During the past couple of years I’ve been working with 70 environmental, tourism and lifestyle businesses to unlock the nature tourism potential of Morecambe Bay. This work is supported by the Morecambe Bay Local Nature Partnership and is part of RSPB’s Futurescapes programme. Together we’re working to make sure that the awesome nature of the bay helps to boost the local economy.
Understanding visitorsThe first thing we did, back in 2012, was to carry out a visitor survey to help understand what motivates people to visit the area. This showed us that the vast majority of visitors came to the area due to its beautiful scenery, and were interested in seeing wildlife. That said, only half actually visited a nature rich place. We also found out that our visitors were a pretty independent bunch, preferring to explore the area via self-guided itineraries. Armed with this information we set off on a journey with partners to develop a business network and resources that would help unlock the potential for visitors to stay longer, spend more, and visit again once they knew just how much was on offer in the area.
Connecting with businesses
In the last year, I’ve worked with Bay Tourism Association to hold a series of networking events with local businesses. I’ve met some brilliant people, who all have a passion for nature. We’ve taken businesses to nature reserves so they can see first hand the wildlife adventures that are on offer, and businesses have shared their ideas and experiences on how they connect visitors with the area’s special places, local customs and more.
Morecambe Bay’s special natureThrough the network events we have collected stories, facts, information and photographs that capture Morecambe Bay’s sense of place. Its landscape and diversity of habitats and wildlife have come out as major assets. We’ve pulled all the information together into a Sense of Place Toolkit so that businesses can start to tell a consistent story about what makes Morecambe Bay special. We are encouraging them to use the information in their websites, social media posts and other marketing literature to celebrate what’s unique and special with visitors. One of our leading businesses, Beetham Holiday Homes, has already updated their website to showcase the area’s special nature.
Nature on your Doorstep Guides To encourage people to get out and explore the area we’ve developed a series of nine guides that highlight nature rich adventures around the Bay. These are clustered around places like Barrow, Grange over Sands, Silverdale and Morecambe, and give ideas for several days of exploration on foot, by bike or train. They show that the area is more than just a day trip. I shared some of these guides with RSPB members I met at our national conference and once they took a look at what was on offer throughout the seasons, they were excited about visiting soon.
Visitor givingOver the coming months I’ll be meeting with businesses, visitors and partners to see how we might be able to set up a Visitor Giving scheme. I hope there will be an appetite to develop one. If it works out, businesses would promote local conservation projects to their visitors, encouraging them to make voluntary donations towards them. This would help visitors to play a part in the restoration and re-connection of places across the landscape, and give them even more nature to enjoy next time they visit. A similar scheme run elsewhere in Cumbria secures around £125,000 a year for conservation projects. So watch this space to see if we can make it happen.
This project is generously supported by EU Life Communications +, Morecambe Bay Limestone and Wetland Nature Improvement Area and Morecambe Bay Partnership’s 700 Days to Transform the Bay Coastal Communities Fund.
Jenny