Touring Nature

Touring Nature: an ambitious project for sustainable tourism Promoting regional identity through sustainable tourism Two main concerns:  Environmental protection  Involvement of regional authorities and stakeholders and interregional cooperation A bottom-up strategy is the best way to involve regional stakeholders. Touring Nature is an opportunity for the regions to pull their efforts together and set up pan- European Routes to rural eco-tourism.

Creating Routes of rural areas throughout Europe. bridge from local professionals to the public Reveal ill-known destinations of excellence Village+ Sustainable Development European Label Compulsory to become a territory member of the Routes Awarded by the AER, monitored in the long-run and re- assessed every 3 years Commits local professionals to sustainable development actions A clear reference and guarantee that can be used by local professionals. Connecting rural territories with the European tourists Touring Nature: an ambitious project for sustainable tourism

Definition of a "territory”: Group of villages with a common objective: developing in a sustainable way and enhancing local resources. 1st labelled territory: Regional Development Council of Lake Tisza in Hungary (4 Counties-73 villages- 149 local professionals committed in the Village+ labelling process). Touring Nature: an ambitious project for sustainable tourism

The labelling process, a reliable guarantee for European visitors An integrated project for sustainable tourism Key criteria to gain the Label : 100 professionals sign a commitment to act daily in an environmentally-friendly way in their activity : waste management, conserving drinking water, reducing energy consumption, using ecological cleaning products and renewable energy… “Local Professional” = accommodation, catering, local craftsmen, tourist information offices, museum, producers, associations, tourist guides, shops, sports rental… What does the label reward? The involvement of the community to: - contribute to the collective project of developing sustainable tourism - implement guidelines for improvement.

>> The labelling process, a reliable guarantee for European visitors A supportive institutional recognition AER OECD UNESCO UNEP

Before the label awarding Pluris Consultants work together with the territory to determine the guidelines for improvement. 3 steps: Examining the application of the territory. Carrying out an assessment auditingassessment auditing Providing the territory with an assessment report. Improvement guidelines commit both the territory and the professionals to implementation >> The labelling process, a reliable guarantee for European visitors A rigorous methodology

The labelling process does not end with the label awarding! Quality monitoring process + compulsory re- assessment every 3 year. 1st year: Assessment of the degree of participation of local professionals 2nd year: Assessment of the visitors' perception 3rd year: Assessment of commitment to sustainable development actions: - Initiatives of the territory authorities, - Professionals' personal initiatives. >> The labelling process, a reliable guarantee for European visitors After the awarding of the label

Quality label renewal at the end of the 3rd year -Auditing actions in line with improvement guidelines : What actions were carried out ? What are the outcomes? What is important is the efficiency of the actions and not the amount of investments. -New improvement guidelines for the next 3 years >> The labelling process, a reliable guarantee for European visitors

Become a member of a pan-European Route to rural ecotourism Using the quality label Village+ within the territory : Road signs, Tourist signs, Tourist brochures… Enhancing the tourism assets of the territory in the web portal Benefit from press coverage, web presence and promotion to main European clubs of targeted visitors A personalized Diploma for each professional Possibility to design online "customized trips" by the potential visitors Personalised login for each territory to update the web portal according to the ongoing offer A strong communication strategy

More information ? Please contact: Manon MIDY

APPENDIXES

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This professional agrees to feature the following consumer notice on the documents presenting his products and services: “This professional commits to sustainable development actions: “Start a dialogue with visitors coming from other regions of Europe and make our nature and cultural riches and our traditional values known. Share the passion for our professions and the uniqueness of our local products to promote our territory. Create awareness in the visitors’ mind of the importance of respecting nature to preserve a quality environment for present and future generations. Practice our profession while respecting our region's nature heritage by focusing on: - waste management, - conserving drinking water, - reducing energy consumption, - using renewable energy, - using ecological cleaning products. In a spirit of cooperation, take the visitors’ opinions into account.” Back

Carrying out a sustainable development action he choose freely as regards water or energy savings, or waste management, or use of organic cleansing products or renewable energy in the framework of his daily activity and whose he is able to prove after 3 years at the moment of the renewal of the label what are the outcomes : e.g. savings of electricity, heatiing, air-conditionner or water, image of its products… For instance, a restaurant could choose to make efforts on waste management, a craftsman on water savings and an accommodation on renewable energy. What is the involvement of a professional by signing the Village+ commitment ? To grant professionals for their efforts which allow their territory to gain the Sustainable Development European Label Village+, they will be provided a personalized Diploma of commitment and will benefit from a space to promote their activity on the web portal of the Pan-European Routes. The local professionals have nothing to pay. It is the local authorities who takes in charge the cost. Back

Expected Quality Perceived Quality Wished Quality Carried out Quality Assessment Auditing for the Label awarding Selecting the improvement guidelines 2 Renewal of the Label occurring every 3 years 3 4 Principle of the Village + quality process Suggesting improvement guidelines CLIENTS’ SATISFACTION MONITORING New improvement guidelines Implementing the improvement guidelines 1 Back

Setting the clients’ satisfaction at the centre of the Village + quality process 9. Evaluating the interest of the natural and cultural heritages, arts and crafts, and leisure activities for international visitors who are sensible to the preservation of environment 2. Each Expert Visitor fills a satisfaction grid of 100 criteria on the basis of his/her observations 6. Meeting the local professionals who are mentioned on the guides and signs 3. Collecting the tourist documents in various languages in the Tourist Information Centers 1. Four Expert Visitors discover the territory by acting as target visitors during 3 days 4. Using the road signs to find one’s way around 5. Using the tourist maps and signs of the places to visit 7. Appraising the involvement in welcoming and in preserving environment of the professionals in the ecotourism industry 8. General perception of the territory: roads, architecture, landscapes, viewpoints, cleanness, population encouraged to preserve environment 10. Proposing improvement guidelines to attract visitors at the international level in every season Assessment Auditing Back

Setting the clients’ satisfaction at the centre of the Village + quality process 9. Evaluating the interest of the natural and cultural heritages, arts and crafts, and leisure activities for international visitors who are sensible to the preservation of environment 2. Each Expert Visitor fills a satisfaction grid of 100 criteria on the basis of his/her observations 6. Meeting the local professionals who are mentioned on the guides and signs 3. Collecting the tourist documents in various languages in the Tourist Information Centers 1. Four Expert Visitors discover the territory by acting as target visitors during 3 days 4. Using the road signs to find one’s way around 5. Using the tourist maps and signs of the places to visit 7. Appraising the involvement in welcoming and in preserving environment of the professionals in the ecotourism industry 8. General perception of the territory: roads, architecture, landscapes, viewpoints, cleanness, population encouraged to preserve environment 10. Proposing improvement guidelines to attract visitors at the international level in every season Assessment Auditing Back

Usefulness of the grid in the quality process EXPECTED QUALITYPERCEIVED QUALITY Tourist Information Centers Natural sites’ roadsigns Back