Author: Amanda Guzman (Ecotono) Presentation for Topic 3: Practical Tools for conservation and local development 2nd European Ecotourism Conference 23-25 October 2013, Romania

1. ECOTOURISM IN SPAIN:
Sustainability, cooperation and innovation
2nd EUROPEAN ECOTOURISM CONFERENCE
Poiana Brașov, Romania, 23rd-25th October 2013
TOPIC 3: Practical tools for conservation and local development
Amanda Guzmán
ECOTONO
aguzman@ecotono.es

2. SPAIN hosts an
exceptional biodiversity
Parque Natural Los Alcornocales (Andalucía)

3. More than 8,000 species of flora
Parque Nacional de Garajonay (Islas Canarias)

4. Parque Natural Sierra de las Nieves(Andalucía)

5. Parque Natural Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas (Andalucía)

6. Half of the 142,000 species of fauna
estimated to exist in Europe
Espacio Natural de Doñana (Andalucía)

7. Parque Regional de la Sierra de Gredos (Castilla y León)
José Luis Rodríguez

8. Parque Nacional Picos de Europa (Asturias)
Fundación para la Conservación del Quebrantahuesos

9. Reserva de la Biosfera Muniellos – Fuentes del Nareca (Asturias)

10. Extraordinary values reflected in an
atractive network of protected areas
The Natura 2000 network in Spain is more than 13.7 million
hectares,
more than
27% of the Spanish territory,
and
a million hectares of marine area.
Parque Natural Breña y Marismas del Barbate (Andalucía)

11. Parque Natural ZONA VOLCÁNICA DE LA GARROTXA
Volcán Croscat (Vicens, J., 1994)

12. Parque Nacional de Monfragüe (Extremadura)

13. Parque Natural Cabo de Gata-Níjar (Andalucía)

14. Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada (Andalucía)

15. Historic interaction between men and
nature gave us incredible resources for
tourism:
landscapes, culture, handcrafts, gastron
omy….
Parque Natural de Somiedo (Asturias)

16. THE BIG CHALLENGE:
Spain is a sun and beach destination
Spain can offer more: a nature
destination (Ecotourism)

17. BUT WHAT IS ECOTOURISM?
“responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and
improves the well-being of local people.”
INTERNATIONAL ECOTOURISM SOCIETY, 1990
How can we ensure tourists that certain tourism products in Spain
contributes to conservation and to local development?
“ECOTOURISM IN SPAIN” CLUB

18. ECOTOURISM IN SPAIN: the best of Spanish nature
An unforgettable tourist experience in Protected
Areas, showing the best of our nature and offered by
companies that contributes to conservation and local
development.
• Ecotourism = visit to Protected Areas (heritage interpretation thanks to
guided and auto-guided services) + certified basic tourist services
(accommodation, restaurants, outdoor activity companies).

19. Who is the product for?
National and international tourists with
different motivations: to find and to watch, to
enjoy in an active way, to know and to learn,
to rest, to stare, to meet, to connect to
NATURE…

20. Who makes the product?
Protected Areas managers, who provide
resources and public use services to know and to
discover the Protected Area.
Tourism entrepreneurs and other partners of
these protected areas, who provide the
experience components.

21. Ways to gain access to the Club
•
•
•
•
European Charter of Sustainable Tourism
Spanish Biosphere Reserves system
Pilot system to link the offer to Geoparks
Future: NATURA 2000 Network

22. All these systems are based on:
• Active management for conservation of the protected area
• Planning sustainable tourism based on participation, trying to
achieve two main objectives conservation and local development
• Communication and cooperation between the different stakeholders
of the destination(agreement protected area – tourism businesses –
local population)
• Training for businesses on the values of the protected
area, conservation activities and best practices
• Complying with minimum requirements of quality and sustainability
• Mutual commitments between the businesses and the protected
areas to improve tourism sustainability (partners).
• Designing authentic ecotourism products (discovering natural and
cultural values, interpretation, local businesses, local products).

23. There is an important number of destinations and companies
to be part of the Club
• 32 Protected Areas, with public use services and
equipments: 23 Protected Areas with European Sustainable
Tourism Charter, 8 Spanish Biosphere Reserves and 1
Geopark with partner businesses.
• More than 600 companies joining these systems

24. CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF ECOTOURISM CLUB DESTINATIONS

25. MANAGEMENT
STRUCTURE
TOURIST PRODUCT CLUB METHOD
(BASED ON VALUE CHAIN)
MARKETING
PROMOTION
QUALITY
SUSTAINABILITY
TRAINING
SERVICES
RESOURCES
(trails, museums,
interpretation centres)
PLANNING
To have success, all steps
must be considered.

26. TURESPAÑA PROMOTION
•
Ecotourism in Spain Guide, first promotion material of
Ecotourism product in the Natural Protected Areas certified with
the European Sustainable Tourism Charter.

It is the first guide of Ecotourism
in Spain.

Guide about the 7 Natural
Protected Areas firstly certified
with the European Sustainable
Tourism Charter and the 91
joined companies.

5.000 copies (3.000 Spanish 2.000 English).

Distribution to the Spanish
Tourist Offices abroad.

Mailing to 200 specialized
touroperators.

27. TURESPAÑA PROMOTION
Specific ecotourism channel www.spain.info
In 18 languages.
FIRST CLICK: What
are you looking for?
SECOND CLICK:
Nature.
It shows a list of
Natural Protected
Areas joined to the
Club and
companies
committed to
tourist
sustainability in the
Protected Areas.

28. ECOTOURISM IN SPAIN CLUB MANAGEMENT MODEL
Ecotourism in Spain Club
EUROPARC
National public
sector
TUREBE (Manager) including
Tourist Business Groups in
Natural Protected Areas with
the European Charter of
Sustainable Tourism +
Biosphere Reserves + Geoparks
+ Natura 2000 Network
Turespaña
MAGRAMA, Biosphere
Reserves Managers Board
Region A
Regional public
sector
Private sector
Region B
Local Action Groups
Region C
Entrepreneurs partners of the
Club
Region D
28

29. What is TUREBE?
1.
TUREBE is a Tourism Innovative Business
Group, a non-profit association to provide innovative and
sustainable solutions for Natural Protected Areas and tourism
business of these areas.
2.
TUREBE is the manager entity of the
Ecotourism in Spain Club to strengthen the Ecotourism
product positioning and opening in new domestic and
international markets, and to improve the sustainability of any
tourist offer in Protected Areas, getting a critical mass which
allows the sustainable development of these Protected Areas
and general tourism management.

30. TUREBE in numbers
30 partners:





3 Natural Protected Areas Managers
1 Regional Government
13 Business Associations of Tourism
4 Non-profit Innovative Entities
9 Companies focused on tourism, environment
or innovation
850
Tourist companies
represented.
8 Regions:
-
Andalucía
Aragón
Asturias
Canarias
In
-
Castilla-La Mancha
Castilla y León
Cataluña
Extremadura
17 Natural Protected Areas:
-
4
6
1
10
3
National Parks
Natural Parks
Regional Park
Biosphere Reserves
Geoparks

31. Manager roles
• To be the domestic and international spokesman of the product.
• To represent the entrepreneurs that are partners of the club.
• To provide assistance to entrepreneurs partners of the club (to
renew the partnership to European Charter of Sustainable Tourism
or to Biosphere Reserves product, or to join new partners).
• To ensure compliance of requirements and to approve enterprise
adhesions.
• To update club’s offer in order to get an efficient promotion.
• To promote the product using the segmentation, with the support
of the Government Entities.
• Experience marketing (to support and/or to commercialize
directly).
• To offer benefits to partners: training, technical
support, exchange, joint and specific promotion, marketing.
• To undertake innovative projects to solve product needs (from
regions, tourist companies, sellers and tourists), and to use financial
mechanisms in an efficient way.

32. Some steps forward:
• Brand (umbrella for everybody)
• Web portal
• Marketing Plan
• Promotional activities (facebook, twitter, media, etc.)
• Pilot project Ecotourism Payback Experience

33. The brand
A brand to promote jointly
Ecotourism in Spain
product.
Foreing markets:
Ecotourist in Spain.com
WHY THIS BRAND?
PARQUE NACIONAL SIERRA NEVADA
To inspire and to motivate citizens in
order to promote a change in their way
of traveling, and to improve the
connection between citizens and
“Ecotourism in Spain” product. And its
values

37. PROJECT: ECOTOURISM PAYBACK EXPERIENCE
The project consisted of:
• Designing and implementing a pilot of
contribution systems of companies and
tourists to conservation actions (payback
system)
• Designing solidary ecotourism products
including visiting conservation projects
with the experts on conservation and
buying services of the “partner
companies”
• Designing and developing pilot activities
of promotion and marketing of these
products

38. SOLIDARY ECOTOURISM PRODUCTS
Discover the conservation programs of most
emblematic Spanish Biodiversity with the
experts in charge. Your experience will
contribute with the maintenance of those
activities.

39. THANK YOU
Amanda Guzmán
aguzman@ecotono.es
ECOTONO Consultant company on
environment, tourism and development