Grassington, 16 February, 2011

 

A new drive has begun to boost sustainable tourism in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

 

Representatives from local businesses, the AONB and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority have teamed up to launch a sustainable tourism network that they hope will eventually cover the whole of the two beautiful areas.

 

The new network initially comprises accommodation providers including farm stays such as Scaife Hall Farm, country house hotels such as Swinton Park and the Austwick Traddock and log cabins at the Jonas Centre, as well as landowners like the Bolton Abbey Estate and owners of visitor attractions such as How Stean Gorge and a cheese maker from Swaledale.

 

Tourism businesses will share ideas on how to attract more visitors without damaging the fragile environment and work together to develop interesting experiences and premium products for visitors to enjoy.

 

A number of participating businesses like Cottage in the Dales and Swinton Park already hold a Green Tourism Business Scheme Award and it is hoped that many more will be encouraged to adopt green practices that are good for these protected areas, beneficial to the businesses themselves and welcomed by visitors.

The YDNPA's Sustainable Tourism Manager, Julie Barker, said: "This was only the first meeting and we were really pleased with the input and support we received from these businesses. We wanted to start small and test out our ideas but we now feel confident and ready to invite any businesses interested in sustainable tourism in the National Park to get involved.

 

"The next meeting will be in Grassington on 6 April and it will be open to any tourism business interested in helping to develop premium products such as wellness breaks, new experiences for visitors and finding out more about ways to grow their business by making it greener."

 

Nidderdale AONB Manager Paul Burgess said: "We are really pleased to see the network coming to life with such pace and enthusiasm and we believe that it will provide a fantastic opportunity for tourism businesses to work together and promote the area as a unique tourism destination. 

 

"We have committed a small amount of funding towards the development of the network as we feel this is a very worthwhile investment, ensuring that tourism can continue to contribute to the future prosperity of our local economy whilst maintaining the special qualities of our protected areas." 

 

The network is part of the YDNPA's  and  the Nidderdale AONB's work towards the internationally-recognised European Charter, which is awarded to protected areas that support "sustainable tourism" tourism that contributes to local economic development while preserving the area's natural and cultural resources.

The awards are run by the EUROPARC Federation, an umbrella organisation with its headquarters in Germany that brings together the organisations responsible for the management of over 400 protected areas across the continent.

Any tourism, business or food producer from the area who would like to get involved should visit www.tourismnetwork.co.uk/dales .