM aims to keep Molivos at its traditional state whereas the tourism actors from the private and public sector pursue an increased number of tourists. In 1992, a mayor whose attitude toward tourism was more liberal than that of his predecessor was chosen. At that time, Molivos was under economic boom and the local tourism business was flourishing. FoM chose direct confrontation with the local authority and the tourism businessmen in an effort to keep things as they were. They were not appreciated by the rest of the network members, who saw the clique as an “enemy” and a barrier to their economic growth. However, toward the end of the decade, the receptivity of the network toward the ideas of FoM has grown. A number of reasons lie behind the increased receptivity: ! The mayor understood that FoM, in many cases with all the noise, helped in avoiding mistakes and prompted rethinking of decisions. The fact that he started to try to discuss FoM’s standpoints instead of rejecting them slowly helped in smoothing their disagreements. The mayor also seems to appreciate the efforts of everybody who in the past worked for Molivos’s conservation and preservation. He keeps on attributing “distinction of merit” to all of them. This appears to contribute to a more co-operative attitude among the local stakeholders and to diminish possible opponent behaviours. ! FoM actors who were very active in the beginning, started feeling tired of their continuous conflict with all the local interests and lost their initial passion. ! During recent years tourism business started facing problems that made the businessmen consider alternative and quality tourism products, coming closer to the FoM’s proposals and way of thinking. To conclude, the mayor’s middle-of-the-road attitude and his receptivity to criticism, his disposition to create new challenges of local development and his belief that everybody must be involved in this procedure greatly helped to overcome difficulties and conflicts with 132 FoM. On the other hand the FoM active members over time, felt the need to re-set the strategy in order to avoid ineffectiveness and being cut off from the world. 7.1.5 Transactional and transformational outcomes of learning Inter-organisational learning can be achieved by transferring existing knowledge from one organisation to another, as well as by creating completely new knowledge or skills through interaction among the organisations (Larsson et al. 1998). Learning in the networks can be incremental, but it may also contain more radical frame-breaking experiences, which allows networks to leap from one mode of operation to another (cf. Halinen et al. 1999). One of the basic distinctions is between deep revolutionary learning where actors of a group learn something “qualitatively new” versus evolutionary, incremental learning of “more of the same”.51 In the following discussion we will use the term higher-level learning to refer to the first type and lower-level learning to the latter. Higher-level learning refers to discovery, exploration, revolutionary learning, or framebreaking whereas lower-level learning organisations simply adapt to changes in their environment by readjusting their action strategies through repetition and routine within their own set of rules (Fiol and Lyles 1985; Argyris and Schön 1978). The latter kind of learning is supposed to exploit existing trajectories, thereby producing innovations of an incremental character. In terms of outcomes, lower-level learning can more often be expected to produce so called transactional outcomes, for instance gains in performance or enhanced resource acquisition (Human and Provan 1997), such as joint purchasing of environmental training services. Other examples of transactional outcomes in the sample networks include exchange of information about environmental management solutions, access to an architectural advice clinic (for getting information about how to renovate according to old traditions), cost savings, or increased environmental credibility for the firm. Higher-level learning is more likely to contribute to transformational outcomes, that is, changes in the ways members think and modes in which they act, or both (Human and 51 An oil company that changes its business idea to production of solar and wind power is an example of revolutionary learning whereas a company producing oil with less polluting methods than it previously did is an example of evolutionary learning. 133 Provan 1997). Among the transformational outcomes were, for example, new ideas for a business strategy52, improved image of the region among the local population and as a destination (as a result of joint efforts from local networking), the creation of new forms of employment and livelihood for a declining region, and new interaction channels with stakeholders, for instance bridges between business enterprises and NGOs or municipality and citizens.53 Occasionally, transformational outcomes manifest themselves through network culture. Cultural elements such as set of values and beliefs collectively adopted in the network, together with artefacts of their expression such as symbols, myths and metaphors are important to learning because they act as a storage for past learning and work as an instrument to communicate this learning within the network (Weick and Westley 1996). Let me give two examples: the YSMEK management group refers to itself as a “coffee club”. This metaphor tells how the management group perceives its mode operating. The chairman of YSMEK, senior inspector from the Ministry of Environment says: “Maybe the most central thing is this coffee club of ours…which has never been founded by anybody, and nobody is running it or giving us orders, and we can do what ever we like. We meet every two months and everybody brings the latest information from their part, and we talk about how everybody is doing, and then everybody asks, what are we going to do now, and then every time we get some project started, then we hire a consultant for that, and hold a few more meetings.” (92) In Kinsale, on the other hand, the question of social cohesion was something that concerned many of the respondents in different ways, for some the Kinsale network was a metaphor for social cohesion and self help. For one core member the activities of the network represent: “A cohesion and a working together that is unique to Kinsale and that goes through from the chamber of tourism to the sub-committees and I would say that the major social implication is self help, that the chamber inculcates in its members that anything that is good for Kinsale has to be supported and anything that is bad has to be disciplined or opposed, or at worst if it is really blatant, sat upon”. (Tourism promotion officer, KCoT) In Kinsale where people had traditionally tended to depend on somebody else (authorities) for being responsible for living conditions: the concept of self-help was novel. In YSMEK 52 For instance, in the course of environmental review process or environmental management implementation some of the YSMEK and FN enterprises stated that they had gotten ideas for how to systematise their management in areas other than the environment and ideas about how they could sharpen their business idea. 53 Both transactional and transformational outcomes can simultaneously occur in a network, and transactional outcomes may results from transformational outcomes. For instance, the creation of an architectural clinic in Kinsale can be considered a transformational outcome, because it manifests a new way of giving “voluntary public advice” to people who want to renovate their houses, in contrast to the former “authority requires” mindset. However, the transmission of information in the architectural clinic is a transactional outcome. 134 two things were “something that was qualitatively new”: first, the mode of working together across different areas of administration, business associations, personnel association and an environmental organisation in a voluntary grouping, and furthermore involving tourism enterprises on a voluntary basis (not applying command-and-control). Second, systematic environmental management in the service sector was novel in 1993 when YSMEK started.54 In contrast to unplanned outcomes of Kinsale and YSMEK, the example of Calviá demonstrates a model where planned actions (instead of improvisation and unintentional learning) can lead to “a collective way of inventing things’, a new common mode of working toward sustainable development on a very broad stakeholder involvement basis, and with an explicit engagement of all aspects of sustainable development under the planning framework. “Since we are working on this each day we are more motivated. Specially because of everything we are capable of doing, because at the moment the whole information was available, the debate has reached the street, even among the municipal civil servants it has had a really spectacular welcome, and there are appearing initiatives of any type. That is to say, we have discovered a way of inventing things that it has to do with this, and these methods haven't occurred to us before.” (Ca_Mayor 121) There are a number of barriers as well as facilitators to inter-organisational learning in public-private networks. They relate either to the structure of the network (structural facilitator/barrier), the way in which it functions (dynamic facilitator/barrier) or the resources that are or are not available (resource facilitator/barrier). Dynamic facilitators to learning were, for instance, trust based on previous interaction or commonality of interests. Both of these items enhanced the potential of reciprocity between the network members, which is one key condition for learning to occur. As trust is built in a process of interaction, it is advisable to adopt a long-term time orientation when starting a network. Above, small wins were encouraged, but they do not remove the fact that as network members share their context over time, they should become more adept at explicating tacit and embedded knowledge to one another, and develop the network fit for creating “large wins”. On the basis of this study we argue that an optimal amount of domain similarity of actors and adequate network administration/leadership (neither too active nor passive) also facilitated learning (structural facilitator). Availability of funds, as mentioned under 54 It had began a few years earlier in large industrial companies of heavy polluting sectors, but at that time tourism as non-smokestack industry was not generally considered an environmentally harmful an industry as today. 135 “money-machine”, was a facilitator in more than half of the sample networks (resource facilitator). Among barriers were non-commitment or absence of important actors, shortterm orientation of network actors (common among SME members), and maximisation of self-interest. These factors are discussed in more detail in the chapter “Success and failure factors”. 7.1.6 Network structure and learning In the above we have discussed the dynamic aspects of learning (process), but there are also structural issues that influence learning in sustainability networks. What can be said about network structure in relation to learning? Next we will discuss the relationship of two structural issues, leadership (hub) and membership, relating to learning within networks. Leadership/hub One of the common denominators to a number of networks of the sample was that they were lead by some focal or “hub” organisation/actor whose tasks among other things included information dissemination and training of other members about sustainability (cf. Sydow and Windeler 1998). A hub group was either an appointed management group or another type of co-ordinating party and most often consisted of public sectors actors (a more detailed discussion about structural characteristics of the sample networks is in section. 7.2 (see also tables 7.3, 7.4, 7.5). The hub actor had assumed an information dissemination function in Calvià, Kinsale, HI, FN, Sälen, Molivos and Alcúdia. In some networks the hub went further: in Alcúdia, FN, YSMEK and Sälen the hub arranged training. In the YSMEKconcept the management group hired consultants to work with pilot enterprises or organisations, the FN co-ordinator hired environmental educators to give classroom training to member entrepreneurs, Alcúdia provided environmental training for hotel and catering enterprises, and in Sälen LA21, the co-ordinator made arrangement with a university to educate business members on sustainable tourism. In Åre, the Village Development Group and Krettlopsgruppen organised training for the unemployed 55. 55In Åre, a hub actor could not be distinguished because the network consists of three overlapping networks from among which none actually appears as the one and leading actor. 136 In Calvià, the hub actor (municipality) sought to engage other actors into thematic working groups56, which seem to be becoming a vehicle for joint learning about different dimensions of sustainable development. Calvià’s “joint awareness-building” model was a constrast to the model of “training provider” hubs (Alcúdia, FN, and YSMEK), where the hub itself did not actually participate in training together with other actors. In all networks that applied teaching mode, the hub consisted of essentially of public actors. This is probably an indication of the public sector’s – particularly authorities” – new attitude, which has replaced the command-and-control one. The above observations lead us to the following question. 7.1.7 Membership composition As for the membership composition, in some networks the majority of members are from the business sector, whereas in others, public members dominate in number (table 7.2). To examine the membership composition in more detail, we ought to look at how different or similar domain the actors of networks represent (for a graphical representation see table 2.2.). The term domain-similarity has been used for this purpose. In studies on inter-firm alliances it has been found that differences or similarities in knowledge base, knowledge processing and dominant logic of actors act as ability barriers or ability facilitators in interorganisational learning (Larsson et al. 1998). In multi-stakeholder public-private networks these factors become aggravated since the actors vary considerably regarding their knowledge bases and dominant logic of action (e.g economic logic vs. administrative logic). In terms of learning about sustainable development it appears that there need to be different types of members to make broader understanding of it available. The diversity of actors increases opportunity for learning through combination of different experiences and reinterpretation of already existing knowledge. On the other hand, the actors of a network need to be able to create a certain amount of common ground in order to act. Therefore a certain amount of domain similarity is called for. Evidences of both are provided by e.g. YSMEK. A diverse management group provides the possibility to make use of a diverse knowledge base and assess many views. At the same time, some of the pilot enterprises acknowledged that development of conceptual understanding and efficiency of tasks 56 The working groups are: Integration and quality of life, Local ecology, Cultural heritage, Economy and tourism, Town-planning system, and Key environmental sectors. 137 implementation were especially clear within domain similar groups of companies. Likewise, companies in Sälen indicated the efficiency of implementation in the groups of actors with a similar professional background, explaining this as ease of understanding of the problems and realities of the business57. 7.1.8 Does training produce learning in networks? Obviously, training activities alone do not assure the occurrence of learning. They only make information available and create an opportunity for learning. Consequently, a few words should be presented about training as a potential source of learning in the network context, because it appears as one of the most typical vehicles of public-private networks to pursue learning about sustainable development. Our data indicate that at least when the education receivers are small tourism entrepreneurs, lectures or written materials alone do not come out as efficient sources of learning. Education and training should be very much related to the daily reality of the receiver. Even if information is available, it may make little sense to the recipient organisation that does not share the experience of the context in which the knowledge is created (Nonaka 1994). Learning occurs in the course of action and through own experience. Classroom training does not appear sufficient with the exception of actors whose attitudes are very positive to begin with and who are already open toward environmental (or a wider set of sustainability) issues. Such actors have environmental issues in their frame of reference and thus they can see the connection between the training and their own enterprise’s actions. In other words, the interviews imply that the usefulness of non-practical training like lectures, seminars and workshops depends on the sensitivity and awareness of the participant. YSMEK-type training which takes a format of hands-on practical activities in the enterprise has a greater potential of being effective even for less sensitive and aware participants that do not possess previous environmental knowledge and high motivation. 57 However, the Sälen network’s domain similar firms competed for the same customers. Consequently, the competitive aspect created a certain barrier to exchange of in the network, and it appeared that the network would have needed a stronger co-ordination structure to facilitate between actors whose collaboration is otherwise limited. 138 FN, for instance, provided environmental training sessions over a period of two years. Yet it did not manage to create transformational outcomes at the whole network, but rather contributed to environmental improvements among those actors who were already environmentally concerned or had at least some preliminary understanding about sustainable development issues. In other words, by providing environmental training and education, the FN office did not manage to provide an illuminating learning experience leading to a frame of reference to which the farm holiday house and other small enterprise members could attach the environmental or other sustainable development issues to. To conclude, in order for transformational outcomes (new ways of thinking or acting) at the network level to come about, they cannot occur through education and training only, but shared practical experiences or events in the network are needed. 7.1.9 Network communication channels and learning A hub actor/s “teaching” others may be an effective form of action toward sustainable development in one way, but it also contains an inherent risk. The risk is that information only flows one way, from the “teacher” to the “recipient”, not vice versa. Receptivity of a network member is limited by the strength of the intent to learn. The adoption of a teacher attitude in a network is likely to motivate receptivity less than those partners with a “student” or recipient attitude (Larsson et al. 1998). For instance in YSMEK, despite that the training format as such was successful, there is no feedback channel from the pilot enterprises and pilot event organisers to the management group. Such feedback could provide an opportunity for developing the future strategy of YSMEK. In Alcúdia a similar situation has led to the stage where the business group of the network is disappointed with the municipality actor’s input to improve the waste management system. It seems that the municipality actor is not aware of the disappointment (lacking feedback channel) and the business actor group lacks the power to influence the municipal actor (lacking influence channel). Likewise in FN, the co-ordinator does not seem to be able hear or interpret correctly the needs of the farms and other enterprises. This miscommunication means that the strategy of the network has not been modified on the basis of the experiences of the members, but without it, leading to the withdrawal of a majority of enterprise actors. It could be argued within the network paradigm that the public sector’s relationship to the enterprise sector is changing from the logic of command-and-control into the logic of collaboration. However, it appears that traces of the former command-and-control logic are 139 still in operation in some cases, reflected by, for instance, one-way communication from the public sector to the other actors in some networks. If the teacher-student model is applied, and the teacher actor does not make a special effort to create the feedback loops leading to two-way communication, the inter-organisational learning strategy of collaboration is not likely to take place. In the best case, such a situation will lead to accommodation as the learning strategy, that is, the recipient actors will integrate the knowledge distributed by the teacher actor. In order for collaboration to occur, partners should be able and willing to both distribute knowledge to other members and integrate knowledge made available by them (Larsson et al. 1998). 7.1.10 Key findings regarding inter-organisational learning in networks We would like to conclude by highlighting the following points: • Design and learning process. The network learning process may be more important visà-vis the outcomes than the network design. Triggers for learning can be negative or positive, and after learning has been set in motion, it needs to be reinforced in order for the system not to slide back to the old form of acting. Learning may produce exchangetype of transactional outcomes or create completely new knowledge, and/or ways of acting (transformational outcomes). • However, one rule of thumb for membership can be proposed: As diverse as necessary and as similar as possible. In multi-stakeholder public-private networks the actors vary considerably regarding their knowledge bases and dominant logic of action. In terms of learning about sustainability it appears that there need to be (1) different types of members to make broader understanding of sustainable development available. On the other hand, the actors of a network need to be (2) able to create a certain amount of common ground in order to act. On the basis of this study we argue that an optimal amount of domain similarity of actors facilitate learning. • Small wins but long-term orientation. Small wins, that is, controllable opportunities of modest size that produce visible and tangible outcomes can be created to support the network’s learning for sustainable development. However, it is advisable to adopt a long-term time orientation when starting a network. As trust is based upon previous interaction, a network needs time to become adept at explicating tacit and embedded 140 knowledge to one another, and develop the network so it is fit for creating “large wins”. Long-term orientation also applies to public fund providers: networks need support over a number of years and should not be expected have started to run on their own after two or three years. Short-term funding has a tendency to lead to fragmentary results and breed frustration toward the possibilities of acting upon sustainable development at a local level. • Collaborative learning strategy. Sustainability networks often apply a teacher-student model in various forms. The teacher actor should make a special effort to create the feedback loops leading to two-way communication, so the inter-organisational learning strategy of collaboration can take place. In order for the collaboration strategy to occur, partners should be able and willing to both distribute knowledge to other members and integrate knowledge made available by them. • Shared experiences. Learning and producing transformational outcomes cannot occur through education and training alone, but shared practical experiences or events in the networks are needed. 7.2 Translation of sustainability ideas in the inter-organisational networks It is not an easy task to establish the relations between the network context and the goals, goals and actions, and goals and outcomes. The network theory suggests foci for the research of these important domains of tourism networks for sustainable development and relations among these domains. In addition, we need a lens that would help to explain the variations in forms of, for example, actions the network actors take, differences in interpretations of situations or choice of collaborators. Institutional theory, one of the major approaches to study organisational (and inter-organisational) phenomena provides the possibility to explain the variety of form of structures and actions. The questions of interconnections among the context, interpretations, goals, and chosen actions might be formulated as a question of translation of the practices related to sustainable development dependent on the constellation and type of actors involved in the translation process and the circumstances (context) in which the actors exist. The idea of translation is formulated by Bruno Latour (1986) within the tradition of new institutionalism. It became especially pronounced by the Scandinavian institutionalists (Czarniawska and Jorges 1996, Prasad 1999). The new institutionalists argue that the broad 141 institutional myths, rules and practices are not simply applied but to some extent modified, reformulated, reshaped, redefined every time they are taken up by organisations or individuals. In contrast to the old institutional theorists, new institutionalists allow some agency to the actors in the organisational field (Prasad 1999). The model of translation has its own distinctive features (Prasad 1999), which are summarised below: ! It allows interpretation of the dominant myth by the actors and assumes a link to the practices (e.g. routines, rules, policies and procedures); ! It points out that different organisations and individuals have different abilities and motivations to interpret and adopt the myths. It indicates that the actions could follow a range of conscious and unconscious reasons for interpreting and translating the myths in a way that they do; ! It suggests that organisations and individuals are simultaneously engaged in the activities following conformist and non-conformists strategies. The idea of translation brings the suggested research to the question of interpretation and materialisation of the ideas and practices related to sustainable development by different network actors within different local contexts. This theoretical approach appears especially relevant for two reasons. First, the process of networking is far from linear – multiple factors, including various interests and understandings of actors affect the results of the undertakings. In other words, networking can be presented as a chain of on-going translations affected by multiple factors. Second, the ideas falling into the range of sustainable development often do not allow straightforward interpretation. Thus, the translation of these ideas by the network actors is unavoidable. 7.2.1 Landing ideas – choice of the ideas by the networks The realities of organisations are filled with ideas. Some of them, while circling around, catch the actors” curiosity, lend a solution to a pressing problem or are simply being used for naming what is already happening (Czarniawska and Jorges 1996). Less timely ideas are passing without even being noticed. While it is quite difficult to explain the relevance of an idea for an individual organisation, it is becoming even more challenging to answer this question for the network of different actors. This section is an attempt to highlight several factors affecting the choice of the network’s ideas for the actions towards sustainable 142 development – dominating discourse, presence of the idea-barriers, existing symbols of the ideas, processes of imitation and innovation, and state of the legislative development. 7.2.1.1 Directing social attention: ecological modernisation as a meta-idea To start with, we need to emphasise that most of the ideas the networks choose to work with fit to the concept of ecological modernisation. This concept that has been swiftly taking influence since the 80s58, submits that while serious environmental problems are a reality, the existing social, economic and political institutions can adequately work it out (Hajer 1997). Eco-modernism, implying rejection of the pre-eco-modernistic bureaucratic practices and acknowledging the role of different actors (and specifically businesses) in bringing about sustainable development (Hajer 1997) constitutes a master idea (Czarniawska and Jorges 1996) for the actors in society. This master idea plays a double role. First, it gives legitimacy to the actions within the sustainable development domain and second it emphases the appropriateness of addressing sustainable development issues through collective actions of organisations and individuals. All nine tourism networks studied in this research project present more or less successful examples of collective efforts along one or several sustainable development dimensions. Some of the networks were initially created for the purposes of addressing environmental questions (e.g. YSMEK, Sälen) or more integrated issues of sustainable development (Calvià), others have added elements of sustainable development to the already existing agenda (e.g. Åre, FN). The majority of the networks have been carrying out actions without recognising them as falling into some of the sustainable development domains. These networks, for example, Kinsale and Hidden Ireland, however, have recently begun discovering a new legitimacy for the old actions using labels from the environmental management and sustainable development discourse59. The discourse of ecological modernisation is specifically concentrated on the environmental ills of society. Environmental concerns are growing in all European countries and the environmental pressure on businesses, coming through direct market pressure or an 58 The concept is introduced by Joseph Huber and Martin Jänicke (Hajer 1997, p25) 59 In many cases the networks in Scandinavian countries, e.g. Åre, Sälen, have reported a clearly communicated concern by their customers with respect to environmental issues. In a case of FN, the customers’ interest in environmental questions has been only anticipated. 143 awareness of the possibility of such pressure, triggers some of the networks to concentrate on environmental actions. Needless to say that most of the time these actions are chosen on the bases of visibility for the customers. The networks in the Scandinavian countries, Sälen, Åre, YSMEK, and FN, that receive either Scandinavian or German tourists are conscious about their environmental performance as a response to the high awareness of their customers and personnel. 7.2.1.2 Presentation of the idea within the institutions: idea brokers and symbols of the idea The choice of ideas, which are selected by the networks to be tried out, is affected by the activities of the actors whose specific role in society has become to be institutional ideacarriers. These “merchants of meaning” or “idea-bearers” (Czarniawska and Jorges 1996), who bring the ideas into the spotlight of public attention are represented by consultants and more recently representatives of the educational and research institutions. These actors possess tools to solve problems of concern and/or to form organisational identities (Czarniawska and Jorges 1996). Most of the networks have used “idea-bearing” organisations or individuals at different stages of their existence and with the different degree of success. In some instances, the idea-bearers have directly suggested ideas with which to work with. For example, the University of Middle Sweden, that was involved in the Sälen network, suggested an initial environmental review (IER) followed by classroom environmental education for all involved organisations as activities of the network. In the majority of cases, however, the idea-bearers played the role of experts in establishing a process for environmental management or sustainable development. The network of Calvià worked with the experts who were familiar with the systematic process of identification of the problems that the municipality has been facing and the ways of addressing these issues. Both Sälen and Åre networks have used professional consultants to conduct a survey identifying environmental issues of the biggest customers” concern in order to address them through the network’s actions. Examples of Åre, YSMEK, and Sälen have shown the role of professional idea-bearers is not limited only to introducing the seeds of the ideas to the networks. The very existence of idea-bearers has often served as an assurance that the ideas, which the networks have come 144 across, can be pursued with relative certainty. In some way, they served as a guarantee that the recommended process is a realistic venture and is worthwhile. Representatives of universities have helped the idea of waste management to take a form and shape in Åre and Sälen. YSMEK has a tradition of using consultants for the implementation of the ideas that the management group of the network chooses. The external experts were always important for Molyvos network. The network leaders and important members traditionally seek expert consultancy during the critical phases of network development, goal setting and action planning. Although, efforts of active merchants of ideas play an important role in tuning actors’ attention to certain ideas, there are other carriers of ideas. Many of the actions are steered by the symbols and actions initiated within the business or political field. We would like to discuss two examples of these impersonal idea carriers – awards and programmes providing financial assistance for the desirable activities within the field of sustainable development and environmental management. The government programme, at the national and international levels, has a power to attract the attention of the actors by providing financial contribution for some projects. Often, the guidelines for the projects that deserve financial assistance are broad. Nevertheless, they indicate the type of ideas to be adopted for getting the desirable support. While power of the “money machine” (section 7.1, this chapter) is known to affect many actors in society, research has shown quite a large sensitivity of the networks to the availability of the external support. For example, the networks in Åre and Sälen have indicated that the external project money is the most crucial if not the only alternative for the networks’ existence. The money machine serves as a cast, giving a tangible form to one of the many ideas network actors can potentially address. The case of Åre has shown an example where the existing financial assistance, at the national level, served a role of differentiating an idea of democratic development from the others. Financial contribution from the General Directorate of Tourism, that has been interested in having the pioneering municipality triggered the initiation of Calvià’s Local Agenda 21. Different types of awards and competition with sets of requirements also serve as an attention-sharpening function for the network actors. The “Tidy Towns” competition in Ireland had set off the activities of Kinsale network back in 1979. Later, Kinsale received 145 the EU Prize for Tourism and the Environment in 1995, which conditioned some of the network’s activities. 7.2.1.3 Discovering the names – giving identity to the existing action Not all ideas that attract attention lead to actions. Sometimes they become a long-searched mirror, a new identity for the actions the actors within the networks carry along (Czarniawska and Jorges 1996). The attention of the actors might be sharpened by the involvement in an on-going process rather than by a search for a solution to an existing problem. Observations from the example of Hidden Ireland have shown how the longestablished actions of the traditional business nature for the heritage homes have recently become classified as sustainable development actions. This example is unique – the smallscale activities of business operations of the heritage homes, their emphasis on the preservation of the houses and areas around, find easy parallel with sustainable development thinking. Kinsale provides a similar example where only some network actors attribute the actions of the network to sustainable development. Interestingly, the actors that use terminology of sustainable development, belong to the periphery of the network and play a PR role. 7.2.1.4 Imitation or innovation – what are the roots of the ideas The question of a network attention is to a large extent defined by the perception of the problem the network is facing. Sahlin-Andersson (1990) submits that the problem definition is often done by comparison of the organisational situation with the one that is desired. Frequently, the ideal and desirable state is conveyed by some famous story or case study. For example, for a long time, stories told around the River Valley Project (RVP) inspired many of the collaborative efforts in the communities. Interestingly enough, the actors of the EMPOST-NET networks have seldom mentioned pioneering examples in the fields they are working as motivation for their activities. Exceptions are suggested by the cases of Kinsale, Åre, and YSMEK. Kinsale participated in the town-twinning projects that provided possibilities for deriving examples from other tourism destinations. Actors of KSG in Åre have conducted a series of trips around Sweden in an attempt to learn from experience of other municipalities. YSMEK had drawn the initial inspiration for the ideas to work with from the manufacturing sector that had somewhat more experience in the environmental management area. 146 The networks’ actors have more frequently referred either to the negative examples from the other regions or to the deteriorating stage of their own affairs. For example, networks in Åre, Kinsale, Calvià and Molyvos considered the decline of their regions or businesses as a primary cause for mobilising collective actions. What is the reason behind the dominating problem-related references? The lack of the positive cases available to the networks might have been due to the pioneering nature of the network’s activities in the area of sustainable development. Alternatively, each of the networks faced rather new and unique problems that could have been solved more successfully through innovation rather than imitation. Our data show that the innovations in the network have come through bringing a network together and setting up the overall network functioning while imitations were associated with the specific tasks performed within the networks. In other words, the innovations have been demonstrated through the ways of the network setting and imitations through finding the means of achieving the established goals. For example, YSMEK has established an entirely new way of operationalising the process of greening of the national tourism industry through bringing together actors that traditionally were not co-operating for this specific reason. On the other hand, the means for achieving the goal of the network – for example, conducting the initial environmental reviews or designing and implementing environmental management systems – were borrowed from the manufacturing industry that tested these ideas earlier. Even in cases where the idea of a network was informed by the existing concepts and models, the networks demonstrated a significant level of innovation at the level of network. The network in Calvià has been designed within the model of Local Agenda 21. The genuine and comprehensive attitude to the process for the Agenda setting helped to establish an innovative system that has become a prototype of regional development for many Mediterranean resorts. The need to imitate has frequently come from the search for conformism. Writing about newly formed joint ventures, DiMaggio and Powell (1991) emphasised that they need to obtain legitimacy and support. It seems, however, that in the case of public/private networks for sustainable tourism, the emphasis is laid on the questions of effectiveness of the network’s operations. It does not mean that legitimacy and support are out of the networks concern, quite the opposite. It just means that the legitimacy is frequently searched for in the group that is larger than the one including the active network members only. For example, the networks in Åre, Molyvos, and Kinsale search for the actions that would keep the entire community alive. Many of actions in Calvià are directed at the creation of the positive image 147 of the destination and to the sustaining the business in the area. This tendency to put considerations of the network’s effectiveness above the legitimacy considerations seems quite common for the public/private networks and might be reason for the tendency of the networks to innovate rather than imitate. 7.2.1.5 Bridging the institutional gaps There were many drivers behind the initiation of the networks” activities ranging from the real economic decline of the regions or individual enterprises (e.g. Kinsale or Hidden Ireland) to the enthusiastic idea of trying something new. Explaining the reasons for forming/joining a network, some of the actors referred to the problem while others indicated availability of a solution (for more information on the network actors” motivation see Chapter 5). Whatever the specific drivers are, it would be accurate to state that in all cases the networks were called to life by the existing gaps in the institutional environments. YSMEK has been created as a compromise solution for greening tourism enterprises in the situation where the parties that were considered to be the most appropriate for taking this responsibility refused to do so either on the ground of lacking environmental expertise (Finnish Tourist Board) or not having responsibility for tourism enterprises. YSMEK has brought together a number of actors directly or indirectly dealing with tourism and has set the network activities in a creative and rather experimental fashion. Another example is given by Hidden Ireland, where the network has been formed as a response to the missing institutional structure, which would provide a support for the declining number of heritage homes. An interesting observation can be made by looking at the comparison between the type of the network actions, level of infrastructural development and the extent to which the national regulations cover environmental issues or enforce legislation related to it (see Table 2.1, Chapter 2). It is clear that the level of infrastructural and legislative development in a country where the network’s operations constitute another significant factor that defines the network’s attention towards certain goals. Problems like waste management and wastewater discharges tend to be prioritised in countries where environmental infrastructure is inadequate, and/or environmental legislation is not enforced. Many of the activities of Kinsale network were revolving, especially at the earlier stages of the network development, around the problem of littering. Participation in the national “Tidy Towns” competition became a network-shaping process. On the other hand, in countries with adequate 148 environmental infrastructure and legislation enforcement, sustainable development networks tend to address goals that go “beyond legislation” and concentrate on cost savings, competitive advantage potential and long-term and co-operative strategies. Anticipation of the customers” concerns for the environmental performance of the tourism facilities became the major driver for YSMEK. 7.2.2 Translation of the ideas – ideas within the networks This section shows the forms ideas are taking after seizing the attention of the actors. Among factors that affect the process of ideas objectivation are activities directed into promotion, enabling and control of the ideas as well as types of networks” structures and membership. 7.2.2.1 Materialisation of the ideas What happens to the ideas that attracted attention of the organisations and individuals? Some of them are transformed into structures and actions with different degrees of success. The forms that ideas are taking depend on the combination of different factors, for example, how general, complicated or challenging is an idea, stage of the network development, etc. Often, it is understood that the idea can be pursued only through combining the efforts of multiple actors in society. This understanding results in the creation of a structure that is used for going towards a chosen direction. For example, the network in Sälen has been created in order to mobilise efforts for moving towards a certain direction that would bring sustainability improvements. An idea that became materialised in the form of a network was really a general idea of a need for environmental improvement or in other words an idea of the direction for future actions. On the other hand, the individual actions the network has chosen to work with have come through different sources and at different times, for example, through the “carriers of the idea” from outside the network and experimentation within the network (see the previous section). Examples of other networks have shown the same two-stage model of idea translation. The first stage of this idea transformation corresponds to the stage of network formation and is described by the metaphor of “materialisation” of the general direction of action through mobilisation of the individual actors into the form of network. The second stage is related to the stage of network functioning where the choice of concrete actions to progress towards the general line is taking place. 149 7.2.2.2 Promotion, enabling and control of the ideas How do ideas that enter the networks stay in the focus of actors” attention? In order to discuss this question, we should distinguish between the meta-ideas defining the general direction of the network actions and micro-ideas that are related to the individual actions of the networks. Frequently, the meta-ideas are embedded in the network structures and modes of operations simply because these ideas are the reason the actors come together. For example, the network of YSMEK has brought together actors searching for the ways of greening the tourism business in Finland. Actors in Alcúdia worked with a general idea of prevention of the city’s environmental and cultural destruction. Micro-ideas, on the other hand, are results of the knowledge, experimentation and ideological control from outside or inside networks. Quite simply, many of the ideas are kept when there is a presence of legitimate “ideaproducers” or “idea-keepers”60 within the networks. The mayor of the Molyvos was in a position to secure the general line of the network’s work towards sustaining the livelihood of the community and development of the tourism business while resisting the mass-tourism mode of area development. The reputation of the mayor and success of his persuasion provided continuity of the network direction long after his term in the office has passed. The critical role the idea-keepers can play in attaining continuation of actions is exemplified by Sälen. The exit of the idea-keeper, who happened to be a co-ordinator of the network, led to the collapse of the entire endeavour. Generation and control of the ideas within the networks is seriously affected by the educational activities that most of the networks have practised to some extent. Following Bruner (1961),61 we can distinguish two general modes of education: expository and lmhypothetical. The first type of learning assumes showing the actors what the desired state of their efforts is and how to achieve it. The second mode instructs the teacher to provide general guidelines to the pupils allowing them to make their own discoveries that may create knowledge that differs from that of the teacher. The first type of more passive classroom learning has been observed in, for example, Sälen and Finnland Natürlich. Czarniawska and 60 The notion of “idea-producers” or “idea-keepers” is different from “idea-brokers” and “idea carriers”. While idea-brokers or idea carriers are essentially outsiders bringing ideas to the network, idea-producers or idea-keepers are producers and holders of the idea inside the network. 61 Referred to by Czarniawska and Jorges 1990. 150 Jorges (1996) indicate that “exposing people to ready-made ideas pre-empts translation and therefore does not create the mobilisation needed for action.” Our observations confirmed this statement and shows superiority of another type of education occurring within the hypothetical teaching mode – experiential. YSMEK network has been working with an educational model where the consultant is given only general direction for actions. The learning and all major discoveries, planned as well as unanticipated ones, happened in a process of project implementation and peer discussions. The network in Åre has fashioned a symbol that, for a length of time, encouraged one particular activity – waste management. Chosen initially on the request of the business actors in the locality, this activity soon came into conflict with the nationally run waste management system62. As a result, the network actors labelled this activity “a symbol of local development and independent choice” of the way “things should be run” in the local community. 7.2.2.3 Embeddedness of ideas in the structures Travel of ideas is defined both by the structures and dynamics established in networks. Making an analysis of the network-theory studies, Ibarra (1992) notes that most of the studies are concentrated on the effects of the structures on human interactions without much attention to the strategies used for enabling and mobilising these structures. Attention to both structural elements and strategies is important due to the mutual dependencies among these elements. Structure affects the dynamic characteristics, while they in turn affect structure (Ibarra 1992). The sample of nine tourism networks within EMPOST-NET project presented a variety of structural forms. All networks, except Hidden Ireland, were comprised of a mixture of public and private actors (Table 7.1) represented by businesses of different domain similarity, business associations, governments of local, regional and national level, universities and NGOs (Table 2.2, chapter 2). The networks are lead by either private or public actors (Table 7.2). 62 Swedish national Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) legislation gives responsibility for operating recycling schemes of different materials to several national companies. As a result, money for the management of waste factions also goes to these nation-wide companies which makes establishment of the local waste management systems financially difficult. In addition, as the example of Åre illustrates, local initiatives experience political resistance to run their operations. 151 Table 7.1 Membership mix More public actors More business/private actors Mixed (impossible to recognise because of three subnetworks) Calvià Alcúdia Åre Molivos YSMEK Sälen Hidden Ireland Finnland Natürlich Table 7.2 Leadership mix Public leadership Enterprise leadership Mixed YSMEK Kinsale (KcoT) Åre* Molivos Hidden Ireland Finnland Natürlich** Calvià Alcúdia Sälen * In Åre Gruppen and its subgroup Kretslopsgruppen the leadership is by business actors and in Village Development Group it is by public actors. ** The establisher and financier is Pirkanmaa Agriculture Centre which is a public body, but the office they set up is not staffed by Agriculture Centre people. The office personnel is private and paid by the Agriculture centre. It appears that diversity of actors in a network helps to bring in ideas from outside as well as to identify new ideas created from within a network. Then again, as mentioned in ch. 7.1, high domain similarity enables fast and efficient implementation of the ideas. The cases of Sälen and Åre, however, have added some interesting insights to the understanding of work within domain-similar networks. The network in Sälen has consisted of domain-similar firms competing for the same customers. On the contrary, domain-similar actors in Åre, due to their small size, were able to cover only parts of the marker, and consequently were supplying complementary parts of the tourism product. As a result, the Sälen network had a much stronger co-ordination structure to draw together actors whose collaboration is otherwise limited. Critically oriented members and powerful outsiders The division of the private and public network members is obvious and can be linked to the definition of problem, choice of action and identification of the network strategy. Our 152 research revealed yet other categories of network actors affecting the processes of idea translation – critically oriented members and powerful outsiders. Critically oriented members of the networks constantly challenge the networks” goals and actions. Both Spanish networks, Calvià and Alcúdia, have environmental groups either as members of the network (Calvià) or as interested outsiders (Alcúdia). Sub-network “Friends of Molyvos” play a similar role as “control factor” in the Molyvos network. This sub-network consisting of intellectuals that kept the network under pressure, forcing municipal decision-makers to resist the mass tourism mode of local development. While environmental groups in Calvià and Alcúdia as well as “Friends of Molyvos” have criticised the network actions following their “role” of controlling organisations, some of the other members took a more critical or more sceptical position due to the key importance of the network actions to their core business. Participation of the construction sector in Calvià would be critical for the success of the network. The sector, however, has refused to join in out of a fear of losing control over their activity. The conflict appeared when Calvià opposed a traditional building activity, a gesture that has alienated the building sector. This case pointed out to the need for the special strategy for engaging actors whose core activities may be critically affected by networks” conducts. The powerful bodies favouring activities of networks represent a category of important outsiders. For example, Calvià had a continuous backing from the high authorities both at the national and regional levels. High positions of the members of YSMEK management group secured a sufficient level of support for the network activities and for dissemination of the network’s results. On the other hand, supporters of KSG (Åre) were disabled by their engagement in different networks of interests and did not provide timely assistance for this sub-network. Powerful outsiders frequently act as guardians for the continuity of the networks and therefore, for the continuity of ideas development. 153 Administrative and interactive structures While findings about actors’ positions give interesting insights into the composition of the networks for sustainable development and show some links between networks” structural characteristics and networks performance, they also clearly indicate the importance of dynamic characteristics the networks employ to enable their structures. An important understanding about translating the ideas within networks can be acquired by looking at two aspects of a network structure – administrative and interactive (Human and Provan 1997). Administrative structure represents a structure with defined roles, responsibilities and rules. Interactive structure is described by more discreet patterns of interaction where the relations between the actors and the prescribed tasks are not clearly pronounced. Both administrative and interactive structures simultaneously exist in a network and serve different functions. The administrative structure is generally established for accomplishing specific objectives and includes all or any or the following elements: responsibilities, management groups, committees, defined lines of interactions and guidelines for actions. The interactive structures serve a function of delivering consensus, innovations, or understanding in cases of ambiguity. In many instances, the networks dealing with different aspects of sustainable development deal with ideas of a high degree of abstraction and consequently with a high degree of ambiguity associated with tasks and ideas. Sometimes this uncertainty rises because of the lack of experience in the area. In other cases it is associated with the situation where a variety of actors are trying to solve the task simultaneously without much prior experience of working together. Whatever the cause for uncertainty, it clearly calls for a structure that allows flexibility and adjustment of the strategy and for the development of sufficient understanding (appropriation of the idea) on the side of the network actors. In other words, a network dealing with ambiguous or complex tasks or involving actors that lack experience of working together need to provide a “translation space” for ideas. How do different aspects of networks” structures affect this translation space? The following section is an attempt to demonstrate it using the concepts of interactive and administrative structures. All networks have an administrative structure that is developed to a different extent. Tables 7.3 and 7.4 present some elements of these administrative structures. 154 Table 7.3 Co-ordination structure Management group Network co-ordinator Organic* YSMEK Molivos Kinsale Calvià Sälen Åre** Hidden Ireland Finnland Natürlich Alcúdia * There is not an entity that is called the management group, but rather an entity that developed spontaneously over time and was not appointed in the beginning of the network. ** There is a co-ordinator in the Village Development Project and a management in Krettsloppsgruppen, but there is not a formal co-ordination in the whole Åre network. Table 7.4 Co-ordination Paid co-ordinator Voluntary co-ordination Finnland Natürlich Molivos Sälen Kinsale Calvià Åre* Hidden Ireland Alcúdia YSMEK *VDG’s co-ordinator is paid, but KSG is voluntary Strong administrative structure has shown to be effective in working with the networks” tasks only when it allows development of complementary interactive structure or/and includes a possibility to link these two structures. The network in Kinsale demonstrates an interesting combination of well-developed interactive structures and relatively relaxed administrative structures based on the voluntary membership in the focal network group – Kinsale Chamber of Tourism (KCOT). KCOT has a procedure for dealing with the issues of concern. Several committees, among them the Environmental Committee, operate on a continuous basis while other thematic committees can be created on the request of the network members (translation space). On the opposite side of the structural administrativeinteractive continuum is Finnland Natürlich that presents a case of a network with highly dominating administrative structure. The decision for the network’s focus and individual tasks is done by the network co-ordinator. The rest of the network members, farms and municipalities, do not participate in the agenda formulation or correction. Clarity of task 155 distribution and relatively homogenous group of companies proved to work well for the implementation of an already chosen task. Improvement of the marketing opportunities for the farm holidays has been a primary focus of Finnland Natürlich. Environmental quality as a means to achieve the desired marketing potential has not been clearly communicated to the enterprises and has been perceived by them (but not by co-ordinator) as a secondary and rather irrelevant issue. The network has not envisioned a process of negotiation as a means of achieving an improvement in environmental quality on the terms of participants. Strong orientation on implementation undermined possibilities for appropriation of the ideas and creativity. While the public and private members of Kinsale estimate the structural elements of the network combination differently, it seems that the network managed to achieve a needed balance of administrative and interactive elements. On the opposite side of the structureintegration continuum is FN, which presents a case of a network with highly dominating administrative structure. Another case of a combination of administrative and interactive network structure is demonstrated by YSMEK. The administrative structure of YSMEK is comprised of a management group that decides on the project focus of the networks. The management group hires a consultant, who works directly with the pilot enterprises. The pilot enterprises do not have a direct communication with the management group in the course of a project nor do they have the possibility to affect the decision of the management group in choosing the network focus. Clearly, there is not much translation space given to the enterprises. However, the implementation process is acknowledged to be successful. One of the reasons for this success is a pre-defined agreement of the pilot enterprises to join YSMEK projects. In this case, the negotiation of the ideas is not necessary, because the ideas produced by the management group create a network rather than the existing network creating and negotiating an idea. YSMEK does not have a built-in mechanism for continuity of the membership. However, after the first stage of the network operations the members of pilot enterprises created a sub-network, MAYAVAT, for sharing experiences derived from a course of the projects. This sub-network created a continuation of the networking process as well as a space for ideas development. Both sub-networks that have a creative function of searching new ideas and the ways of dealing with them, the management group and 156 MAYAVAT, have well-developed interactive structures while the administrative structure runs through the entire network. The division between two structures is often based on the perception of the network actors and is therefore relative even among members of the same network. The long-standing members of Hidden Ireland classified a network as been highly interactive. These members described the network as an “interaction between people, talking to each other, reaching a better understanding” (HI: a house owner, 77). The newer members, on the other hand, see the network as a well-organised administrative structure providing the network members with services and information. 7.2.3 Ideas travel further – institutionalisation of ideas produced by the networks What is happening with the ideas the networks have adopted? Do they travel further? How far? By what means? We have already mentioned that the networks have seldom had a ready-made solution for improvement of their situation. Due to the relative novelty of their tasks and/or uniqueness of their situation, many of them were destined to become examples without having examples for themselves. In other words, some of the networks have become institutional idea-barriers in the fields of environmental management and sustainable development: ! Networks of Alcúdia and YSMEK provided ideas for greening at the enterprise level. YSMEK has developed a tailor-made IER and EMS for different branches within the tourism sector and distributed them through specially published reports. Alcúdia has created an environmental label for hotels within the municipality that have become so successful that the neighbouring communities request the guidelines for their enterprises. ! Calvià and Kinsale have delivered prototypes for sustainable regional development. For example, Calvià has become a model of a balanced development for Mediterranean resort towns. ! Åre has shown a model of development of the network itself. Success of one of the subnetworks (KSG) became a legitimisation for establishing another one (VDG). ! While there are many factors contributing to the institutionalisation process, one of them – publicity, deserves to be mentioned. It appears that different means of Awards 157 (Kinsale, Calvià), case studies and stories (e.g. “genesis story” of Kinsale, spectacular nature of Calvià’s actions – demolishing the hotels), PR activities (e.g. Calvià) and information dissemination (e.g. YSMEK) activities contributed to the fact that some of the networks have become models to follow. 7.2.4 Key findings on translation of ideas • Choice of ideas Individual actions the network has chosen to work with have come through different sources and at different times, for example, through the “institutional carriers of an idea” from outside the network and experimentation within the network. Institutional carriers of an idea, that are frequently represented by consultants, research institutions, etc., possess tools to solve problems of concern and/or to form organisational identities. Meta-ideas, or ideas dominating in the society, define the general direction of the network actions and micro-ideas, or ideas developed by the network actors, are related to the individual actions of the networks. Frequently, the meta-ideas are embedded in the network structures and modes of operations simply because these ideas are the reason for the actors to come together. Micro-ideas, from the other hand, are results of the knowledge, experimentation and ideological control, for example, education, from outside or inside networks. • Administrative and interactive structural elements. A network dealing with ambiguous or complex tasks or involving actors that lack experience of working together need to provide a “translation space” for ideas. “Translation space” implies a level of flexibility and adjustment of the strategy and for the development of sufficient understanding (appropriation of the idea) on the side of the network actors. Generally, a network should be able to produce an adequate combination of administrative and interactive elements in its structure. • Innovations and imitations. Networks show a varying extent of imitation and innovation in different phases of the network evolvement. Innovations in the networks have come through the ways of bringing a network together and setting up the overall way a network functions, while imitations were associated with the specific tasks performed within the networks. In other words, the innovations were 158 demonstrated through the ways of the network setting and imitations through finding the means of achieving the established goals. • The government shows direction. The government programmes at the national and international level have the power to attract the attention of the actors by providing financial contribution for some projects. Often, the guidelines for the projects that deserve financial assistance are broad. Nevertheless, they indicate the type of ideas to be adopted for getting desirable support. 159 8 Discussion and recommendations The starting point of the EMPOST-NET project was the experience from both practice and research indicating co-operation among multiple actors is necessary in the tourism field, because its single actors are too small and scattered to take on any larger systematic approach toward sustainable development. We studied such co-operation taking place in the form of tourism networks. In this chapter, we propose ways in which sustainable tourism networks can be more effective and efficient. We first provide recommendations for practitioners concerning establishing and maintaining networks. The importance of the latter should be particularly emphasised. It is fairly easy to set up networks with enthusiasm, but almost just as simple to forget that networks will not produce major results in the short term and that their maintenance requires special skills. Next we examine company- and destination-oriented policy instruments applied in the studied networks, and then evaluate how these instruments could be applied more effectively. Finally, we propose modifications to some of the existing policy instruments. These propositions are not based only on the network data, but also on a relating study conducted by the EMPOST-NET team among the EMAS officials of the five countries included in the sustainable tourism research project (Randa Group 2000). 8.1 Recommendations for practitioners Setting up a network is a completely different task than maintaining a network so it is viable and effective in the course of time. Most of the present discussion and policy measures deal with establishing networks. However, a multitude of such networks are set up each year only in order to dissolve in two or three years when the “money-machine”, that is, support finance, ceases, leaving behind a number of frustrated people. Hence in the following sections we not only discuss establishing networks, but also introduce issues that contribute to maintaining sustainability networks. 8.1.1 Recommendations for establishing networks In order to start networking successfully towards sustainable development, the multiple actors have to appreciate their interdependence and acknowledge the issues of common 160 interest. Crucial for networking among different public-private actors is the development of a common vision. This process of articulating individual values and preferences should lead to the identification of a sense of common purpose. To this end, in the start-up phase of a sustainability network, the first two interdependent issues to consider are the goals, that is, what the network members wish to accomplish, and who should be involved in the network, in other words, which stakeholders are needed in order to achieve the goals. Membership composition should be in relation to the goal that the network wants to reach. With regard to the question “who should be involved”, a so-called “diversity in similarity” rule can be applied. Our results indicate that an optimal composition of the network involves members with both diverse and similar backgrounds. This cryptic recommendation is based on three notions: knowledge diversity, influence diversity, and efficiency of implementation. (1) Knowledge diversity indicates that different types of members will provide a network with diverse ideas, and expertise. There needs to be different kinds of members to ensure a broader understanding of sustainable development. The diversity of actors increases the opportunity of developing better solutions through combinations of different experiences and re-interpretation of already existing knowledge. (2) In addition to knowledge diversity, multiplicity of influence is important (influence diversity). Powerful/gate-keeper stakeholders (relative to the network goals) are important contacts and should be involved. (3) Conversely, similar types of actors are needed for creating a common ground for sharing thoughts and getting support. Similarity of actors makes the quick implementation of at least some action possible. However, the solution is not to involve all potentially relevant actors. “Involvement of all stakeholders” would be a killing axe to a network. The broader the network, the more cumbersome it becomes to get things implemented. Instead of a maximal number of actors there should be an optimal composition of them. Sometimes it makes sense to try to build external support without directly involving an actor in the network. The existence of a clear policy and implementing strategy, together with authority support seem to increase the effectiveness of network performance. With regard to goal setting, when all relevant actors are involved in an early stage, there is more likelihood that the network will develop a unified strategy and gain commitment of the actors. While there are many examples of local, regional, or other tourism networks around, an important rule still is: don’t copy! In the establishment stage it makes sense to explicitly assess the problem in 161 order to solve it accordingly. It is alright to use the good ideas of others instead of reinventing the wheel, but our findings show that some popular network models may be unsuitable for certain occasions. For instance, the Local Agenda 21 model is not a good solution for all co-operative efforts at a local level. Positive experiences that could be called “small wins” should occur relatively early in the network life. Small wins are controllable opportunities of a modest size that produce visible and tangible outcomes. They reinforce the motivation of actors to keep up with the activity, and they also serve as a source of learning. Sometimes the question of creating small wins is a matter of articulation. By this we mean that some achievements of the networks may remain “invisible” unless articulated as a success. In other words, the actors may not even realise what has been achieved. Moreover, if the first actions of the network are relatively minor the actors will have some time to learn new, often complex issues. A counter argument is often posed that resistance to chance is countered only by changes that are dramatic, that is, small wins encourage people to learn too little. However, the crticism overlooks the fact that a series of small wins often paves the way for larger changes, and small wins provide a chance to learn gradually. Despite the importance of small wins, it is advisable to adopt a long-term time orientation when starting a network. The idea of early tangible gains does not remove the fact that as network members share their context over time, they should become more adept at explicating tacit and embedded knowledge to one another, and develop the network fit for creating “large wins”. 8.1.2 Recommendations for maintaining networks Dividing responsibilities secures continuity, that is, the network will not be paralysed with the exit of a key member. Fairly often a single key person emerges in a network. Other members are led or steered under the guidance of this key actor. As long as s/he remains in the network, things may run along fine under this “heart of network” actor, but if s/he leaves, the network will collapse. For this reason, the single key actor led networks are risky in the long-term. Knowledge should be shared and capabilities developed among at least a couple of other network members in addition to the key member. There ought to be flexibility in formality. In other words, some administrative structure and guidelines are necessary (formality), but reformations based on emerging situations and accumulating experiences from past actions (flexibility) should be allowed. Too much 162 administration may kill spontaneous interaction, an inherent strength of the whole idea of networking. Flexibility helps to utilise ideas and enthusiasm of network actors. The principle of flexibility indicates that tasks or roles in the network should be assigned to actors on the basis of their enthusiasm and commitment rather than the positions they happen to occupy. In the same vein of flexibility, subnetworks should be allowed to emerge. Their emergence usually provides and additional information sharing media and may speed the implementation of certain actions. Feedback and strategy adjustment should be allowed and even encouraged. Sustainability networks should have a built in mechanism for modification of its structure and be dynamic in relation to the evolving situation outside and evolving experience inside the network. Too strongly regulated operations of a network can come at the expense of creativity whereas too much flexibility can potentially jeopardise results. Generally, a network should be able to produce an adequate combination of administrative and interactive elements in its structure. The process of networking implies learning about sustainable development and learning to network. Issues related to sustainable development as well as questions associated with a process of networking are complex and ambiguous. A network’s success and failures cannot be taken for granted – the network actors should adopt a reflective networking process in order to maximise their knowledge and sustain the network existence. “Learning how to learn” within the networks should be an ambition of networkers. Communicating the network actions and gaining publicity reinforce the motivation of the actors and may facilitate acquisition of resources. Hands-on practical activities appear to be important for the learning of the network members. Learning occurs in the course of action and through own experience. Mere information dissemination and non-practical training like classroom education and lectures do not appear sufficient. In the course of network operation reciprocity should be an acknowledged aim. The rule of reciprocity implies that in a multi-actor co-operation, only those actors willing to give something will receive something in return. If reciprocity is violated, a necessary condition 163 of networking, trust, gets damaged and after a while the “giving” actors will withdraw. This may paralyse the network. 8.2 Policy discussion We discuss next the policy instruments applied in the sample networks and thereafter broaden the discussion to elaborate on what kind of policy instruments might further sustainable development implementation in the field of tourism. 8.2.1 Policy instruments applied in different networks The policy instruments and strategies in the case networks appeared to be related to two levels of applications – the company level and the regional/network level. Some of the policy instruments are specific for the tourism destinations and companies (e.g. environmental labels and tailor-made environmental management systems (EMSs)), others can be found in the other sectors and non-tourist regions. Table 8.1 gives an overview of examples of policy instruments found in the different networks. Table 8.1. Examples of policy instruments found in the sustainable tourism networks studied in this research project Policy Instruments Examples found in networks Company level Education and Training Alcúdia EMS ECOTUR Facilities (Alcúdia, Calvià) Finnland Natürlich EMS for tourism enterprises (YSMEK) Destination level Eco-labels Ecotourist Plaque (Alcúdia) Local Agenda 21 Calvià Sälen Åre Public participation ECOTUR Destinations (Alcúdia) Village Development Project (Åre) 164 Awards European Awards: EU Prize for Tourism and Environment (Kinsale), Sustainable Cities Award (Calvià) International Awards: UN Good Practices Contest (Alcúdia), WTTC Green Globe Award (Calvià) National Awards: Tidy Town Competition (Kinsale), National Waste Management Awards (Barrendero Ecológico) (Alcúdia) 8.2.2 Policy instruments identified at the company level 8.2.2.1 Education and training Education and training appear as the most typical vehicles of public-private networks to pursue learning about sustainable development, thus all networks under study were dealing with some educational or training activities. Such activities appeared most systematic in Alcúdia where education by the municipality is provided to the tourism entrepreneurs and in Finnland Natürlich where the office employs consultants to train farm house and other small enterprise members about quality and environmental issues. However, we find other examples of awareness raising methods. In the YSMEK concept, the management group hires consultants to work with pilot enterprises or organisations, and in Sälen, the LA21 coordinator made arrangements with a university to educate business members on sustainable tourism. In Åre, the Village Development Group and Krettlopsgruppen organised training for the unemployed. In Calvià, the municipality sought to engage citizens into thematic working groups, which seems to be becoming a vehicle for joint learning of different dimensions of sustainable development. 8.2.2.2 Eco-labels Eco-labels are voluntary policy instruments used to provide information to the consumers on products or services that have met certain levels of environmental performance. Ecolabelling can be applied to the tourism industry as a voluntary tool – many recognition schemes are being developed based on the principles of eco-labelling as a recent study of the United Nations Environmental Programme shows (UNEP 1998). On the demand side, these schemes are slowly educating tourists and influencing consumer behaviour. On the supply side, the potential market benefits of recognition schemes provide incentives for 165 organisations to improve environmental performance. Various forms of recognition schemes are developed and promoted by various parties at different levels (private or public) and with different focuses. ! “Ecotourist Plaque” (Alcúdia , Spain) This eco-label for hotels, restaurants and bars is managed by the municipality of Alcúdia. For gaining this ecolabel, the hotels and restaurants have to fulfil criteria defined in a Municipal Regulation. The criteria consist of measures relating to employee training, waste management, use of recycled products, water savings, energy savings, waste water treatment, noise, green areas, guest information, respect of cultural and linguistic issues, building decoration and regional menus. After an inspection visit to the hotel by the Council technicians, the "Ecotourist Plaque Committee" decides on the application. It is planned to establish further criteria for complementary tourism facilities such as supermarkets, souvenir shops etc., and to keep demanding higher criteria each year to ensure environmental improvement of enterprises. The number of enterprises participating is increasing slowly, but progressively, and currently there are 13 hotels with the eco-label out of a total of 74 lodging establishments in Alcúdia (see Table 8.2). Table 8.1 Requested and awarded ecolabels in Alcúdia Year Requested labels eco- Awarded eco-labels 1994 7 0 1995 4 2 1996 13 9 1997 15 11 1998* 19 14 * Including restaurants 166 8.2.2.3 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) The Environmental Management System (EMS) is a voluntary policy instrument used to manage the environmental matters of a company in a systematic and comprehensive manner. The European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and ISO 14001 are two standards that are certified by independent bodies and used by companies as marketing tools to demonstrate their efforts in environmental management. The countries of the studied networks – Finland, Greece, Ireland, Spain and Sweden – show an increasing interest for Environmental Management Standards from national authorities and enterprises. So far, various experiences have been undertaken to apply EMS Standards to tourism facilities – mostly hotels – and local authorities in tourist municipalities (Randa Group 2000). With the purpose of increasing the understanding of how Environmental Management Standards such as EMAS and ISO 14001 are actually applied to the tourist industry, a specific study was undertaken within the framework of the project (see Randa Group 2000). Based on interviews with implementing companies, competent bodies, accreditation bodies, verifiers and consultants, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with environmental management standards in the tourist sector are analysed (see Table 8.3). Table 8.2 Summary of SWOT analysis regarding the application of environmental management standards in the tourism industry Strengths ♦ Improvement of public image, showing commitment to the environment ♦ Involvement of all personnel and increased staff awareness and motivation ♦ Real cost savings (in the medium and long term) ♦ Recognition of European or International Standards which is also used by other industries Weaknesses ♦ High financial cost (consultancy and verification) and human resources effort ♦ Lack of "environmental culture" at all organisational levels ♦ Awareness-raising and training of short-term seasonal personnel ♦ Complexity of EMAS/ISO 14001, especially regarding SME ♦ Documentation requirements are too bureaucratic 167 Opportunities ♦ Differentiation as quality tourism and competitive advantages ♦ Good acceptance by environmentally aware tourists ♦ Gain new environmentally aware customers and markets ♦ Improvement of environmental quality, and consistent improvement of offered tourist product Threats ♦ No market response (economic benefits) proportional to effort of implementing EMS ♦ Proliferation of environmental recognition schemes for tourist enterprises ♦ Environmental issues arising from implementation of EMS cannot be handled by one enterprise independently (waste management, green purchasing) If some of the key topics surrounding EMAS can be addressed and resolved in a satisfactory manner, EMAS can play a powerful role in promoting continuous environmental improvement and the minimisation of negative environmental impacts across the European Union. However, the challenge of sustainable tourism requires more than managing the environmental excellence at the level of tourist facilities and local authorities (Randa Group 2000). ! “ECOTUR Facilities” (Balearic Islands – Spain) The first programme to promote the implementation of EMS in the Spanish tourist industry was developed by the Autonomous Government of the Balearic Islands a few years ago. The ECOTUR Programme seeks to be an umbrella programme for the environmental improvement of the tourist sector, and is broken down according to its different target areas: Facilities, Destinations, Promotion and Applications. "ECOTUR Facilities" aims to enhance the environmental quality of tourist enterprises through a voluntary management and audit system. By means of a decree, the Regional Authorities opened the way to apply the EMAS Regulation to tourist facilities. In collaboration with the European LIFE programme, subsidies were granted to 30 tourist facilities for implementing Environmental Management Systems: 25 hotels, apartment-hotels and tourist apartments, 4 marinas and 1 golf course. ! EMS for tourism facilities – YSMEK (Finland) YSMEK (the network for developing Environmentally Benign Tourism in Finland) was established in 1992 by the Finnish Tourist Board and aims to promote sustainability actions 168 in the Finnish tourism industry. It was the very first attempt to systemically include environmental issues in the hotel and catering industry in Finland. YSMEK is a project on two different levels. First there is the national level and the promotion of environmental friendly tourism in Finland. Second there is the enterprise level where the environmental issues are taken into day-to-day routines of tourism facilities. The concrete work in enterprises is facilitated by consultants. During the first stage (1993–1994) environmental reviews were conducted in 10 pilot firms and a guidebook for the tourism enterprises was written on that basis. In the second stage a similar type of pilot scheme was applied and an EMS specially developed for hotel and catering facilities was created (1996–1997). ! Lighter versions of EMS – the conventional approach is too burdensome for the SMEs There are a number of recognition schemes available on the Swedish market, particularly drawing the attention of SMEs. These recognition schemes are seen by the hospitality industry to a large extent as an alternative to the more formalised management standards. Requirements for participating companies include elements of EMAS and ISO 14001, which in most cases regard initial reviews and environmental policies. Third party audits and environmental reports are required to a lesser extent. In all cases, however, the requirements of documentation, procedures and formal structures are less strict than in the standardised systems. 8.2.3 Policy instruments identified at the destination level 8.2.3.1 Local Agenda 21 (LA21) Local Agenda (LA21) is a concept used for the process of implementing Agenda 21 at the local authority or community levels that recognises the key role of local community. The Local Agenda 21 concept was formulated and launched by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in 1991 as a framework for local governments worldwide to engage in implementing the outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Following UNCED, local governments, national and international NGOs, and international bodies and UN agencies entered a period of experimentation with the implementation of the Local Agenda 21 concept. The lead actors in these efforts were the local governments themselves which worked, often with the support of their national municipal associations, to develop the Local Agenda 21 planning approaches appropriate to their circumstances. The accumulation and exchange of practical 169 experiences helped to identify a set of universal elements and factors for the success of Local Agenda 21 planning. While these elements and factors are being continually updated and revised by local practitioners, five key elements have been defined for Local Agenda 21 planning in the 1992–1996 period (ICLEI, 2000). These are: • Multi-sectoral engagement in the planning process through a local stakeholder group which serves as the co-ordination and policy body for preparing a long-term sustainable development action plan. • Consultation with community groups, NGOs, business, churches, government agencies, professional groups and unions in order to create a shared vision and to identify proposals and priorities for action. • Participatory assessment of local social, economic and environmental conditions and needs. • Participatory target-setting through negotiations among key stakeholders in order to achieve the vision and goals set forth in the action plan. • Monitoring and reporting procedures, including local indicators, to track progress and to allow participants to hold each other accountable to the action plan. ! Local Agenda 21 in Calvià For Calvià, the Local Agenda 21 is the articulation of the local philosophy, strategy and plan of action to recover from the over-building and environmental destruction of the last two decades, and to guide the tourist sector in the next decades towards new formulas whose common denominator is sustainability. The shaping objective of the Calvià Local Agenda 21 is to work in concert with local agents so that there can be a synthesis of a shared and communicable vision for the transformation of Calvià over the next decades. A Preparatory Phase and First Phase of the Local Agenda 21 have been implemented. During the Preparatory Phase, a first document was prepared to give a panorama of the possible philosophy, objectives and procedure of the Local Agenda. During the First Phase, a preliminary draft of the Local Agenda was designed, which set forth the concepts described below, the strategic philosophy, the target, the selected key topic areas, and the first assessment of Calvià's own local sustainability. Each step has been carried out with wide 170 participation and in consultation with different organisations, businesses, trade unions, banks, etc. The Local Agenda 21 has been presented to citizens through several forums, and is publicly available through its own homepage on the Internet (see http://www. bitel.es./calvia/mallorca). To monitor the development of the different dimensions of sustainability and the progress of the municipal programmes, a series of sustainability indicators have been defined (“observatory on sustainability and quality of life”). ! Local Agenda 21 in Sälen and Åre (Sweden) Local Agenda 21 has manifested itself more strongly in Sälen. The function of LA21 in Åre appeared to have a support function for activities that were already in place. Sälen’s LA21, especially during first year of existence, has won recognition allowing extension of the financial support of LA21 co-ordinator. The activities of Sälen’s LA21 were concentrated on the number of community projects. The major recognition of LA21 work came, however, from the initiation of the Sustainable Sälen Project related to the development of the environmental work in the tourism sector of the region. 8.2.3.2 Public participation A basic dimension of Sustainable Development is the democratic process of participation of the stakeholders at the local level. There is a need for local authorities to consult citizens and community, businesses and industrial organisations to form consensus on sustainable development strategies because it will help to shape local programmes, policies and regulations to achieve Agenda 21 objectives. In this sense, it is important to promote initiatives striving at public participation. ! Village Development Project (Åre -Sweden) The Village Development Project is a project jointly financed by the Swedish Government and EC and aims to involve the local population in the decision making process. ! “ECOTUR Destinations” programme (Balearic Islands) The "ECOTUR Destinations" programme is run by the Autonomous Government of the Balearic Islands and aims to evaluate the environmental situation of the tourism destinations and design of action plans for their environmental improvements. It is thought of as a preliminary stage of Local Agenda 21. "ECOTUR Destinations" has already been applied in 171 six pilot destinations: three on Mallorca (among them Calvià and Alcúdia), one on Menorca, one on Ibiza and another on Formentera. 8.2.3.3 Awards There are several national and international awards relating to sustainability and environmental protection for municipalities, some of them specifically oriented towards sustainable tourism (see e.g. ECONETT 2000). The networks studied in EMPOST-NET received the following awards for their initiatives: ! “EU Prize for Tourism and Environment” by the European Commission: Kinsale 1995 ! “Sustainable Cities Award” by the DG XI of European Commission within the Campaign of Sustainable Cities: Calvià 1997 ! “International Contest of Good Practices” organised by United Nations: Alcúdia “Best” Award 1998 ! “Green Globe Award” by WTTC: Calvià 1998 ! National awards: Tidy Town Competition in Ireland: Kinsale 1986 Spanish National Waste Management Award for Municipalities (“Barrendero Ecológico”): Alcúdia 1997 8.2.4 Networking as a “policy instrument” The representatives of the Calviàn and Alcúdian networks classify networking between the public and private sector as the only solution to the regional competitiveness and successful problem resolution. Finnish and Irish data suggest similar things based on the fact that companies’ decisions are often facilitated or hindered by the infrastractural developments in the region. This calls for public-private co-operation. Promising results from using regional networks as a strategy for sustainable development were suggested by analysis of Molyvos experience. 172 8.2.5 Institutional support for the network activities Analysis of the policy instruments from all five countries emphasises the role of institutional support for the network activities. The interviewees speak about planning, recognition and support, regulations and their enforcement, which either facilitated or hindered the activities of the networks. The general impression with respect to the institutional policies and strategies is that they are managed at the national or international level and neglect the results that they bring to the networks, especially to the local networks. Overlap of responsibilities along the national-local line of command (Ireland, Greece, Spain), limited the possibilities of the local decision-makers to choose the pass of development (Greece) were the common themes in many interviews. Co-ordination and responsibilities for the decisions and actions ! Co-ordination of the activities among the local, regional and national authorities ! Securing a sufficient control over resources and possibilities for decision-making at the local level Co-ordination of the activities of the institutions that affect the networks was recognised as a necessary strategy at all levels. In the Spanish networks, the issues of territorial planning, infrastructure and waste management are in hands of both autonomous government and the central government. This imposes some problems of management and co-ordination at the local level. Similarly, the representatives of the Molyvos network highlighted the contradiction in the distributions of responsibilities for managing the local resources between the national and local authorities. They were calling for re-location of responsibility to local authorities for local planning purposes, managing local resources and keeping and managing the economic gains and taxes from local tourism activity. The area where the need for co-ordination in Ireland was evident is related to the perception of conflicts of interest among different industrial sectors and a general lack of co-ordination between State actors at the national level. Enterprise interviewees of YSMEK stated that there should be control/co-ordination at the national level of environmental protection issues (by the official tourism body), but at the same time the system should not be too strict. Voluntary action is appreciated within the enterprise sector. 173 8.2.5.1 Elimination of the conflicts in the existing policy instruments and strategies for promotion of sustainable development ! A need for adjustment of the policy instruments in European Union and National Legislations inhibiting the development of distinctive local products, e.g., food regulations (Ireland) or services, e.g., local waste management systems (Sweden) ! A need for the revision of the tax system for the regions with seasonal activities, e.g., tourism regions ! A need for revision of the strategy for the financial support for the projects related to environmental management and sustainable development ! Bridging the gaps among the regulations There is a need for harmonisation of the regulations that affect sustainability actions at the regional (municipal) policies. The conflicts were found in the existing municipal purchasing policies, both in Sweden (Åre) and Ireland (Kinsale), in the situations where the administration of the regions was inclined to make an official decision in favour of more environmental products purchased for municipalities. By giving preferences to some producers, in our case producers of environmentally sound products, the municipalities are considered to discriminate against the rest of the producers. As public bodies, municipalities cannot make any decisions favouring one client over the others. Another example where the national strategy came into conflict with the local practices was shown in Åre. Swedish national Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) legislation gives responsibility for operating recycling schemes of different materials to several national companies. As a result, money for the management of waste fractions also goes to these nation-wide companies, which makes establishment of the local waste management systems financially difficult. An issue that was identified as significant for Hidden Ireland network and for the constituent enterprises was the conflict between meeting fire safety regulations and conserving the integrity of the historical fabric of the properties. The gap in the governmental regulation/ self-regulation divide has been identified in both Irish networks. For example, the conflict was identified between the need for policy support for (1) individual initiatives e.g., financial support and technical back up for physical restoration, and (2) collaborative (participative) planning frameworks e.g., Coastal Zone 174 Management and LA21. The demand for self-regulation by the tourism industry or EMS adopted in tourism enterprises tended to come from, for example, regulators whereas tourism industry members expected more guidance from the regulators and policy-makers. Taxes on employment were considered a serious problem by the majority of the interviewees in Sweden. For example in Sweden the concern is related to the fact that the seasonal workers, who come to the area after a certain date defined by the national legislation (15th of November), do not pay taxes in the area. A similar problem exists for the private holiday houses located in the areas. The proposed suggestion discussed with the interviewees is to ”index” the tax revenue generated in the areas of seasonal tourism so taxes generated within the region would remain there. Spanish interviewees complained about tax revenues going to tourist destination with accommodations (where the tourists actually stay overnight) and not to tourist destinations where tourists go for trips during the day (these locations are generally better preserved and would need more economic resources to protect the environment). Some of the national strategies for the financial support of the sustainability projects in Ireland and Sweden are designed to support large-scale projects. While this strategy minimises the administrative work and (possibly) aims for more visible results, the networks of actors, especially the small networks, are automatically excluded from participation. Actors in both Åre and Kinsale networks stated this concern. The networks, local networks specifically, often need small-scale projects that can be managed by them. In addition, in order to apply for the larger and more ambitious projects, the networks should devote a serious amount of time for their preparation, which is considered difficult. 8.2.5.2 Support for the networks ! Information support and expert resources ! Recognition of success ! Financial support Recognition of the networks’ success serves a powerful role in almost all networks. Kinsale’s goal to win a Tidy Town competition became a long-term driver for the actions in 175 the environmental area. Broad publicity given to the actions of KSG in the Åre network created an additional driver for the network members to continue their job. Information dissemination, awareness increase, training and expert support with respect to the sustainable development issues and to the tools and strategies to bring about sustainable development were uniformly suggested by the members of all networks. The information and support should be applied to all economic and private sectors involved to the formulation of the tourism products. The examples of the needed information are as follows: 1. Information dissemination, increased awareness and training of tourism stakeholders/network members about environmental and sustainable tourism policies, strategies and instruments (LA21, EMAS, agreements etc). 2. Information dissemination about EU and national policies, priorities and funding opportunities 3. National and sectoral regulations and incentives for the enhancement of environmentally friendly performance in the tourism sector and especially at SME’s level. Often the concern has been raised not only about the absence of the information on the specific tools and strategies but also regarding the confusion that multiplying schemes and strategies bring along. The actors in Sweden were frequently unable to decide upon the choice of the tools available to them. The YSMEK management group in Finland considered that the abundance of eco-labels in tourism actually hinders using them as a useful steering mechanism. In other words, labels have lost their meaning and cause increasing confusion among the practitioners of the industry as well as among the consumers. A lack of the financial resources for different specific actions relevant for sustainable development, for example, the lack of financial support for specialist restoration/conservation in Ireland, was blamed for the delay or neglect of these actions. In addition, the networks’ members have mentioned the deficiencies with other resources such as primary environmental infrastructures (Ireland) or inadequate traffic management (Kinsale and Åre). In cases where resources under the national or European policies reached their targets the results on the network activities have been very visible. For example, one of 176 Åre’s cliques has been established by the projects driven by the European policy on Structural Funds. 8.2.5.3 Enforcement of the regulations and strengthening of the law The need for enforcement of the regulation has been identified by both Irish networks and Molyvos. In both of the Irish networks, the response was invariably related to spatial planning, particularly the enforcement of planning regulations and the limitation of ribbon development63 while the Molyvos actors were indicating the general lack of enforcement of the environmental regulation. 8.3 Policy Instruments – proofing for sustainable development of tourism We now depart from the direct evidence provided by the sample networks and focus upon how the contribution of existing policy instruments could be enhanced and how some new instruments might enable the multiple stakeholders in tourism development to achieve their disparate goals. Underlying this discussion and the policy proposals resulting from it, is the premise that in order to be sustainable, tourism development should: − respect the socio-cultural character and ethnicity of its host locations while avoiding the danger of “pickling them in aspic” in the name of conservation; − ensure the environmental and economic sustainability of its operations over a time-scale that safeguards the equitable needs of future generations. The policy suggestions to follow are based on the “not necessary to reinvent the wheel” notion. Many policy instruments are already in operation within the tourism industry, which are listed earlier in this section. However, as has been identified through the case studies, these are not always designed and/or implemented in the most effective way. In addition most instruments address the environmental issues only, while tourism calls for a more holistic sustainability approach. Therefore, most of our suggestions take their point of departure in existing instruments, adding a sustainability dimension and other improvements identified to be crucial. 63 De-concentrated, unpatterned and ‘inappropriate’ human settlements throughout the countryside, normally characterised as ‘bungalow blight’. 177 In some cases instruments shown to be effective in other industries, as for instance manufacturing industry. They are elaborated upon and proposed for modification to the tourism industry, in order to address problems identified during the project. 8.3.1 Proposed modifications to policy instruments 8.3.1.1 Rationale Tourism activities have a wide range of impacts on the environment, in terms of excessive water use, groundwater contamination from untreated raw sewage, waste generation, emissions from transportation, decreased bio-diversity, air pollution, noise and congestion, etc. Our case studies have illustrated that many of these aspects are already being addressed by existing policy instruments, with varying degrees of success. The challenge for policy makers on sustainable tourism, whether applying existing instruments to the tourism industry or developing new ones, involves a kind of “sustainability – testing” to ensure that these instruments extend beyond the purely environmental aspects of tourism development. The following discussion argues either for the modification of policy instruments that are already applied in the tourism industry or for adopting precedents which exist in the manufacturing industry which, with modification, can also address promotion of the sustainable development of tourism. 8.3.1.2 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) / Sustainability Impact Assessment (SuIA) EIA is designed as part of the planning process, of the legal decision-making as to whether and how a proposed development may proceed to implementation. As such it provides a once-off assessment of the future potential impact of a proposed development on the environment. To progress to a “Sustainability Impact Assessment (SuIA)” of proposed tourism projects, the EIA process needs to be modified and extended to apply a short, medium and long-term time scale. It should also assess and comment on a proposed project’s impact on the environmental, socio-cultural and economic character of the host location as well as on successive generations inheriting that location. If such a SuIA instrument is to be effective over time, to be more than an historic reference document, it should also recommend a programme of issues and parameters to be 178 periodically monitored and reviewed during and after the implementation of the project. In other words, the significance of a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SuIA) can best be understood as the first stage in a dynamic process of action, evaluation and review. Given that good planning decisions and good management of environmental issues are necessary but not sufficient conditions for the sustainable development of tourism, thisprogramme of issues and parameters which an SuIA should specify for monitoring, subsequent to the granting of planning permission, will have to address socio-cultural, intergenerational and ethnic issues while all the time remaining economically viable for the resources available to the developer, directly or indirectly. SuIA as envisaged would remain a decision-making support instrument for sustainable land-use planning, therefore the monitoring programme that it prescribes must be implemented by some other mechanism. Responsibility for the monitoring programme specified in an SuIA, with whatever other conditions are attached to the project-specific planning permission granted, can be handled on a voluntary basis by two established policy instruments: Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and Environmental Performance Evaluation (EPE). 8.3.1.3 EMS and associated “interactive” Instruments: environmental performance evaluation (EPE) and environmental performance reporting( EPR) Application of the Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) approach has long been discussed and tested in multiple manufacturing and service branches of industry and to an increasing extent in some branches of tourism64. However, if EMS is to promote sustainable development, it should be substantially modified. A Sustainable Development Management System (SDMS) would expand the issues to be addressed beyond the environmental and the economic to include socio-cultural issues and their evolution. The objectives and targets and the projects designed to achieve them would similarly have an integrated socio-cultural perspective. For example, the location of a nightclub or a “Theme Park” should not just address the effect on property values and the environment in the area. The perception the 64 See, for example, the prototype EMS for Guesthouses and Hotels developed by the Cleaner Production Promotion Unit, National University of Ireland - Cork, in the Irish Environmental Protection Agency Cleaner Production Pilot Demonstration Programme 1997-99, and the work done in "Environmental Management in the Hospitality Sector" by the Institute of Technology, Tralee, and the Cleaner Production Promotion Unit, National University of Ireland - Cork, 1998-2000, in the Pilot Initiative on Tourism and the Environment under the 1994-99 Operational Programme for Tourism. 179 targeted visitors will have of the entire host community and the impact of visitor expectations on the host community itself are equally important. Or to take another example, in a “standard” EMS a programme for Awareness and Training on environmental issues is a regular component. In a Sustainable Development Management System (SDMS) this Awareness and Training programme would address social issues like fair compensation to seasonal workers and issues of local culture and mores, e.g. not demanding a “spontaneous” traditional music session in an Irish pub or wearing long-sleeved T-shirts and skirts or trousers in a Moslem community. Once the environmental / economic axis is recognised as insufficient, evaluation and reporting instruments would then also evolve to embrace indicators, reporting structures and content appropriate to issues of socio-cultural sustainability. The debate on what these sustainable development indicators (SDI) should be is well launched. For the sustainable development of tourism, in particular, it requires much further research. How to enable a tourism destination, for example, to allow its socio-cultural identity evolve in a vital way without paralysing it with self-consciousness or ossifying it into a rigid form of conservation or heritage protection are complex questions needing sensitive and sophisticated deliberation. To rely on current EMS and EPR will fail even to engage with all the issues raised by an holistic approach to sustainability. To give an example, policies for heritage conservation, or supporting local production and produce are indicated nowhere in our case studies. (Tables A4.1 and A4.2, Appendix 4, provide suggestions on some sustainable development indicators.) 8.3.1.4 Extended sustainability responsibility for intermediaries Our case networks, in particular those exposed to mass tourism by package tours, are revealing one important, however, mostly absent stakeholder, the tour operator, not currently in focus by any policy instrument. Still tour operators and other intermediaries, as travel agencies and travel managers, are making the connection between the supply and demand sides of the market. This central position of the intermediaries enables them to affect decisions along the entire distribution chain of tourism services. At present however, the intermediaries generally do not recognize responsibility for indirect impacts generated by their business. Nor do they provide the customers with almost any information regarding sustainability performance of various suppliers. An exemption may be business travel managers working on behalf of bigger corporations and state institutions. Following the 180 policy of the organization from which they are operating, business travel managers are usually asked to bring environmental considerations into their procurement decisions, as well as to advise their clients, the business travellers, on environmentally friendly alternatives. Obviously, once they incorporate general sustainability principles into their business, intermediaries are in a powerful position to pass requirements for the same attitude on to their suppliers and customers. Tour operators, for instance, could work together with local authorities, networks, and individual service providers to support destination management systems as well as sustainable practices at company level. On the demand side they are in the best position to change market behavior, by influencing consumers choice and informing about tourism and sustainable development (Budeanu 1999). These facts should make intermediaries an important target for policy makers seeking ways of incorporating sustainability directed actions into tourism activities (Welford and Ytterhus 1999). At present, one important regulation addressing the responsibility of tour operators is the European Commission Directive on Package Travel. The directive places strict responsibility of any harm of the tourist on the manager of the tour operating business. There is no direct requirement for the tour operator to undertake responsibilities wider than those related to health and safety of their customers. The directive does however, indirectly, address one environmental issue, by making the tour operator responsible for possible health problems due to poor water quality, which of course may be caused by pollution. By placing the main responsibility for the health and safety of customers on tour operators, the commission indirectly recognizes this very actor in the tourism industry to have a central most important and influential position. Having in mind that health and safety issues in other industries already been followed by regulatory measures addressing environmental issues, an extension of the EC Directive on Package Travel in the same direction would be consistent and an important trigger for the entire tourism industry to move towards sustainability (Ytterhus 2000). In fact, an extended producer responsibility (EPR) of the kind discussed here, in relation to tour operators, is already applied in many other industrial sectors. In particular manufacturers of packaging, cars, electronics, and other consumer products are increasingly facing requirements on extended physical and economic responsibility for the entire life 181 cycle of what they sell. The EPR principle is found to be consistent with the polluter pays principle and, moreover, a necessary condition for reflecting the essential life cycle costs in the price of the products (Lindhqvist 2000). The package tour is definitely to be regarded as a product, which likewise other consumer products may create extensive impacts once being sold. In analogy with recent development in manufacturing industry, the primary responsibility for minimizing these impacts should be placed at the producer, tour operators and travel agencies. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is to be seen as an environmental protection strategy that can be implemented through administrative, economic, and informative instruments. The composition of these instruments determines the precise form of the responsibility (Lindhqvist 2000). In terms of intermediary firms in the tourism industry, informative instruments would seem most immediately applicable. However, more intrusive instruments, including prohibitions and taxes, may also need to be given a central role, if strong incentives for change are to be achieved. The importance of transparency and public information as a driver for performance improvements was expressed at a global scale in chapter 30 of Agenda 21 (UNCED 1992) as: “Business and Industry, including trans-national corporations, should be encouraged to adopt and report on the implementation of codes of conduct promoting best environmental practice (…)”. This principle was further developed by the tourism industry in Agenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism Industry (WTO, WTTC, 1997). Explicitly addressing tour operators, recognition of the need to report on progress towards sustainability, was recently acknowledged by the Tour Operators Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development (UNEP, UNESCO, WTO, 2000). In general, however, intermediary firms in the tourism sector are lagging far behind other industries in committing themselves to these kinds of voluntary initiatives and codes of conduct (Budeanu 1999) Currently, information for customers regarding the impacts of tourism is basically nonexistent. Tour operators provide all sorts of information on hotel standards; distance to beaches and nightclubs etc, while any questions regarding environmental and socio-cultural issues remain unanswered. Still, it would seem to be of highest interest for the customers to know if, at a certain destination, water is drinkable, wastewater cleaned, food locally produced, etc. Given the responsibility to disclose this type of information, intermediary 182 firms would need to interact more closely with service suppliers, local authorities and networks. Intermediaries in the retailing sector are often transferring the demand for green products to suppliers and sub-contractors, by integrating environmental criteria and targets into purchasing policies. This diffusion of environmental management techniques via the supply chain is shown to be a very important factor influencing the improvement of industrial environmental performance (Ytterhus, Arnestad and Lothe 1999). A similar influence on tourism and travel services is to be expected if intermediaries in the tourism sector were required to fulfil an extended producer responsibility to incorporate sustainability principles in their operation, and to publicly report on their progress. Again, a revised and extended version of the EC Directive on Package Travel, seems to be suitable for this purpose. 8.3.1.5 Translating sustainable development policy instruments into recognition schemes to provide an incentive for sustainable development of tourism At present, certain components of tourism, such as beaches, accommodations, and restaurants may be recognised through different international, national and/or regional labelling schemes. Most of these schemes focus on particular issues such as energy efficiency and waste management. No doubt these are important steps for achieving sustainable development, to the extent that such measures are successfully accomplished. There is, however, still a `need to consolidate these efforts at a more holistic level. The results of this project research suggest that the two potentially most productive points on which recognition schemes should direct their leverage are tour operators and tourism destinations. • At intermediary level In addition to mandatory requirements regarding the responsibility of intermediaries in the tourism industry, sufficient efforts should be made in order for the market to recognise those with outstanding performance. Market recognition is undoubtedly a strong incentive to promote continuously improved performance towards sustainability, as various examples in the manufacturing industry have shown. There is no reason to believe that consumers in general would be less interested in the extent to which tourism products rather than of 183 manufactured products contribute to sustainability. The recognition could be awarded to tour operators and travel agents. • At the destination level Whether on a voluntary or mandatory basis, the EMS approach and its interactive extension to EPE, the development of appropriate EPIs and engagement in Environmental Performance Reporting and Benchmarking will be more attractive to suppliers of tourism product and/or infrastructure support at destination level if credible Recognition Schemes are in place. At the destination level, recognition may be awarded for promoting sustainability based on criteria covering, the following aspects of their performance: ♦ Heritage Conservation, not exclusively the physical but also e.g. language, landscape – urban and rural; ♦ Cultural conservation, e.g. architecture, music, communication media; ♦ Local production support – of goods, tourism product (excursions, theatre, etc.), infrastructure; ♦ Management of Water/Waste/Transport/Energy; ♦ Biodiversity; ♦ Hospitality sector performance, e.g. hotels, restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, accommodations, etc; ♦ Sustainable Development Networking. Criteria should be established according to these aspects of sustainability performance and they can become performance indicators for the range of stakeholders involved. 184 8.4 Conclusions Our study shows that the understanding of sustainable development in the field of tourism is fragmentary, which is by no means surprising as this is the case among many scientists, policy makers and practitioners from other industries. Except for one, the studied networks proceeded in a more or less fragmented way to the setting of sustainable tourism goals, without a review and prioritisation of the major problems of the sector or the area. The principle emphasis is on sustainable tourism development rather than sustainable development per se. That said, particular networks have engaged to a greater or lesser degree with the more holistic and integrative thrust of the wider concept of sustainable development with varying degrees of emphasis. Some actors recognise the socio-cultural aspects while others think of sustainability as equal to environmental quality. Economic matters were entangled with other sustainability issues in the thinking of actors throughout the studied networks. In other words, as is the case for other aspects of sustainability, economic sustainability is seen in relation to environmental, social or even cultural sustainability. In economic terms, sustainability was conceived of as a business survival issue, economic development or win-win opportunity. Economic sustainability in our local networks very often has a strong social dimension, for example, the development of the community rather than just individual (enterprise) wellbeing. An innovative aspect of some of our networks, however, is a win-win scenario, that is, seeing opportunities for economic development and advantage in environmental actions. In many of the networks, the simple correlation between economic growth and development is no longer accepted uncritically. When thinking of different dimensions of sustainable development and holistic orientation to sustainable development as a goal, a question that occurs is whether different dimensions are ever in conflict with one another in the practical life of networks. Such instances did not really occur in EMPOST-NET sample networks, but there was one typical clash occasion. Namely, short-term economic goals often overrode sustainability aspirations. With regard to sustainability enactment or implementation, it appeared that at large there are three types of networks. These are (1) community-action networks (ComAct) that seek to enhance sustainable development at a community, (2) business-action networks (BusAct) that implement sustainability at a business enterprise level and (3) ComBus networks that 185 combine the two approaches. ComAct networks tend to emphasise problem-solutions relating to socio-cultural sustainability, such as traditional architecture protection, or tidiness of the town. Unexpectedly, ComAct-networks do not consist predominantly of public sector actors. Despite the community-level orientation of sustainability efforts, the ComAct network can be business-dominated in terms of number of members and steering responsibility. BusAct networks, on the other hand, tend to focus on environmental sustainability, mainly environmental management related improvements conducted in tourism enterprises. Conversely, these networks did not consist principally of business actors, but there were BusAct networks that were steered by public sector actors, for example, municipality authorities or ministry representatives. ComBus networks made efforts at both levels, community and enterprises. If there is an ideal that a network should address sustainable tourism holistically, that is, throughout all dimensions, environmental, economic and socio-cultural, and in the community as well as with regard to enterprises’ actions, then the ComBus network approach would be the one to choose. In a structural sense, the most feasible way to do this might be to establish an enterprise action oriented subnetwork to a ComAct network. This ensures translation of the network ideas to implementation. To move from understanding of sustainability to networking process and structure, we find that the network learning or evolutionary process is more important, vis-à-vis the outcomes, than the network design. The process may produce exchange-type of transactional outcomes or create completely new knowledge about sustainable development in tourism context, and/or ways of implementing it (transformational outcomes). However, one structure-related rule of thumb can be proposed: members should be as diverse as necessary and as similar as possible. In multi-stakeholder public-private networks the actors vary considerably regarding their knowledge bases and dominant logic of action. On one hand, should be different types of members to make broader understanding of sustainable development available. On the other hand, the actors of a network need to be able to create a certain amount of common ground in order to act. We argue that an optimal amount of domain similarity of actors facilitates learning about sustainable development. 186 In terms of the network evolution, a dual guideline of small wins but long-term orientation could be adopted. Small wins, that is, controllable opportunities of modest size that produce visible and tangible outcomes can be created to support a network’s learning for sustainable development. However, it is advisable to adopt a long-term, orientation when starting a network. A network needs time to become adept at explicating tacit and embedded knowledge to one another, and develop the network so it is fit for creating “large wins”. Long-term orientation also applies to public fund providers: networks need support over a number of years and should not be expected to run on their own after two or three years. Short-term funding has a tendency to lead to fragmentary results and results in frustration toward possibilities of acting upon sustainable development at a local level. In sustainability networks with a leading public actor, this actor may assume a “teacher’s” role. In some of these instances, networks are merely used as a tool to disseminate information and feed ideas from the hub actor (usually public sector) to the recipients. It provides information and training to other actors. This situation involves an inherent trap of one-way communication and under-used knowledge utilisation opportunities. Receptivity of the teacher actor is low. Even in the best case, the “student” actors integrate the knowledge coming from the teacher actor, but the partners do not really collaborate. Then a network may be reduced to a mere tool that in essence does not do much more than replace command and control approaches. The teacher actor (hub) should make a special effort to create the feedback loops leading to two-way communication, so that a strategy of collaboration can take place. In order for a collaboration strategy to occur, partners should be able and willing to both distribute knowledge to other members and integrate knowledge made available by them. The study has shown that while some of the networks became primary drivers for motivating actors’ to work towards sustainable development, other networks were considered as facilitators of the activities inspired by different motives. Reasons for working toward sustainable development or sustainable tourism are usually interrelated with other motives, experienced at a personal level, for the firm or for the municipality. These seemingly secondary motives are important from a motivational viewpoint, especially if networking is on a totally voluntary basis. 187 8.5 Recommendations for further research and actions As always in the end of a research project, there are many questions that remain unasked and unanswered. Each of the research questions (Chapter 2) stated at the beginning of the project can constitute a project in its own right. In addition many additional questions have emerged. We do not discuss all of them here but only take up a few. We started the project with the knowledge that networks are emerging and from the point of departure that we will investigate under what conditions and processes networking for sustainable tourism are effective and successful. We did not compare the network approach to other approaches like those under legislative framework. In the future, it would be useful to examine what combination of voluntary and mandatory approaches (e.g. networking) produce the best sustainability outcomes. Our resources did not allow the measure of the true (physical) environmental impacts within the area of our networks. We had to settle with the indirect environmental performance indicators (e.g. are EMS applied?) and such indicators of socio-cultural sustainability that leaves room for more exact assessment. In the future these indicators should be tied more closely with the study of human and organisational aspects on networking toward sustainability. The results of the project strongly identified the need for the action research in the area of developing a reflective learning process by the network’s actors. The reflective learning will contribute to the efficiency of the network functioning. Actors that belong to the focal networks represent a variety of different organisations. The networks are comprised of authorities overseeing regional issues and industries dealing with the problems at the company level. We noticed a gap between instruments and tools applied at the regional level and at the company level. Future research and practices can be recommended to fill the missing knowledge, tools and guidelines. The focal networks have often demonstrated a unique expertise in networking towards sustainable development. It is anticipated that the exchange of experiences among these and other networks will benefit parties participating in this European network of networks. 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Related activities, tools and schemes to achieve them 5. Activities related to the natural environment 6. Rationale/reasons/motives for environmental actions 7. Collaborators in tourism and environment area 8. Influences of national and international policies and stakeholders on environmentrelated activities 9. Opinion about tourism development 10. Other local similar organisations/other local organisations aiming at similar goals 11. Barriers to environmental activities 12. Suggestions for environmental improvements INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1. How would you describe your organisation / Who are the participants/members of your organisation (ex officio/ in private capacity)? What is the purpose and the main activities of your organisation? In case of an enterprise: How would you describe your enterprise (hotel travel agency etc.) and your activities (e.g. tourism offer)? 2. What are the main agencies or other groups you work with? And how (boundaries, influences, driving forces)? How do you communicate with these groups? 3. What do you see as the economic/social/cultural implications of your activities? Can you illustrate this? 4. What do you see as your role in environmental enhancement of the area? Could you give us practical examples of what you have done in this respect? In case of an enterprise: What are you main environmental impacts? 198 5. Can you illustrate for us how you deal with an issue as soon as you realized it is relevant? 6. What do you see as the drivers for your environmental activities? How do you keep up with the latest developments on tourism and environment? 7. What more could be done to improve the environmental quality in the area? Who would be responsible? Who would allocate resources? 8. What do you see as barriers against working more efficiently for environmental improvements? 199 Appendix 2. List of coding categories Note: not all 450 categories all listed. The list only contains the main codes with some subcategories as examples. Q.S.R. NUD.IST Power version, revision 4.0. Licensee: University of Tampere. PROJECT: Fingreirespaswe, User Finland, 4:35 pm, Jun 13, 2000. (1) (1 1) (1 1 1) (1 1 2) (1 2) (1 3) (1 3 1) (1 4) (1 4 1) (1 4 2) (1 5) (1 5 1) (1 5 2) (2) (2 1) (2 2) (2 3) (2 4) (2 5) (2 6) (2 7) (3) (3 1) (3 2) (3 3) (3 4) (3 5) (3 6) (4) (4 1) (4 2) (4 3) (4 4) (4 5) (4 6) (5) (5 2) (5 3) (5 4) (5 5) (6) (6 1) (6 2) (6 3) (7) (7 1) (7 2) /Basedata /Basedata/network /Basedata/network/country /Basedata/network/name /Basedata/person /Basedata/organization /Basedata/organization/type /Basedata/geography /Basedata/geography/local /Basedata/geography/dispersed /Basedata/purpose /Basedata/purpose/sustainability /Basedata/purpose/other /network facts /network facts/formality /network facts/history /network facts/density /network facts/quality of interaction /network facts/number of members /network facts/activity basis /network facts/external perseption /membership /membership/intensity of participation /membership/centrality /membership/status /membership/distance /membership/needed member /membership/membership start /links /links/culture of network /links/tightness /links/direction /links/base /links/outside /links/structure /position /position/power /position/membership in other networks /position/influence /position/important members /network activities /network activities/informational /network activities/physical /network activities/communication, external /drivers, motivation /drivers, motivation/markets /drivers, motivation/public subsidies 200 (7 3) (8) (8 1) (8 1 1) regulation (8 1 2) (8 1 3) (8 1 4) (8 1 5) (8 1 6) cooperation (8 1 7) (8 2) (9) (10) (10 52) (10 53) (10 54) (10 70) (10 71) (10 74) (10 75) (10 76) (10 77) (11) (11 51) (11 52) (11 52 53) (11 54) (11 55) (11 56) (11 57) (11 58) (11 59) (11 70) (11 71) (11 72) (12) (13) (13 40) (13 40 1) (13 40 2) tools/Ecolabelling (13 40 3) tools/Municipal audit (13 40 4) tools/Agenda 21 (13 40 5) tools/Eco-taxes (14) (14 1) (14 40) (15) (15 1) (15 2) (15 3) (15 4) (15 5) (16) (16 1) (16 2) /drivers, motivation/firm-motive /implementation /implementation/barriers /implementation/barriers/conflicts with other /implementation/barriers/time /implementation/barriers/needed resource /implementation/barriers/attitude /implementation/barriers/money /implementation/barriers/no need of network /implementation/barriers/other /implementation/facilitators /dynamics /success factors /success factors/enthusiasm and interest /success factors/expertise /success factors/type of networking /success factors/VISIONARY KEY MEMBERS /success factors/COLLABORATION /success factors/PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT /success factors/PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT /success factors/TRUSTFUL LEADER /success factors/PUBLIC AWARENESS /failure factors /failure factors/time scale /failure factors/goal clarity /failure factors/goal clarity/expectations /failure factors/competition /failure factors/conflict /failure factors/motivation /failure factors/personalities /failure factors/network administration /failure factors/geography /failure factors/LEGISLATION /failure factors/LOOSER LEADERSHIP /failure factors/SELF INTERESTS /concrete action of the enterprise /policy instruments /policy instruments/environmental policy tools /policy instruments/environmental policy tools/EMS /policy instruments/environmental policy /policy instruments/environmental policy /policy instruments/environmental policy /policy instruments/environmental policy /future /future/what should it be /future/!suggestions /value-added /value-added/to firm /value-added/to network /value-added/to industry /value-added/to person /value-added/to society /sustainability /sustainability/environment /sustainability/social 201 (16 3) (16 4) (16 30) (17) (17 3 1) (17 4) (18) (40) (40 1) (40 5) (40 6) (40 9) (50) (50 1) (50 10) (50 11) (50 14) (50 15) (50 16) (50 17) (50 22) (70) (70 2 1) (70 3) (70 4) (70 7) (70 8 1) (70 8 1 1) (70 8 1 2) (70 8 1 3) (90) (90 1) (90 2) (90 3) (90 4) (90 5) /sustainability/cultural /sustainability/economic /sustainability/visions /mixed /mixed/tourism problem/seasonality /mixed/clique /tourism /Spain /Spain/tourism problems /Spain/recognition from outside /Spain/Other networks /Spain/public infrastructure /Finland /Finland/driver from other source /Finland/Complementarity /Finland/benefitter /Finland/conflict /Finland/competition /Finland/cooperation /Finland/Similarity /Finland/learn /GREECE /GREECE/TOURISM/POLICY /GREECE/ENVIRONMENT /GREECE/AWARNESS /GREECE/EXTERNAL FACTORS /GREECE/SUBNETWORK/TYPE /GREECE/SUBNETWORK/TYPE/CLIQUE /GREECE/SUBNETWORK/TYPE/COMMITTEE /GREECE/SUBNETWORK/TYPE/ASSOCIATION /Ireland /Ireland/Trust /Ireland/Decision Making /Ireland/Agenda 21 /Ireland/Environmental Management Systems /Ireland/Written Environmental Policy 202 Appendix 3. List of interviewees Name Position/Company Date of the interview Propietario Autocares Mallorca (Bus Company owner) Agrupación Empresarial Hotelera de Alcúdia (Hotel Association of Alcúdia) Propietario Construccions Voramar (Building Company owner) Enginyer Tècnic d'Activitats Classificades de l'Ajuntament d'Alcúdia (Technical Engineer of Alcúdia City Council) Delegada de Medi Ambient, Sanitat i Benestar Social & Tècnica de Medi Ambient de l'Ajuntament d'Alcúdia (Environmental Delegate & Environmental Technician of Alcúdia City Council) Tècnica de Medi Ambient de l'Ajuntament d'Alcúdia (Environmental Technician of Alcúdia City Council) Presidente y Director del Pollentia Club Resort (President and Director of Pollentia Club Resort) Miembros del Grup Ornitològic Balear, GOB (Members of Ornithology Group of Balearics, GOB) Propietaria de Pub Inglés y miembro de Junta Directiva de PIMEN Alcúdia (English Pub owner and member of the board of management of PIMEN Alcúdia) Tècnica de Turisme de l'Ajuntament d'Alcúdia (Tourism Technician of Alcúdia City Council) Propietario de Tienda y Secretario de Associació S'Atalaia (Shop owner and Secretary of Association S'Atalaia) 5.3.99 ALCUDIA, Spain Antonio Armenteras Antoni Buades Beltrán Jaume Cerdà Jaume Ferrer Carme Garzón Pelegrín & Ana Mª Palmer Ana Mª Palmer Fernando Porto Ferran Salom Nicole Smith Magdalena Truyols Xisco Venzala 24.3.98 5.3.99 7.5.98 24.3.98 7.5.98 4.3.99 19.6.98 7.5.98 19.5.98 19.5.98 CALVIA, Spain Miquel Alenyar Javier Bustamante Director de la Obra Social y Cultural de la Caja Sa Nostra (Director of Social and Cultural Works of Savings Bank Sa Nostra) Director General de Presidencia del 5.5.98 25.3.98 203 Eduardo Cózar, Carolina Suau Álvaro Frutos Jose Antonio Pascual José Antonio Manchado Miquel Morey Margarita Nájera Luis Orejudo Xavier Pastor Fernando Prats Martí Xamena Ajuntament de Calvià, Presidency Director of Calvià City Council ap de Servei de Media Ambient del Ajuntament d e Calvià (Chief of Environmental Department of Calvià City Council) Coordinadora de Programa Agenda Local 21 del Ajuntament de Calvià (Coordinator of Local Agenda 21 Programme of the Calvià City Council) Gerente de Calvià 2000 (Director of Services Company) Presidente de la Asociación Hotelera de Santa Ponsa y Director del Hotel Playa Santa Ponsa (Presidente of Hotel Association of Santa Ponsa and Hotel Director) Geólogo de Gabinete GAAT (Geologist of Consultancy) Catedrático de Ecología de la Universidad de las Islas Baleares (Professor of Ecology of University of Balearic Islands) Alcaldesa del Ajuntament de Calvià (Mayor of Calvià City Council) Presidente de la Asociación Hotelera Palma Nova-Magalluf y Director Gerente del Hotel Sol Magalluf Park (President of Hotel Association of Palma NovaMagalluf and Hotel Director) Director ejecutive de Greenpeace (Executive Director of Greenpeace) Asesor de Programa “Calvià Agenda Local 21” (Advisor of Calvià Agenda Local) Presidente de la Asociación Hotelera Illetas y Director del Hotel Bon Sol (President of Hotel Association of Illetas and Hotel Director) 8.5.98 25.3.98 22.6.99 8.5.98 18.6.98 6.5.98 26.6.98 8.5.98 18.6.98 19.6.98 ECOTUR, Spain Antoni Munar Martín Llobera José Luis Gaspart Michael Iwand Federación Empresarial Hotelera de Mallorca (Hotel Federation of Mallorca) Conselleria de Medi Ambient del Govern Balear (Environmental Department of Autonomous Government of the Balearic Islands) Associació Empresarial de Restauració de Mallorca (Restoration Association of Mallorca) Executive Director of Department of Environment of Touristik Union International (TUI) 23.3.98 24.3.98 6.5.98 12.6.98 204 Miguel Seguí Responsable de Estudios del Centro de Investigación de Tecnologías Turísticas de las Islas Baleares (Studies Manager of Tourism Technologies Research Institute of the Balearic Islands) 19.6.98 FINNLAND NATÜRLICH, Finland Markku Ala-orvola Marja Einola Nina Eriksson Marja Ilola Seija Isoiitu Atel Tarja Jutila Sirpa Juvakka-Henne Antti Kinnari Marjaana Lahtua-Eskelinen Minna/Kari Manninen Kyllikki Mirala Markku Männikkö Tiina Mörttinen Arto Pirttilahti Sirpa Schetler Esko Tamminen Liisa Tyllilä Tapio Vuorinen Jukka Väissi Irma Ylä Tuuhonen entrepreneur, Farm Ala-orvola entrepreneur, restaurant Marttilan Pirtti chair person, Promotion for Tourism in Pirkanmaa Region entrepreneur, Farm Ilola entrepreneur, Farm Isoiitu development manager, Association of rural centres entrepreneur,Scandinavien-Reisen GmbH (tour operator and travel agency) entrepreneur, Kinnari’s holiday cottages entrepreneur, Farm Lahtua entrepreneur, Bus Service Manninen Ltd. leader of FN network, entrepreneur, Via Natura Ltd. rural representative, municipality of Vesilahti manager, tourism office of city of Tampere rural representative, city of Virrat entrepreneur, Scandinavium GmbH (tour operator and travel agency) environmental manager, city of Valkeakoski entrepreneur, Hiking Travel Hit Ltd. (adventure trips) entrepreneur, Tammer Ships Ltd. department manager, agricultural centre of Pirkanmaan county entrepreneur, Farm Ylä Tuuhonen 11.3.98 1.7.98 19.10.98 18.3.98 13.5.98 3.12.98 14.1.98 11.3.98 6.5.98 20.10.98 25.2.98 4.11.98 26.2.99 26.10.98 15.1.98 2.11.98 16.3.98 1.7.98 14.5.98 6.5.98 HIDDEN IRELAND, Ireland George Gossip Don Smith Egerton Shelswell White Patricia Wiese Jeremy Green Jaon McKeown Ken & Beth Sherrard Susan Kellet Josephine Roder Bradshaw Geraldine and David Hare Tullanisk House (Owner/ Spokesperson) Lorum Old Rectory (Owner) Bantry House (Owner) Farran House (Owner) Ballyvolane House (Owner) Sovereign House (Owner) Glenview House (Owner) Enniscoe House (Owner) Glendalough House (Owner) Iskeroon (Owner) 19.3.99 26.3.99 28.7.98 8.5.99 28.3.98 26.3.98 30.4.99 6.5.99 23.5.99 23.5.99 205 KINSALE, Ireland Tony Boland Collette Boland Deirdre O Sullivan Dan Cummins Eamon O Neill Eddie McCarthy Frank Donaldson Gary Fitzsimmons Mary Meehan Michael Frawley Niamh Hurley Peter Barry Robaird O Ceallaigh Frank Morrison (Interview conducted jointly with Billy Houlihan) Billy Houlihan (Interview conducted jointly with Frank Morrison) Gift Shop Owner Gift Shop Owner/ Tidy Towns Committee Kinsale Golf Club/ Kinsale Chamber of Tourism Marketing Officer Cork County Council, Assistant County Engineer/ Kinsale Chamber of Tourism Environment Committee/ West Cork Tourism (LEADER) Kinsale Harbour Board, Auctioneer, Kinsale Chamber of Commerce Castlewhite Marina/ Kinsale Chamber of Tourism Activities Committee Cork/Kerry Tourism (Regional Tourism Authority) Accountant/ President Chamber of Tourism Actons Hotel/ Kinsale Chamber of Tourism, Public Relations Officer White House Restauraunt Kinsale Advertiser/ Kinsale Chamber of Tourism Secretary Kinsale Chamber of Tourism/ Tourism Promotion Officer (Full Time Employee) Kinsale Urban District Council Town Clerk Kinsale Urban District Council Town Engineer 3.2.98 3.2.98 27.7.98 24.7.98 21.8.98 27.7.98 31.3.99 3.2.98 3.2.98 9.4.99 6.8.98 7.7.98 27.7.98 20.7.98 Cork County Council Senior Executive Architect 20.7.98 LESVOS' DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY CURATOR OF CLASSIC AND PREHISTORIC ANTIQUITIES HOTEL DELFINIA HOTEL MANAGER MOLYVOS RESTAURANT OWNERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT MUNICIPALITY OF MITHIMNA EX MAYOR MOLYVOS, LESVOS HOTEL OWNERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT 20.08.98 MOLYVOS, Greece AGLAIA ARHONTIDOU ANTONIS BERTOLIS KOSTANTINOS DIMOU KOSTAS DOUKAS EFTHIMIOS DRECOLLIAS 24.08.98 31.05.98 17.09.98 26.04.98 206 TRIFONAS EFES IOANNIDIS CHRISTOS KARAFILIS GIANNIS STILIANOS KARANTONIS RALLOU KRALLI GAVRIIL LADAS IGNATIOS MAVRIDIS PARISI DOROTHEA PARMAKELLIS VASSILIS SOTIRIS SOKOS SOUYIOULTZIS ACHILLEAS DIMITRIS VATIS VOURSOYKIS JIANNIS MOLYVOS APARTMENT OWNERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT GREEK NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD (ALSO MEMBER OF THE PREFECTURE'S COMMITTEE FOR TOURIST PROMOTION) MANAGER MOLYVOS FRIENDS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT HOTEL OWNER MEMBER OF TOWN HALL COMMITTEE MOLYVOS' FRIENDS MEMBER MUNICIPALITY OF MITHIMNA MEMBER OF TOWN HALL COMMITTEE NORTHERN LESVOS' DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE PRESIDENT CITIZEN MOLYVOS' HOTEL OWNERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT BUSSINESMAN OF MITHIMNA TOURIST AGENT 31.05.98 MUNICIPALITY OF MOLYVOS MAYOR MUNICIPALITY OF MITHIMNA MEMBER OF TOWN HALL COMMITTEE 15.03.98 17.12.98 17.09.98 Representatives of Kläppen, the mediumsize ski resorts in Sälen; one of the interviewees is a member of SPS Maintenance manager of Kläppen , the medium-size ski resorts in Sälen Manager at of one of the Sälen Sjarnen ski resorts Head of one of the Sälen Sjarnen ski resorts Manager of one of the large hotels in Sälen Heads of the municipality (Major and Vice-major) Manager at of one of the Sälen Sjarnen ski resorts Head of the large restaurant group 02.05.99 16.06.98 17.09.98 17.12.98 30.05.98 22.03.99 30.05.98 17.12.98 30.05.98 17.09.98 22.03.98 SÄLEN, Sweden Lasse Eriksson, Kjel Ruder Lasse Eriksson Åke Enqvist Bo Halvardsson Gudrun Wikers Håkan Eriksson and Olof Olin Jonas Mareniusson Jonas Panes 02.03.98 27.03.98 25.03.98 05.03.99 05.03.99 06.03.99 23.03.98 23.03.98 207 Karin Brandt Krister Johansson Lanart Back (telephone interview) Mats Hornell Mikael SHvalm Stefan Tornberg Terese Local Agenda 21 Maintenance manager at of one of the Sälen Sjarnen ski resorts Maintenance manager at of one of the Sälen’s medium-size resorts Environmental manager at of one of the Sälen Sjarnen ski resorts Manager of one of the large hotels in Sälen Restaurant in Sälen Local Agenda 21 in Sälen 27.03.98 01.03.99 25.03.98 08.02.99 02.05.99 23.03.98 24.03.98 23.03.98 24.03.98 ÅRE, Sweden Jahn Theigin Annete Andersson and Stina Osterman Bengt Aspman Camilla Qvenild Elsa Danielsson Gustav Lenar Hans Hedblad Hans Westerlind Ingemar Lindström Inger Olofsson Jörgen Andersson Jon Andersson Lars Wissing Lars Johansson Magnus Dahlin Magnus Nilsson Micke Bjork, Gunnel Karlsson, Lars Karlsson Olle Olofsson Sven Wadman Torgnie Olofsson Member of Åregruppen/Manager of a hotel group Communication company in Åre village Åre municipality, head of the environmental department Member of Kretslopsgruppen/Village Development Group Major of Åre municipality General manager of a large hotel (part of a chain)/Member of Åregruppen General manager of a local supermarket/member of Åregruppen Head of Åregruppen/Manager of real estate agency Head of the largest company in Åre (lift company) Head of Kretslopsgruppen/Member of Åregruppen Member of Kretslopsgruppen Åre municipality/Business development for the community Member of Kretslopsgruppen/Head of waste management company Head of Village Development Project at Åre municipality Member of local community group Head of the Åre tourism marketing company/Member of Åregruppen Members of Åre Village Development Group Åre municipality, head of the political opposition MITTHÖGSKOAN (University of Middle Sweden) Member of Kretslopsgruppen/farmer 02.03.98 15.12.98 03.03.98 02.03.08 15.12.98 15.05.98 04.12.99 14.12.98 12.15.98 07.12.98 02.03.98 02.03.98 14.05.98 02.12.98 13.05.98 13.05.98 12.05.98 13.05.98 08.12.98 15.05.98 03.12.98 02.03.98 208 YSMEK, Finland Taina Asunta Heimo Jaakkola Ari Karvonen Panu Kekäle Pirjo Kokkonen Jari Kumpulainen Erja Mähönen Marja Ollikainen Jouko Parviainen Benght Pihlström Pertti Pitkänen Terho Poutanen Seppo Pyrrö Saara Remes Pekka Ropponen 3 persons on the phone Anna Saarlo Anna Saarlo Jouni Taskinen Pekka Tuunanen Ritva Yliluoma chair person, MAYAVAT CEO, Association of car-owners entrepreneur, Gas station Tuuliruusu Ltd. environmental co-ordinator, camping site Rauhalahti Ltd. restaurant manager, Hotel Puijo kitchen manager, Hotel Rantasipi Sveitsi consultant, Finnish Environmental Educatin Ltd. secretary, Hotel Serena Korpilampi consultant, Finnish Environmental Education Ltd. former CEO of YSMEK, Ministry of Trade and Industry environmental engineer, Finnair Ltd. Association for Nature Conservation in Finland CEO; Association of Buss Enterprises representative, Association for hotel and catering industry 29.6.1998. consultant, LT-consultants consultant, LT-consultants services, Hotel Rauhalahti senior inspector, Ministry of the environment area manager, Polarkesti Ltd. 16.9.1998 2.10.1998 26.2.1998 4.3.1998 3.3.1998 24.9.1998 23.3.1998 29.7.1998 9.3.1998 27.11.1998 28.10.1998 2.12.1998 4.12.1998 29.12.1998 29.1.1998 3.3.1998 6.7.1998 4.3.1998 5.3.1998 18.8.1998 209 Appendix 4. Table A4.1: Socio-economic and cultural activities of community networks Table A4.2: Socio-economic and cultural activities of business networks Table A4.3: Environmental response of community networks Table A4.4: Environmental response of business networks 210 Table A4.1: Socio-economic and cultural activities of community networks Social Cultural Calvià Affordable housing plan “Living Calvià” “Volunteers of Calvià” Programme Alcúdia Analysis of future employment requirements (Strategic Plan “ Assistance and loans for renovating facades Alcu4dia 2020) Creation of Archeological Parc Puig de Sa Morisca Renovation of old city centre Embelleshing of streets and avenues Recovery of monuments with historical interest (city walls of Alcúdia, Roman City of Pollentia) Edition of brochures and leaflets on natural and cultural heritage of Alcúdia Åre Courses of unemployed (and employed) people (VDG, KSG) Establishing an employment center in Åre village (VDG) Work with children and youth in Åre village (VDG) Creation of the Åre village “social club” (VDG) Kinsale Residential Programme (Living Over the Shop), Urban District Council Reserved Housing Policy (25% of all housing to be reserved for Kinsale Residents. Zoning of Land Use for Community Usage Secure accomodation for the Elderly Developing Kinsale as a Heritage Town Restoration of Desmond Castle Restoration of Town Hall Architectural Advisory Clinic Maintenance of local tradition of street painting and hand painted signage Molivos Nomination of Molivos as traditional settlement Preservation and improvement of townscape Local building materials for the resident houses and the hotels. 211 Table A4.1: Socio-economic and cultural activities of community networks (continuation) Economic Public Participation Calvià Promotion of tourism activities during the winter season: “Calvià: The European Winter” Setting up a “hotbed” of companies and extension of incentive measures for SMEs Alcúdia Improving municipality’s tourist image by multimedia and website (Projects TURINGER; CICERO) Conducting Study of “Walled Towns Project” Collaboration of citizens in Thematic Committes Citizen or Advisory Forum with 150-160 citizens Regular meetings of Board of Tourism Pluridisciplinarity in Ecotourist Plaque Committee Åre Fundraising activity (Åre) or financial donations (ICA store in Åre) Strengthening the communication and collaboration links between local authorities and businesses, within the community in order to create a common vision, with “future group”, between tourism and other businesses Creation of the work centre with an attempt to create more jobs. Coordination among the network cliques and the rest of the population (Åre) Meetings and discussions at different levels of Åre network: regional authorities (“Future Group”), Åre region (regional VDG) Åre village (KSG, village VDG, Åre Gruppen) Kinsale Environmental Enhancement used as a vehicle for Social Employment Schemes. Collective Marketing of Kinsale central to the long-term economic sustainability of the town. Participation through statutory provision for consultation on spatial development. Voluntary participation in environmental improvement schemes Molivos Setting on tourism development for keeping community alive(MI). Loans with favorable terms for traditional houses renovations (MII) Promotion of Molivos as quality tourism destination And conference center to national and international media and tourism expositions. Public open meetings and discussions when important decisions are to be taken. 212 Table A4.2: Socio-economic and cultural activities of business networks Social YSMEK Not official requirement, but YSMEK guidebooks recommend local full-time employment. Favouring local produce. Cultural Economic Public participation Promoting Finnish tourism and raising the quality of tourism. Image improvement of tourism industry. Wish to attract more tourists to Finland through wellmanaged environmental issues in tourism FN The network’s aim is to enchance livelihood on the countryside. The network’s aim is to preserve cultural scenery, establisments and traditions Maintenance of old farm houses & other buildings of the farm. Education & system to improve quality management and efficiency within participant firms.(1993) Marketing channel to German-speaking Europe. (1994) Sälen Education of network members Series of network meetings oriented to define priority areas for work and to put together proposals for achieving chosen objectives (requests for money). HI Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Scheme. Woodland Conservation Habitat management Preservation/ Conservation of Architectural and Cultural Heritage Genealogy Centre/ Genealogy Network Revitalization of cultural resources as economic resources Refurbishment of Derelict Buildings as ‘self-catering accommodation’ Local Employment Initiatives of Individual Entreprises Series of network meetings oriented to define priority areas for work and to put together proposals for achieving chosen objectives (requests for money). 213 Table A4.3: Environmental response of community networks Environmental Field Network Response Community Based Networks Local Relevance Formal Kinsale CLIMATE CHANGE -emissions CO2 CFC CH4 N2O -deforestation + + OZONE LAYER DEPLETION -emissions NOx F11 F12 Halon - * Informal Molivos* Municipal planning for long-term use of geothermal energy for hotel air-condition purposes. Solar collectors wide use. Energy saving measures at hotel level. Calvià** Alcoudia Åre Local energy and saving Reduce energy in public lighting. plan. Ecotiurist Plaque(energy Solar energy use (Ecoresponsible & water saving) Regulations) Reforestation of “Na Burguesa Natural Park” and Restoration of the Na Burguesa quarries. _ _ _ _ _ Calvià and Molivos networks have strong municipal leadership * 214 LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY -fertilizers use -pesticide use - crop variety -protected areas -fragmentation index RESOURCE DEPLETION -fossile energy use -metal consumption -fish consumption -water extraction -loss of top soil DISPERSION OF TOXICS -dioxine emissions -chlorine production -heavy metal emissions -pesticide use -household chemicals use ? ? + + + + + ? + + Information Moratorium on road signposts at Wildlife infrastructure with Sanctuary. significant impacts. Local energy and saving Reduce energy in public lighting. plan. Ecotiurist Plaque(energy Solar energy use (Ecoresponsible & water saving) Regulations) Selective waste collection of tins, scrap metal and Selective waste collection. batteries. Strategic water management plan and reduction of water losses throughout the water supply system. Reforestation of “Na Burguesa Natural Park”. Environmental Auditing of municipal buildings. Prohibition of PVC (Eco- Selective waste responsible Regulations). collection (batteries, scrap metal,). Selective waste Ecotourist plaque collection. Building restrictions for protection of area’s natural landscape. Water reservoir construction. Reduction of water losses in water supply system. Solar collectors wide use. Municipal planning for long-term use of geothermal energy for hotel air-condition purposes. Energy saving measures and water saving campaigns at hotel level. ? + 215 WASTE -municipal waste -industrial waste -hazardous waste -landfill area -incineration AIR POLLUTION -emissions NOx SO2 Particles VOC Others Strategic urban waste management plan. Selective waste collection. Prohibition of PVC. + + + + + +(?) _ Local waste management Municipal landfill area Municipal Waste development. Collection Regulation system Selective waste collection(glass, paper, used clothes, tins, batteries, scrap metal, old household goods). Enlargement of sewage plant Campaigns against damping wastes into the sea, canals and lakes. Environmental audit for industrial activities. Ecotourist Plaque (waste management, recycled products, waste water treatment) Envoronmental Audit of industrial activities. _ _ 216 MARINE ENVIRONMENT AND COASTAL ZONES -oil transports -HC discharges -nutrient flows -toxic discharges -coastal tourism + + + + Lobbying for Integrated Management of Ecotourist Plaque provision of updated Coastal Areas. Daily cleaning of beaches. sewage treatment Pilot actions for the plant. natural conservation of Weekly analysis of the beaches. Dissemination of seawater and sand. information within 5 years moratorium for Training course “Tourism the restaurants on important works on the and Environment” for coastline. tourism entrepreneurs. detergent usage. Change of all Strategic urban waste Attendance on congresses enterprises to and courses on tourism’s management plan (awareness and saving environmental aspects. phosphate-free campaigns, composting detergents. plant) Dissemination of information of cost saving environmentally friendly activities in the hotel sector International Sustainable Tourism Conference (1998) Municipal sewage plant under construction. Hotel sewage treatment units Tourist accommodation expansion control. Regular analysis of seawater quality (blue flag award). Energy saving measures and water saving campaigns at hotel level. 217 WATER POLLUTION AND WATER RESOURCES -groundwater extraction -COD on waste streams -heavy metal discharge -other toxic discharge -fertilizer use URBAN PROBLEMS, NOISE & ODOURS -local NOx emissions -noise level of vehicle fleet -total urban traffic -local odours index -local VOC emissions + + + + ? + + + + + Lobbying for Strategic water provision of updated management plan sewage treatment (awareness, saving, recycling and reuse of plant wastewater, reduction of Dissemination of information within water losses). the restaurants on Recycling and biological treatment of waste water detergent usage. Dissemination of information of cost saving environmentally friendly activities in the hotel sector. Public actions to change Structural regeneration and situation of public revitalisation of transport. cultural Halting of new building infrastructure. projects. Cosmetic Modification of General environmental Plan for Town Planning. enhancement. Demolishing of obsolete Traffic study. hotels and tourism Lobbying for facilities and recovery of improved landscape, public areas transport/traffic and green zones. infrastructure Urban rehabilitations and pedestrian ways. Enlargement of waste treatment plant. Campaigns against dumping waste into water bodies Ecotourism Plaque. Municipal sewage plant under construction. Hotel sewage treatment units Water reservoir construction. Reduction of water losses in water supply system. Municipal Regulation on Noise. Enactment of Green Police. Reduce traffic by introducing pedestrian areas and cycling routes. Creation of parks and gardens. Recovery of historical monuments Renovation of old city center. Embelleshing of streets and avenues. Traditional settlement nomination. Town planning project. Green places project. Traffic control project (parking areas, pedestrian areas, peripheral l road construction). 218 Table A4.4: Environmental response of business networks Network response Environmental RelePressure vance Issues Business Networks Local Formal* Sälen CLIMATE CHANGE -emissions CO2 CFC CH4 N2O -deforestation OZONE LAYER DEPLETION -emissions NOx F11 F12 Halon + Dispersed Formal* YSMEK HI Energy saving measures Woodland conservation at enterprise level. Indicators for air emissions relating to energy consumption. FN Training for energy savings at firm holiday operations - 219 LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY -fertilizers use -pesticide use - crop variety -protected areas -fragmentation index RESOURCE DEPLETION -fossile energy use -metal consumption -fish consumption -water extraction -loss of top soil DISPERSION OF TOXICS -dioxine emissions -chlorine production -heavy metal emissions -pesticide use -household chemicals use + YSMEK guidebooks gives instructions and EMS scheme records serving of organic food. Recreation of wildlife Environmental training habitats. includes concern for Replanting and restoring organic food. of gardens. + + + Monitor and decrease of Woodland conservation energy usage at enterprise level. Environmental management systems at enterprise level. _ + + - Batteries, fluorescent lamps and oil are separated and treated. Removing to less polluting cleaning detergents. Reduce of laundry Environmentally amount at hotel level. friendly detergents and construction materials. Alternative cleaning agents use at hotel level. + + + 220 WASTE -municipal waste -industrial waste -hazardous waste -landfill area -incineration AIR POLLUTION -emissions -NOx -SO2 -particles -VOC -others + + + + + + + + + + Waste separation system for restaurant sector. Development of waste management plan. Design and implementation of EMS in tourism business. Packaging material management. Railroad construction in order to solve traffic problems. Waste minimization and management. Big packaging size demand. Replacement of disposable cups and plates with reusable ones. Waste separation at the source. Environmental training for source separation. Transportation issues under consideration. Meetings with traffic organisation representatives (air lines, Finnish railways) to seek for solutions. Guidebook instructs how to reduce traffic load to tourism establishments by: (1) joint transportation of tourist & (2) centralising purchasing to fewer suppliers. 221 MARINE ENVIRONMEN T AND COASTAL ZONES -oil transports -HC discharges -nutrient flows -toxic discharges -coastal tourism WATER POLLUTION AND WATER RESOURCES -groundwater extraction -COD on waste streams -heavy metal discharge -other toxic discharge -fertilizer use _ + + + Mooving to environmentally friendly detergents. YSMEK EMS gives instructions of measuring emissions to water. _ _ + + + Development of waste management plan. Design and implementation of EMS in tourism business. Promotion of EMS implementation in tourism enterprises. Measures for water savings, instructions for reducing water consumption. Environmental training about water savings and environmentally friendlier detergents. + + ? 222 URBAN PROBLEMS, NOISE & ODOURS -local NOx emissions -noise level of vehicle fleet -total urban traffic -local odours index -local VOC emissions + + Railroad construction YSMEK guidebook in order to solve traffic recommends organising problems joint transportation of tourists from nearby railway or bus stations or airports in order to reduce use of private cars. _ _ + + + - : irrelevant + : relevant : no action 223 Support to the NETWORK Planning - Steering level of the NETWORK External Ministry of Culture Citizens Renting rooms in their homes Tourism committee (Michalis Goutos) Initiator Archaeology Department CITIZENS MUNICIPALITY OF MITHIMNA (MOLYVOS) Structure of network when it first began (early 60’s) Tourism Network of Molyvos Internal School of Arts Delfinia Hotel public based company (cooperative) Tourism Enterprises Strong Links Weak Links External Internal Low Activity High Activity Informal Formal Legend •Universities Hellenic Tourism Organisation Tourism Network of Molyvos Banks External Ministry of Culture Family level guest homes Tourism committee (Michalis Goutos) Ad hoc Consultant Archaeology Department CITIZENS MUNICIPALITY OF MITHIMNA (MOLYVOS) Low numbers - High quality tourism (1965-1982) Support to the NETWORK Small enterprises of secondary tourism services Legal Framework Planning - Steering level of the NETWORK Appendix 5. Graphic presentation of stages of development of Molyvos network 224 Internal School of Arts Hotel Private enterprises Tourism Enterprises •Universities •Experts •technical consultants Media External Banks Support to the NETWORK Restaurants’ and related enterprises’ Association Legal Framwrk Planning - Steering level of the NETWORK Lesvos Hoteliers’ Union Planning - Steering level of the NETWORK Ministry of Culture Ministry of Environment Rooms to let Association Archaeology Department Internal School of Arts Hoteliers Association Tourism Enterprises “Friends of Molyvos” CITIZENS Tourist Agents MUNICIPALIT Y OF MITHIMNA (MOLYVOS) •Universities •Experts •technical consultants External Support to the NETWORK Restaurants’ and related enterprises’ Association Legal Framwrk Ministry of Culture Ministry of Environment Rooms to let Association Tourism committee Archaeology Department Lesvos Hoteliers’ Union Network of traditional settlements 225 Internal School of Arts Hoteliers Association Tourism Enterprises European Tour Operators Network of 5 tourism Municipalities “Friends of Molyvos” CITIZENS Tourist Agents MUNICIPALITY OF MITHIMNA (MOLYVOS) Latest Form (1997(1997- date) Mass tourism (1982-1997) European Tour Operators Tourism Network of Molyvos Tourism Network of Molyvos Appendix 5. Stages of Molyvos network (continuation) 226