Brockholes – a new visitor experience managed by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust has recently open.   We prepared the original feasibility study and business plan.

We have worked on a number of projects  where stakeholder and community engagement has been an important component element of our work. This is a continuing trend and as such we have recently launched Community Engagement Projects.

Scarborough Borough Council has been award £1,022,500 for planning, managing and adaptation to coastal change at Knipe Point community. The cliffs at Knipe Point have had significant landslips as a result of coastal erosion and underlying instability. A landslide in 2008 has resulted in the loss of private land the demolition of 3 properties. In the next five year further properties and part of the old A165 are at risk.

The project will involve community engagement – consultations with the affected community, the development of an adaptation plan and adaptive solutions – purchasing nearby land that is not at risk, for property owners who lose their home as a result of erosion can be given the opportunity to rebuild.

Bournemouth has set up its own weather service to thwart unpredictable and confusing forecasts. They have launched this service after they claim that an inaccurate Met Office predication put off thousands of potential visitors over a bank holiday. Showers were predicted and led a potential 25,000 visitors to stay at home, event though the beach was bathed in sunshine. It is estimated there was a loss of £1m to local revenue. This service is the first of its kind in the country.

The Social Impact Assessment service will be launching soon!

Brockholes a new visitor experience which is being developed by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust will be on Countryfile at 7pm Sunday 9th of January.   We worked with the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and prepared the business plan for this visitor attraction.

We have just launched our new heritage consulting service.  Come and visit our website – Heritage Consultant.

From Future Lab’s blog.

We have recently launched our new Visitor Experience consulting service focusing on the visitor attractions sector.

We have launched a new service Regeneration Consultants – please have a peek at the website.

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council have received £337,000 for planning, managing and adapting to coastal change for the community at Formby Point. Formby Point has been eroding since the end of the 19th century, with an average of up to 4.5meters per year, over 5km. The project aims to involve the community – helping them understand coastal change and be part of adaptation planning through, a new community outreach officer, a project with schools and parents and a project engaging with residents impacted by the coastal change.

Step into the Cotswolds was developed by the Cotswolds Conservation Board and West Oxfordshire District Council and works in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council Countryside Service and tourism businesses (B&B, farm shops). Participating businesses will ask visitors to make a small voluntary contribution – businesses will have different ways of collecting this, opt in/out on visitors bills or booking fees, donation boxes or supplements on products an services. The scheme aims to raise funds for projects to help conserve the area, make it more accessible and tell people about the area’s special features.

Conkers, the attraction managed by our sister company, is located within the National Forest.

Planning Solutions Consulting is launching a new service – Rural Development Consultants in October 2010.

A more skilled workforce in the tourism sector helps to create a positive visitor experience and adds to the success of a destination and its economic performance.  A key challenge for destinations and operators in the tourism industry is to ensure that the sector has the skills and people to sustain economic growth and development.  People and skills affect the bottom line and improving skills levels is key to improving productivity.

Stakeholders in the tourism sector need to ensure that everyone working in tourism and its related sectors has the skills and attitude to provide visitors a warm welcome and enjoyable and interesting stay, to add positively to every visitor’s experience.

It is recognised that traditionally the tourism sector does not have a strong image as a career choice.  In terms of recruitment and retention, actions must be taken to dispel the image that the tourism and hospitality sector is a low pay, low skill employment option.

Raising standards of professionalism is a challenge and an industry-led commitment to improvement and training to increase productivity is central to successful destination wide tourism initiatives. It is important to promote a learning culture across the tourism industry, influence training providers and improve the image of tourism as a job and career.

In Planning Solutions Consulting’s experience of developing training plans and visions for skills there are a number of issues which may be faced:

Building Industry Consensus
Whatever industry skills standards is developed, its success will be determined by the buy-in and commitment of partners and industry to a coherent skills standards that provides entry routes, professional recognition and career development pathways.

Skills and Training During an Economic Downturn
Despite the tourism sector needing a more qualified and skilled workforce, public spending cuts during the current economic downturn will have a significant impact on subsidised programmes.  As far as training is concerned, this will mean that employers will be asked to contribute more from their own budgets to develop their staff.  There is a practical role to ensure that the proposed skills and training programmes demonstrate added value for employers.

Commercial Support / Sponsors  / Champions
It may be possible to attract one or more key figures from within the hospitality sector to become a champion or corporate sponsor for destination wide training initiatives and it is important to identify potential commercial sponsors.

Engagement
The development of a successful skills vision for tourist destinations is dependent upon a number of factors, including engagement.   A skills vision needs to be based upon the needs of operators and frontline employees and as such a key element is to engage with all stakeholders.

You can download this research note – Tourism Skills and Training as a PDF document.

About Planning Solutions Consulting
Planning Solutions Consulting Limited is a specialist research, development and business advisory company working in the fields of tourism, leisure and recreation.   We have developed and advised on training strategies for a number of tourism businesses including Harry Ramsden’s, Conkers, the National Brewery Centre (the former Bass Museum) and a holiday village.

Planning Solutions Consulting Limited
9 Leigh Road
Havant
Hampshire PO9 2ES

Tel: 023 9248 1999
www.pslplan.co.uk