Can historic towns rescue the tourism industry?

Citation

(2002), "Can historic towns rescue the tourism industry?", Property Management, Vol. 20 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2002.11320aab.022

Can historic towns rescue the tourism industry?

Can historic towns rescue the tourism industry?

Tourism Minister, Dr Kim Howells, spoke in Cambridge in September to an audience of tourism managers, about the role of the heritage and English historic towns in the current crisis in tourism.

With the problems of failing visitor numbers even before the devastation reeked by foot and mouth, the tourism industry now faces unprecedented problems. Overseas visitors are down 5 per cent according to the Office of National Statistics, and spending is down by 9 per cent.

However, the attraction of the English heritage still draws foreign visitors in their thousands. Cambridge has an estimated 4.1 million visitors a year, spending £260 million. In fact, the visitor numbers can create management dilemmas in historic towns – which were not built for cars, coaches or large numbers of people. The service industries face the dichotomy between the seasonal trade and all-year round local loyalty. On top of all this, the "built environment" needs to be managed in a way that conserves the jewels in the English crown while meeting the demands of the modern way of life – parking facilities, pedestrianisation, access legislation. These are all planning issues which face local authority planners and tourism departments, as well as operators.

English Historic Towns Forum (EHTF), the organisation hosting the conference in Cambridge, helps its members to find solutions to the special problems of managing historic towns and is currently working on "local sustainabilty indicators" – hence the conference – "Sharing the heritage – towards sustainable tourism in historic towns".

EHTF also works closely with Commission of Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) which is expected to urge Stephen Byers, Transport and Local Government Secretary, to include changes to the forthcoming Green Paper on town and country planning which could also impact on the businesses serving the tourism industry.

The ethical and sustainable issues which run through all decision making processes cannot be ignored where tourism is concerned. Congestion tolls which are currently being resisted by the majority of local authorities could affect some of our heritage towns. All of these issues will be discussed and debated, and examined at work in Cambridge.

Efforts to enhance the attractiveness of these towns can be seen in many parts of the country. Wells, the smallest city in England, pulled out all the stops for the celebrations of the 800th anniversary of its city charter, and attracted hundreds of visitors as well as a letter of congratulation from the Queen. In nearby Bath, work on the new Spa development is well underway and will make it the only fully working spa in England, with £8 million Millennium Commission funding. Buxton in Derbyshire has announced its plans for the regeneration of the Crescent and Spa, and will be the venue for one of EHTF's conferences on 27 June 2002. With our current fascination with health issues could these towns start another new trend, and help our sagging tourism industry at the same time?

Peter Studdert, Chair of EHTF, said:

Our heritage is vital to the UK's domestic and overseas tourism markets and we want to share that heritage in ways that contribute to both local and national economic prosperity. Our contribution could be even more vital in view of the threat of recession which currently hangs over us.

In 1999 the EHTF published Making the Connections – A Practical Guide to Tourism Management in Historic Towns. It is available from the EHTF price £26.00.

The EHTF is a membership organisation. established in 1987, which aims to "promote and reconcile prosperity and conservation in historic towns". Full membership is through the Local Authority but affiliated and personal membership encourages involvement by the private and voluntary sectors, as well as interested individuals.

The challenges of accommodating modern life in an historic environment are faced by all its members and the forum addresses this by working to establish and disseminate best practice on the wide range of issues of concern to those engaged in the management of the historic towns and cities. This it does by organising conferences and seminars, publishing good practice guidance and facilitating the networking of its members.

The forum also lobbies Government and other policy making bodies on behalf of its membership to ensure that their special concerns and needs are addressed. It also facilitates a Europe-wide network through the European Association of Historic Towns and Regions.