Rural and Visitor Economy
Rural & Visitor Economy (Theme Lead: Angie Anthonisz)
The rural and visitor economy theme adopts a transformational business philosophy that encourages the development of innovative thinking and contemporary approaches to planning and management that are linked to supporting a broad range of resources across the sector. The debates need to focus on an appraisal of the mixed economy and the contributions each sector makes to sustainable rural environments. This will entail showcasing business, supporting small business growth, encouraging knowledge exchange and identifying best practice in sustainable management that is based on an economic model/strategy that is research-informed...
New Research Assistant: Dr Emma Pope
Emma has a PhD in transformational adventure tourism. Her doctoral research explored how kayaking and coasteering experiences can connect people with nature, enhance wellbeing, and encourage pro-environmental behaviour based upon a sense of love and care for nature.
After completing her PhD, she worked as a freelance nature connection communicator, providing workshops and talks to generate insight around how time outdoors can reate moments of meaning and connection with self, place, and nature. Before joining the University of Cumbria, Emma worked in community engagement at the North Pennines AONB Partnership, developing ‘slow’ walking trails to encourage immersion in nature and sense of place.
Now working as a Research Assistant at the University of Cumbria, Emma is analysing the spatial dynamics of tourism in Cumbria, mapping clusters of tourism development and demand in the region. This project will explore how to sustainably manage rural tourism and visitor behaviour.
Creating Sustainability on Kyrgyzstan’s Pik Lenin
First climbed over ninety years ago, Kyrgyzstan’s 7,134m Pik Lenin (Lenin Peak) was the focus of significant Soviet mountaineering tourism from the 1950s and a permanent complex of buildings exists to this day in the valley at 3,600m. Since the mid-1990s and the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been significant interest from mountaineers from across the world. This sustained interest has combined to exert significant pressure on the mountain’s environment and brought it to attention as a candidate for state protection.
Dr Stephen Taylor of University of Cumbria and Dr Vladimir Komissarov, President of the Kyrgyz Alpine Club, lead the international research team which has been active since 2017. A research report providing a full overview of the challenges facing sustainable tourism on the mountain was submitted to the Kyrgyz government in 2018. In 2019 the first phase of the identified research programme involved the identification and the geolocation/mapping of the significant rubbish and debris generated by years of activity on the mountain’s main glacier at the site of numerous advanced base camps at an altitude of 4,300m. A non-technical version of the research can be found here. In 2020, during the lull of normal commercial activity imposed by COVID, the formal research report was used to secure local government funding (26,000 USD) to remove 7 tons of debris from the glacier. Additionally, this usefully provided an income to the horsemen normally employed in the mountain’s normal tourism activities.
In 2022, the focus shifted to the camp located at 5,300m, where debris from commercial operations is an issue. More significantly, the lack of any controls or systems for dealing with human waste poses a major challenge and is currently being investigated.
In 2023, Dr Stephen Taylor proposed a Co-management Network Governance System, outlined in this research note (Taylor, 2023).
Partners: Kyrgyz Alpine Club
Funders: Local government funding for rubbish clearance, but longer term funding and support is being sought as part of the ongoing activities and funding related to tourism by Helvetas (Kyrgyzstan) Helvetas Kyrgyzstan | Independent Swiss development organization
Contact: Dr Stephen Taylor
Photo credit: Jason Sheldrake
Digital innovation for a deeper understanding of visitor behaviour
Delia Moisa, Doctoral Researcher
The research aim is to develop a digital platform abling the use of sector-based algorithms to allow Cumbria Tourism to more accurately study, profile and predict customer behaviour.
The tourism industry is well-suited for customer-centric innovation, and traditional demographics are not sufficient to understand the visitor. Every visitor is unique, with individual preferences, motives, desires, needs and wants.
The objective of the study is to replace broad person-based demographics (gender, age, etc) by using the concept of personality trait. As opposed to standard personalisation based on traditional demographics, this type of personalisation interprets human drives and correlates tourism products and services with personality traits. Data collection is based on survey methodology with a random sample of visitors in Cumbria.
Understanding personality traits provides a strategic advantage to marketers, and knowing how to leverage this market segmentation is key to upping the marketing efforts and keeping the audience satisfied.
If you have visited Cumbria for tourism and you would be happy to share your views, please access Delia's survey here.
Supervisors: Tim Heap (Lead Supervisor) and Dr Demos Parapanos
Funding: European Regional Development Fund - Cumbria Innovations Platform; Northern Powerhouse
Partners: Cumbria Tourism
Incorporating eucalypts into the Ecological Site Classification
Dr Andrew Leslie. Senior Lecturer at University of Cumbria, was engaged in consultancy for this project.
The project is aimed at extending the scope of the ForestFounder system, a geospatial analysis system that identifies optimal sites for various forestry activities including growing woody biomass.
The University of Cumbria’s input was to assist in defining site suitability for Eucalyptus glaucescens within the Ecological Site Classification decision support system, a tool for matching trees to forestry sites.
Eucalyptus glaucescensis grown as short rotation forestry has potential as a source of fast-growing woody biomass.
Funder: BEIS - Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme
Partners: Forest Research, Forest Creation Partners
Please contact: andrew.leslie@cumbria.ac.uk
Photo credit: Chris Bennett, Lancashire County Council
Valuing the Cultural Farmed Landscape
The project is designed to demonstrate the diverse cultural heritage of Lake District farms in terms of tangible structures and intangible processes. It provides ideas for farmers and communities to consider in terms of diversification in line with the new Government agenda of public goods.
This booklet specifically explains the value of farmed cultural landscapes for nature recovery and climate action and ideas for farmers to adopt.
See also, this short film 'What did farming ever do for us?' by Rob Granger Photography.
Other outputs will include a community project and a voiced-over powerpoint presentation.
Funder: Lake District Farming in Protected Landscape Programme
Value: £28K
Please contact: lois.mansfield@cumbria.ac.uk
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Gap Analysis for Hill Farm Support Post Brexit
A critical evaluation of areas needing further support for hill farming in Cumbria. Key findings focused on the need for better relationship management between organisations and farmers, and second, a more holistic integrated advisory service.
Funder: Royal Society of Arts Food, Farming & Countryside Commission
Please contact: lois.mansfield@cumbria.ac.uk
Norway and Hybrid spruce trials
These two projects are focused on diversifying the range of trees used in production forestry.
The Norway spruce (Picea abies) trials involve testing improved material from seed orchards in France, Sweden and Denmark against the German material commonly planted in the UK across two sites in Scotland, one in south west England and one in Wales.
The hybrid spruce trials are focused on testing a spruce hybrid (Picea X lutzii) on four sites in south east Scotland and north east England considered to have insufficient rainfall for Sitka spruce, the main production species in commercial forestry in the UK.
Funder: See Partners
Partners: Maelor Forest Nurseries Ltd, Tillhill Forestry, Scottish Woodland, Forestry England
Please contact: andrew.leslie@cumbria.ac.uk
Pine weevil control trials
These are a series of trials, established across several years testing are focused on testing physical, chemical and other measures to reduce the damage of pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) on Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), the main production species in commercial forestry in the UK.
Pine weevil is the only forest insect pest in the UK where control measures are routinely taken and damage estimated at Euro 100 million is caused by the insect across Europe.
Funder: See Partners
Partners: Maelor Forest Nurseries Ltd, Tillhill Forestry, Scottish Woodland, Forestry England
Please contact: andrew.leslie@cumbria.ac.uk, alex.dittrich@cumbria.ac.uk
