Managing visitor pressure and

events in island destinations

Project Proposal

November 2017
Relevance of the project
Tourism is an important source of income for many destinations around the world. However, increasingly a
negative attitude can be observed towards incoming visitors. Media reports on issues with overcrowding, noise
and other nuisances caused by tourists have become more frequent. This does not only take place in larger cities
like Amsterdam, Barcelona or Berlin, or in smaller cities such as Salzburg, Gent or Tallinn, but increasingly island
destinations are confronted with the negative aspects as a consequence of tourism. Especially due to the small
size of islands, the presence of visitors is much more noticeable particularly during peak season or in the case of
events.
Increased visitor pressure (or, overtourism) can become a huge problem, as it can result in a decrease of
hospitality towards visitors, which may make the islands less attractive and limit visitor numbers. Also it may
affect the satisfaction of inhabitants as they see visitor pressure negatively impact their quality of life. This
endangers the wider positive effects of tourism, which largely go unnoticed. For example, without tourism it
might be impossible to maintain the current level of facilities on islands that the local population expects.
Furthermore, the loss of clientele would lead to less employment opportunities and a loss of economic benefits
which are crucial for further development of the islands as a whole.
To deal with the pressures of tourist visitations and resident complaints, it is necessary to develop tourism on
inlands in a sustainable way. Finding new and better ways of managing the increasing pressure due to tourism
developments is an important step. As Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO) phrased it: growth is not the enemy; its how we manage it that counts.
If visitor flows are more adequately managed, visitor pressure can be relieved in the most visited areas and
islands will be able to provide visitors with a better hospitality experience. More importantly, it can also prevent
the opening up of those areas that are less visited. Currently increased tourist visitation may not be such an issue
here, but eventually visitor pressure can possibly lead to development and gentrification in these areas as well.
More insights are urgently needed on visitors in island destinations and how to handle this phenomenon.
Research on this matters is therefore highly valuable, especially when insights from different island destinations
facing similar problems can be compared.
The Centre of Expertise Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality (CELTH) has experience with undertaking this kind of
research programmes. In collaboration with its founding partners Stenden University and NHTV Breda, CELTH
initiated research on visitor pressure in six major European cities (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen,
Lisbon, Munich) in 2016 and subsequently seven small cities (Salzburg, Tallinn, Gent, Mechelen, Leuven, Brugge,
Antwerp) were researched in 2017. As a result, solutions were found which allow for a sustainable and non-
disruptive development of urban tourism. Expanding this research to island destinations is a logical next step.

Managing visitor pressure on islands and dealing with events

The goal of this research project is to identify the different perceptions of visitor pressure among residents as
well as ways of managing visitor pressure on islands. Although primarily aimed at individual islands, the research
also allows for comparisons and will result in a benchmark to support learning experiences. It is split into four
main phases:

CELTH Multi client Study 2 Project managing visitor pressure

 1. Perspectives of local residents on visitor pressure and ways of dealing with the issue are investigated by
using a short online survey under the island population. Having a representative sample improves the
quality of the data and ensures greater compatibility with data from other islands where a similar survey
has been undertaken. The questionnaire is compatible with the previous surveys held in 2016 and 2017,
which creates unique knowledge and a combined data set. For this part we will use, in principle, an
existing database within the islands, which can then be linked to the survey in question. We also might
need assistance in translating the questionnaire in the local language.
2. In-depth interviews with municipalities, tourism boards and destination management organisations
and/or other stakeholders in the participating islands will help in the identification of management
strategies of visitor pressure.
3. A joint meeting for all participating islands and the researchers. At this meeting island representatives
and researchers in this project will share experiences. In addition, a workshop is organised to discuss
future scenarios and how to anticipate on them with appropriate strategies for dealing with visitor
pressure. The aim is to continue the discussion among participating islands and researchers, to
eventually result in a network community. This meeting will be held during a special session at the ISISA
(International Small Islands Studies Association) World Conference held in Leeuwarden and the island of
Terschelling between the 10th and 14th June 2018. Next to the scenario workshop attending this
conference is of added value for the participating island destinations. Travel costs and expenses are not
included. More information on: https://www.waddenacademie.nl/nl/symposiumisisa2018/
4. All the data gathered at different island destinations will be analysed and reflected upon. By comparing
the results from different islands, the extent to which issues are universal and commonplace or more
localised can be researched and result in a set of potential avenues for innovative solutions. This
outcome will result in a comparative benchmark and will ensure learning among participating islands.

Deliverables
The project aims to provide practical and implementable solutions. The deliverables include:
1. A printed report (5 copies), a pdf, and a presentation in PowerPoint for sharing the results on your island.
The report will contain a general section including:
o Introduction on visitor pressure
o Investigation of existing visitor pressure, events and management strategies based on interviews
with municipalities, tourism boards and destination management organisations
o Analysis of residents perspective.
o Scenarios regarding the direction of handling visitor pressure in islands
2. A section specific for each individual participating island, with results regarding residents perspective on
visitor pressure, events and management strategies as well as management strategies. This section is
exclusive to each participating islands and will not be shared with other islands.

CELTH Multi client Study 3 Project managing visitor pressure

 3. A joint meeting/session for the participants with the involved researchers for sharing the results and
solutions, including a scenario session. This meeting will be part of the ISISA World Conference 2018
(themed The Changing future of islands). Travel costs and expenses are not included.

Due to the international nature of this study, all correspondence and reports will be performed in English. While
the results are particularly targeted at participating islands, the core of the findings in this study and the previous
one (of course everything anonymised) is important for education. The results of the findings will help young
professionals and students to be more prepared to the needs of the market. Therefore we intend to publish a
handbook on visitor management later, and possibly an academic publication. Both will be provided free of
charge available to participants after publication.

Planning
Month of contracting is 0, all dates are relative to month off contracting.
Phase Moment of Fieldwork and in Analysis and initial Elaboration of
contracting depth research findings report results resulting in
first draft
Planning T T+ 3 months T+5 months T+6 months

Results at end of period Benchmark on Draft report Final reports for

perceptions and individual islands,
existing solutions handbook on
solutions

Budget
CELTH and its partners institutions are contributing for 30% of the total project budget (combination of in-kind
by the partner institutions and in cash by CELTH) for developing new knowledge. Participation in this multi-client
project is based on 10-20 participants. Based on our calculations and the CELTH contribution, the experience in
the previous study and the feedback from the participants in the previous study, we calculate the participation
fee at 8.500 (excluding VAT). Without the contribution of CELTH the costs would be much higher.

In the execution of the study, some help is required of the participating island, like finding the right persons for
interviews, and the cost of overnight stay of 1 to 2 researchers (4 days maximum), and support for quantitative
inhabitants part (translation of the questionnaire and e-mail address providing). If islands are unable to provide
overnight stays for 1 to 2 researchers, these costs will have to be charged back.

Half of the participation fee for this multi-partner study is invoiced 4 week after your approval, and has to be
paid within 30 calendar days. The other half is paid with the delivery of the draft report, again to be paid within
30 calendar days.

CELTH Multi client Study 4 Project managing visitor pressure

If you have any questions or like to discuss the proposal, please contact the project leader Dr. Albert Postma at
albert.postma@stenden.com. The study will be executed by two institutions, the NHTV International University
in Breda and Stenden University in Leeuwarden. Both university are founding partners of the Centre of Expertise
Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality.

What is Centre of Expertise Leisure, Tourism & Hospitality (CELTH)?

The NHTV international university with the Stenden and HZ universities, jointly the largest knowledge network in
Europe in the field of tourism, leisure and hospitality, started CELTH in 2013 to serve the public and private market
better. The ambition is to create an intensive collaboration between universities and the industry, in order to find
solutions for challenges in the domain of leisure, tourism & hospitality. The academic universities of Groningen,
Wageningen and Tilburg are linked to CELTH for specific issues as well. CELTH is further supported by the Dutch
Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the National Hospitality Industry Advisory Board. The
international partner network includes among others European Tourism Futures Research network, ETOA and
UNWTO

CELTH Multi client Study 5 Project managing visitor pressure