QualityCoast Participation Manual
QualityCoast Programme Manual 2015 Version 2015/2 30 March 2015 Coastal & Marine Union - EUCC Leiden – Barcelona – Malta - Klaipeda QualityCoast is operated by the Coastal & Marine Union - EUCC. EUCC is financially supported by the European Commission. EUCC – QualityCoast is member of the Green Destinations Partnership, and of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 ETIS EUCC GSTC GSTC-D GSTR ITB Berlin QC QD ACRONYMS European Tourism Indicator System Coastal & Marine Union Global Sustainable Tourism Council Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria for Destinations Global Sustainable Tourism Review International Tourism Fair Berlin QualityCoast QualityDestination 2 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Contents 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................ 5 1.1. Sustainable Tourism Destinations .......................................................................... 5 1.2. QualityCoast and QualityDestination ....................................................................... 5 1.3. Meeting international standards ........................................................................ 6 1.4. Certifying tourism sustainability policy ................................................................... 6 1.5. The importance of destination awards for tourism sustainability ................. 6 1.6. Promotional benefits of participation ....................................................................... 6 2. What Awards exist? ........................................................................................................... 7 2.1. The BasiQ Award .............................................................................................................. 7 2.2. The QualityCoast Award ................................................................................................ 7 2.3. Special option for Protected Areas ............................................................................ 8 2.4. Global Destination Certification .................................................................................. 8 2.5. The QualityCoast Criteria .............................................................................................. 8 3. Free Self-Assessment and Advice ............................................................................. 9 4. The QualityCoast Award ................................................................................................ 10 4.1. QualityCoast Award levels .......................................................................................... 11 4.2. Successful applicants become QualityCoast Destinations ............................. 11 4.3. Renewal of the QualityCoast Award: important note ...................................... 11 5. How to apply for a QualityCoast Award ............................................................... 12 Registration ............................................................................................................................... 12 Deadlines for Application ...................................................................................................... 13 Join the Green Destinations Community! ...................................................................... 14 Participation Fee ...................................................................................................................... 14 6. The Coastal & Marine Union - EUCC ....................................................................... 16 Annex I Benefits of QualityCoast for tourist destinations .......................... 17 Annex II Guidance to complete the Application Form .................................... 19 Annex III Green Destinations Community - QualityCoast Services ....... 23 3 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Preface: A journey to tourism sustainability… With this Manual we hope to encourage tourism destinations and resorts around the world to embark on a journey to sustainability. Maybe you have already embarked on that journey, and found yourself high in the rankings of the Global Sustainable Tourism Review. Maybe you were very disappointed to see yourself so low in one of the lists, or not at all... But please realise that nobody can influence your performance and your international ranking more than yourself! Just by improving your performance, and by telling us about it. In both cases it is rewarding to read this Manual. By increasing your sustainability you will invest in the quality of your own environment, you will most likely save money and you will get return on investment very quickly. Investments do not need to be large. The purposes of this Manual are to present: A free facility for assessment and advice A limited number of destinations around the world can use this facility free of charge, making use of the most widely used indicators for tourism destination sustainability. It is the first step towards improvement, creating awareness about your strong and weak points. Check out how it works in chapter 3. Visibility in the global tourism sector The Global Sustainable Tourism Review (GSTR) is the world’s largest sustainability assessment of tourism destinations, currently about 1000. This information is provided for free to the public, to tour operators, and to destination review and hotel booking websites. Your destination can be added to the database, and your visibility enhanced. Chapter 4 explains how. Destination Certification and Award programme Destinations and resorts looking for the best possible international recognition and visibility of their sustainable tourism efforts and performance will find all necessary information in this manual on how to follow the procedure of the QualityCoast Award Application, and Global Destination Certification based upon GSTC. In order to provide a maximum transparency and support, this manual as well as the Registration Form are publicly available, simple to use and suitable for all tourism destinations, in the QualityCoast website. We wish you all success in your efforts not only to increase tourism sustainability, but also to provide the best possible transparency and visibility of your sustainability efforts. We are proud that QualityCoast has been listed as one of the world’s best and most transparent tourism destination certifications. On behalf of the QualityCoast Team in Leiden (NL): Albert Salman, Director Sustainable Development, EUCC Joana Mira Veiga, QualityCoast Coordinator, Research & Assessment, EUCC Hugo de Jong, QualityCoast Coordinator Nederland Leiden, 30 March 2015 4 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 1. Introduction 1.1. Sustainable Tourism Destinations Sustainable tourism is on the rise: consumer interest and demand are growing, travel industry suppliers are developing new green programs, governments and international agencies are creating new policies to encourage sustainable practices in tourism. But what does “sustainable tourism” really mean? How can it be measured and credibly demonstrated, in order to build consumer confidence, promote business prosperity, foster community benefits, and fight false claims? We have adopted the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria for Destinations (GSTC-D) as an effort to come to a common understanding of sustainable destinations; they are the minimum undertakings that any tourism management organization which wishes to be sustainable should aspire to reach. To satisfy the definition of sustainable tourism, destinations must take an interdisciplinary, holistic and integrative approach. The criteria are designed to be used by all types and scales of destinations. (GSTC, 2013, more information). QualityCoast is the most important sustainability award and certification programme for destinations (www.qualitycoast.info), and it is the only global destination certification that has been recognised by ECOTRANS for sustainability, transparency and credibility, in the DestiNet Global Portal for Sustainable & Responsible Tourism: http://destinet.eu/News/2013/5/ecotrans-gives-insight-to-50-certificates-worldwide QualityCoast is ranked among the Top 20 Certification Schemes for Sustainable Tourism - an international selection of the most credible and transparent eco-labels worldwide. The Top 20 is published in the recent Tourism & Greenwash Report by Totem Travel, in 2013. 1.2. QualityCoast and QualityDestination QualityCoast is only targeting coastal and island destinations. It has been developed in an EU INTERREG project in 2004-’06 and it is owned and managed by the Coastal & Marine Union – EUCC (Leiden, the Netherlands). In 2011, EUCC and ECNC-European Centre for Nature Conservation (Tilburg, the Netherlands) agreed to develop the QualityDestination programme, for non-coastal destinations, but fully based upon the QualityCoast approach. The QualityDestination programme is owned by both parties (EUCC and ECNC) and managed by the ECNC Land & Sea Group EEIG. This is a European Economic Interest Grouping, established in Barcelona, and consisting of ECNC, EUCC, and Centro Mediterraneo EUCC (Barcelona, Spain). QualityCoast and QualityDestination apply the same principles and rules, both ensuring the same transparency and credibility. Coastal and island destinations that focus on beach or maritime tourism can only apply for a QualityCoast Award. Any type of other destination can apply for a QualityCoast or QualityDestination award: a. b. c. d. e. city destinations (coastal or non-coastal); countryside, rural and agro-tourism destinations; alpine and winter sports destinations; Protected areas (National, natural or regional Parks, or GeoParks); tourism resorts (mainly consisting of tourism facilities). There are many kinds of destinations, with different interests and ambitions. This is why we have chosen to avoid a one-size-fits-all, but to offer tailor made solutions for every situation, whilst maintaining rigour and transparency. 5 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 1.3. Meeting international standards The GSTC Destination Criteria have been fully incorporated into the QualityCoast Award Application Form. In February 2013, the European Commission launched the European Tourism Indicators (ETIS) aiming to measure and enhance the sustainability of destinations across Europe. All ETISindicators have also been included into our Award Application Form, mostly for optional use. 1.4. Certifying tourism sustainability policy We offer reliable and transparent international Award programmes and a certification option for destinations with serious ambitions for a good sustainable tourism policy. The Awards and certifications are issued for periods of two years. Besides evaluating the management policies, strategies and ambitions of the destination, the programme also offers an assessment of the visible sustainability (performance, or sustainability status) in a broad range of categories and criteria, since tourists are especially interested on how they experience a destination (e.g. water quality of bathing areas). The years of experience in this field allow the programme to inform the tourism sector and the public in a transparent way on policies and performance of ca. 1000 destinations, through the national and international ranking lists of the Global Sustainable Tourism Review (GSTR). Ranking lists are topped by the QualityCoast Policy Award winners, that have been certified on both policy and status. Next are the destinations that received the BasiQ Award – they are mainly selected on the basis of their status and performance in environmental management, natural and cultural heritage, and local business involvement in sustainability. 1.5. The importance of destination awards for tourism sustainability Participation of destination management organisations in the Award programme improves their awareness performance and achievements in an international context. The comparison with other awarded destinations provides the community with a good picture of its strengths and weaknesses. The international assessment and recommendations by our international Jury provide the local authority with a guidance to be considered in an agenda for improvement. Communities join a network of like-minded communities and share their experiences and best practices in order to improve sustainability and social responsibility in tourism. Their performance in these fields is connected to international tourism marketing through certification under the supervision of an independent international Jury issuing the Awards. 1.6. Promotional benefits of participation EUCC carries out a marketing campaign together with the Awarded destinations to promote them as the most attractive destinations for visitors interested in nature and landscape, environment, and cultural identity and to highlight their performance in tourism quality and sustainability. The marketing campaign includes promotion at holiday fairs, media publicity, wide dissemination of brochures, promotion via our various web sites and social media. Awarded destinations are also recommended by a number of tour operators of TUI-The Netherlands, in their travel brochures. The community’s own international tourism marketing can profit from QualityCoast status. Experience in several countries has shown that this will continue to generate media publicity nationally and internationally. Sustainability based marketing efforts will increase the “green profile” of the destination both externally and internally and this will help mainstreaming sustainability on local policy and decision making. 6 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 2. What Awards exist? 2.1. The BasiQ Award The BasiQ Award is an independent international recognition for destinations that show clear evidence of their sustainability related quality to visitors. For the BasiQ, the destination’s management does not need to be assessed. This indicator set consists of ca. 45 indicators covering the same categories of the QualityCoast Award. The BasiQ Award programme is operated by Green Destinations. 2.2. The QualityCoast Award The QualityCoast Awards are an independent international certifications for sustainable tourism of coastal and island destinations that: have a good overall policy performance in sustainable tourism, mainly following the GSTC Criteria, according to our Standard offer a sufficient touristic quality to visitors (mainly measured though the BasiQ indicator set on sustainable status); are prepared to provide transparent information to residents and visitors (partly through our communication campaigns); The Quality Coast Award Standard is publicly available at www.qualitycoast.info. It will become part of the Green Destinations Standard, that will be submitted for GSTC Recognition in 2015. All QualityCoast Destinations are allowed to display the flag throughout the destination, but not in front of hotels unless they participate in the QualityTourism programme. 7 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 2.3. Special option for Protected Areas We have created a special option for Nature and National Parks with no or very limited tourism facilities or businesses. Park managers will be enabled to ignore criteria that are not relevant to their Park. Please contact the QualityCoast Secretariat. 2.4. Global Destination Certification This certification is especially for destinations that are only interested in full compliance to the GSTC-D criteria certified, or checked for improvement. More information is available in chapter 8. 2.5. The QualityCoast Criteria The 20 criteria for the QualityCoast 2015 Awards are divided in 5 categories and summarised as follows: NATURE 1. NATURE & CONSERVATION 2. ACCESS, INFORMATION & EDUCATION 3. GREEN POLICIES 4. OPEN LANDSCAPES ENVIRONMENT 5. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 6. ISSUES SPECIFIC FOR THE DESTINATION TYPE 7. WATER MANAGEMENT 8. SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 9. WASTE & RECYCLING 10. ENERGY & CLIMATE MITIGATION 11. CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IDENTITY & CULTURE 12. CULTURAL HERITAGE 13. TERRITORY & TRADITION 14. LOCAL IDENTITY TOURISM & BUSINESS 15. DESTINATION MANAGEMENT 16. BUSINESS INVOLVEMENT 17. HOSPITALITY & SATISFACTION HOST COMMUNITY & SAFETY 18. FREEDOM & JUSTICE 19. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 20. HEALTH & SAFETY Definitions of the criteria and a complete list of indicators can be found in the QualityCoast Application Form 2015. 8 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Note: The criteria and indicators are subject to annual revision, based upon European and global standards. Please make sure you are using the latest version. 3. Free Self-Assessment and Advice This is the first step towards improvement, creating awareness about your strong and weak points, in an international perspective. The approach here is very similar to the one that the QC Award, except that you do not pay a Participation fee and the assessment is not submitted to a Jury. In fact you describe and analyse your destination in much the same way as QC Award applicants, but in a quicker way, making use of the Self-Assessment Form and the following steps: a) Download and fill in the QC Registration Form at www.qualitycoast.info (under “Get involved as a Tourism Destination - Park or Local Authority’’). b) Identify a contact person for your destination. Communication with the Secretariat must be done in English. c) Send the completed Registration form to: [email protected]. d) Upon validation of your registration (up to a week), the Secretariat will send you the Manual GSTR QC Self-Assessment for Destinations and 2015 Self-Assessment Form, depending on the preferred language options you have indicated. a) Fill in the Self-Assessment Form electronically. It is entirely up to you whether you provide any justification of the different rates. If you do not, the evaluators can only assume that your Self Rate is accurate. b) Please send the Self-Assessment Form completed as far as you are able or willing, without any annexes or map, by e-mail to: [email protected], indicating “Self-Assessment + Name of Destination”. c) The Secretariat will confirm receipt and indicate how much time the Assessment team will need to get back to you. d) The Secretariat will provide a preliminary assessment. The QC team will not make extensive recommendations. If the level of detail of your information (as included in the Self-Assessment Form) allows, the QC Team could give you an indication whether a possible application for a QualityCoast Award would be successful. Please note that this feedback is given based on your self-evaluations and ratings, which may differ from the judgement given during the Jury Assessment. e) If you have completed the BasiQ indicators on the Quality indicators tab, the QC Team will check for you whether these data are sufficiently adequate and accurate, to be included in the Green Destinations database (Global Sustainable Tourism Review). 9 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 4. The QualityCoast Award QualityCoast Awards are attributed on the basis of information provided by the applicant through the QC Application Form. For many of the policy related indicators the applicant is invited to make a self-assessment by giving the destination a rate from 1 to 5 (“1” meaning absence of any relevant policy for the indicator, and “5” meaning full adequacy of the policy concerned); and in the case of a rate of 4 or 5 to justify the rate or give examples. For the GSTC-D indicators even in the case of selfassessment 1, 2 or 3, a clarification of the main obstacles for improvements is requested (not mandatory). It is useful to provide such clarification for the assessment team, but it is also useful for the annual improvement of the criteria. The Application Form lists 71 “Quality indicators’’, 117 “Policy and GSTC indicators’’ and 144 optional (“YourChoice”) indicators. 1. General info tab: general information in all yellow cells needs to be provided. 2. Quality tab: there are 31 core (compulsory - coloured) and 40 optional (uncoloured) indicators. All core indicators and at least one of the optional per criterion should be addressed. 3. Policy and GSTC tab: in principle all core indicators need to be taken into consideration, but applicants can ignore up to 25% of the GSTC-D indicators per criterion, e.g. if they are not applicable, indicating why they are not. In case the destinations complete less than 75% of GSTC indicators in the Policy and GSTC indicators tab, they should provide additional information by addressing indicators in the ” YourChoice” tab. 4. YourChoice tab: The applicants are free to provide information on this list of optional indicators or to choose just a few of these. This additional information can only benefit the outcome from the Jury assessment. For the applicants that failed to address at least 75% of the GSTC indicators, at least a part of these indicators need to be addressed. Easy for ECO XXI Award winners … Many of our Award indicators have been harmonised with the ECO XXI indicators. This facilitates participation in both programmes. Therefore, ECO XXI Award winners (awarded later than Sept 2012, or re-applying at the moment) only have to complete tab “General Information” and “Core indicators” and the 5 indicators of Criterion 6. Similarly, the QC applicants, which have completed many ECO XXI indicators within the QC application form, will find it easier to apply for the ECO XXI award. … and for ETIS participants! The European Commission is encouraging tourism destinations to participate in the ETIS programme. For these destinations it will be particularly easy to participate in the QualityCoast and QualityDestination programme. The ETIS Toolkit is available in all European languages. http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/sustainable-tourism/indicators/index_en.htm All information provided through the Application Form (including the self-assessment rates) is evaluated and assessed by the QC Secretariat. The Secretariat involves (or hires the services of) a local expert, as a 3rd party auditor. The assessment reports produced by Secretariat and/or the local expert are then reviewed by a number of members of the International Award Jury. For each application, a Jury is composed of at least three members including: an independent local expert (who is aware of the applicant community); a national expert; and an international EUCC-expert. In order to ensure its independence, the Jury will work anonymously until the moment it is concluding its assessment. 10 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 The Secretariat and the Jury assign scores to all indicators, ranging from 1 to 5; “1” meaning absence of any quality (or no information provided for an indicator); and “5” indicating excellence for an indicator. The score per criterion is based on the scores and weight factors of its indicators. The average scores of all 20 criteria will then be calculated. This will be the final score. Applicants scoring ‘1’ in two or more of the 20 criteria will not be eligible for the QualityCoast or QualityDestination Award, regardless the scores in the other criteria. First time applicants with an average score no less than 5.7 (score threshold) will be granted an Award. Destinations applying for the 2nd time need score 5.8, for the 3rd time 5.9 and for the 4th time 6.0 (minimum). The Jury will issue a report with a complete list of criteria scores, comments, highlights and suggestions for further improvement. Some of the indicators measure the quality of policies; others measure the performance and status (policy implementation) or the visible sustainability status. This is why the QC team is able to produce indexes for sustainability policy and for sustainability status. For successful applicants the Jury report as well as the above-mentioned indexes will be published. 4.1. QualityCoast Award levels If the Award score threshold is met, the Jury will also check whether the average scores of the individual categories (Nature, Environment, Identity, Tourism & Business and Host Community & Safety) reach a minimum of 8.0 (“excellence”). The following Award levels will be considered: Bronze, in case of excellence in one of the five categories; Silver, in case of excellence in two of the five categories; Gold, in case of excellence in three [but then no other category should be below 5.0] or four categories; Platinum, in case of excellence in all five categories. QualityCoast Platinum corresponds to full GSTC Certification. The QC Secretariat will make no public reference about any unsuccessful application. 4.2. Successful applicants become QualityCoast Destinations Applicants who meet the score threshold are invited to organise a National or Local Award Ceremony, where they will receive the Award Certificate and an Award Flag. Award presentations can also take place at the next tourism fair (ITB Berlin, Vakantiebeurs Utrecht, WTM London, etc.). Awarded Destinations can order extra flags and banners (at a cost basis), which can be displayed throughout the destination’s territory during 24 months. 18 Months after their application the Awarded destination will be encouraged to submit a renewed Application. The assessment of the new application will take into consideration the coherence between the improvements indicated in the previous one and the integration of the suggestions and the recommendations made by the Jury. 4.3. Renewal of the QualityCoast Award: important note The QualityCoast Award assessment will take into consideration that earlier scores related to sustainability performance reflect the state of knowledge and experience of previous periods. If no progress is demonstrated in certain indicators, this could result in lower scores. E.g. ambitions and implementation levels in renewable energy use are increasing with time, therefore a clear progress on this item should be shown within a period of four years; another 11 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 example is the assessment of satisfaction of the destination, which should be carried out in periods no longer than two or three years. It is also important for applicants to realise that the QualityCoast Team is annually improving the indicator set in order to better cover up-to-date considerations about sustainability and relevant criteria, and to increase harmonisation with the global GSTC-D criteria and European ETIS indicators. This is why the score for particular criteria can change compared to two years ago even when the situation in the destination hasn’t changed. 5. How to apply for a QualityCoast Award Registration Applicants for the above-mentioned Awards are requested to complete the QC Registration Form (free of charge) as follows, unless you have already done so for the Self-Assessment: a) Download and complete the Registration form at www.qualitycoast.info (under “Get involved as a Tourism Destination - Park or Local Authority’’). b) Identify a contact person. Please note that communication with the QC Secretariat needs to be done in English. c) Send the completed Registration form to: [email protected]. d) Within two weeks the QC Secretariat will validate your request and you an Application Form, depending on the preferred language options you have indicated. Neighbouring communities can make one joint application In recent years the Azores region, the Portuguese West region (Oeste CIM) and Pafos district (Cyprus) have been allowed to submit a joint application. The QC Team is happy to discuss the possibility of a joint application by a territorial entity if the applicant: - is a coherent group of municipalities, together forming a small island or a small region; - has common policies toward the sustainable development of the territory. - if the municipalities are cooperating in tourism marketing and a common name. In such a case: - it will be possible for a city up to 500,000 inhabitants to be included in the territory; - if an application is made on behalf of coastal and non-coastal municipalities in the applicant’s territory, the municipalities can choose between a QualityCoast and a QualityDestination status (flags, banners etc.). In case of a joint application one Application Form (procedure) for the whole territory will be sufficient, but it will be necessary to provide information on all BasiQ Core indicators for each municipality or territorial unit. So making a BasiQ scan for all municipalities is a good preparation for a territory which is considering a joint application. See Annex II how to get assistance in making a BasiQ scan (i.e. collecting information for BasiQ Core indicators). Communities / municipalities intending to make a joint application can indicate this in the Registration Form, providing clear evidence on the above criteria. Such a request will be considered for one application term (2 years) at a time. 12 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Application procedure Once the registration is accepted, applicants can start completing the following steps: a) Fill in the Application Form electronically in Excel, following the instructions in this manual. b) Prepare a schematic map, indicating the boundaries of the destination, and the key features of your destination (features indicated on the General tab of the Form). c) Select 10 high quality digital pictures (preferably 2000 x 3000 pixels, free of copyright for us) that well illustrate some of the criteria and which copyrights you own or have been licensed for the next 2 years for promotional purposes. Please confirm that copyrights are cleared for QualityCoast. These pictures will be used in our website and publications. Please mention the name of the photographer; if you don't mention this name, we will use the picture only with a reference to the destination name. Please also send us the digital logo of the destination. d) You may annex documents that you consider very important for the assessment. Please check whether the QC Team is able to read the language of the annexes. e) Please send the completed Application Form, pictures and annexes (digital format on a CD/DVD or USB pen drive) by post to: EUCC QualityCoast P.O. Box 11232 NL-2301 EE Leiden, The Netherlands or by e-mail to: [email protected]. Please note that e-mail annexes larger than 4 MB per e-mail will be automatically refused by the server and won’t be delivered. f) Payment of the Participation fee (see Participation Fees below) Well before sending your Application Form to EUCC, please request an invoice of the non-reimbursable Participation fee, including all information that such invoice should include. The payment fee is to be paid to: EUCC / Kust & Zee ING Arnhem, the Netherlands IBAN NL 85 INGB 0001 025914 Swift/BIC Code INGBNL2A Please note that the assessment process will only start after receipt of the payment, because for the first year this fee covers the cost of the assessment and review process by the QC Team, local expert and Jury, and serve as a contribution to common international publicity (page in the Award flyers, website etc.). Deadlines for Application Applications can be made throughout the year. Awards will be presented at tourism fairs (ITB Berlin, Vakantiebeurs Utrecht, WTM London etc). Please check with the QC Secretariat or a coordinator in your country the next Award event and the most appropriate deadline to submit application. Applications received after agreed date may be treated with some delay. The QC Team may agree with the award winner to present the award at a National or Local Award ceremony and Flag hoisting event in the destination itself, at any time to be agreed between destination and the Secretariat. 13 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Join the Green Destinations Community! Destinations can join as a Member of the Green Destinations Community (See Annex III, QualityCoast Membership Services) any time without immediately applying for an Award. In order to become the Member the destinations should be either present in the Global Sustainable Tourism Review (GSTR) with sufficient sustainability score, fill in Self-assessment form or be a member of some other similar network. Please check with the QC Secretariat or a coordinator in your country. Participation Fee The participation fee depends on the dimension of the destination. The tables below present the QualityCoast-fees. The QualityDestination fees (for non-coastal destinations) are available upon request. Destinations in developing countries can request a discount to the fee. Please contact the QualityCoast Secretariat. Table 1. Costs of annual membership fees, interactive pre-audit evaluation, and a local audit, for destinations not being Parks, Resorts, or Attractions. QualityCoast Fees - Municipalities, Regions, Island councils Number of inhabitants in the destination Membership fee for any 12 months period* Interactive pre-audit evaluation and support (incl. reporting & recommendations) Less than 1.000 € 500 € 500 € 750 Less than 10.000 € 750 € 750 € 1.000 Less than 50.000 € 1.200 € 1.200 € 1.000 Less than 100.000 € 1.200 € 1.900 € 1.000 Less than 250.000 € 1.200 € 2.800 € 1.000 Less than 500.000 € 1.200 € 3.300 € 1.000 Less than 1.000.000 € 1.200 € 3.800 € 1.000 More than 1.000.000 € 1.200 € 4.200 € 1.000 Maximum GSTR Score required for annual score validation 80% 100% Local audit (excl. Travel & accommodation)** *) Annual Membership Fee covers the Membership Service Package, Communication mailings, and Marketing benefits a.o. **) For on-site audits, costs of travel and local accommodation can be reduced if circumstances allow. 14 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Table 2. Costs of annual membership fees, interactive pre-audit evaluation, and a local audit, for Protected Area destinations. QualityCoast Fees – Protected Areas Park area in hectare Membership fee for any 12 months period* Interactive pre-audit evaluation and support (incl. reporting & recommendations) Local audit (excl. Travel & accommodation)** Less than 5.000 € 750 € 750 € 750 Less than 10.000 € 900 € 900 € 1.000 Less than 50.000 € 1.200 € 1.200 € 1.000 Less than 100.000 € 1.200 € 1.900 € 1.000 Less than 250.000 € 1.200 € 2.800 € 1.000 Less than 500.000 € 1.200 € 3.300 € 1.000 Less than 1.000.000 € 1.200 € 3.800 € 1.000 More than 1.000.000 € 1.200 € 4.200 € 1.000 Maximum GSTR Score required for annual score validation 80% 100% *) Annual Membership Fee covers the Membership Service Package, Communication mailings, and Marketing benefits a.o. **) For on-site audits, costs of travel and local accommodation can be reduced if circumstances allow. Table 3. Costs of annual membership fees, interactive pre-audit evaluation, and a local audit, for Resort areas (small destinations with more than two hotels and contacted facilities) and Attractions (destinations usually having no local population). QualityCoast Fees – Tourism Resorts & Attractions Size Membership fee for any 12 months period* Interactive pre-audit evaluation and support (incl. reporting & recommendations) Local audit (excl. Travel & accommodation)** Small € 1.000 € 1.000 € 750 Medium size € 1.200 € 1.200 € 1.000 Large € 1.200 € 2.400 € 1.000 Maximum GSTR Score required for annual score validation 80% 100% *) Annual Membership Fee covers the Membership Service Package, Communication mailings, and Marketing benefits a.o. **) For on-site audits, costs of travel and local accommodation can be reduced if circumstances allow. 15 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 6. The Coastal & Marine Union - EUCC The QualityCoast programme is managed by the Coastal & Marine Union - EUCC, an association with 1600 members and member organisations in 40 countries. It is the largest network of coastal practitioners, planners and experts in Europe, with 14 National Branches and offices in 5 countries. QualityCoast is a founding member of the Green Destinations Partnership, together with ca. 30 NGOs, institutes, companies, and Experts. The programme is supported by our Ambassadors, in Europe, China, and North America: http://www.qualitycoast.info/?p=1728. The EUCC – QualityCoast Team is also involved in running the QualityDestination programme that was especially designed for non-coastal destinations, under the auspices of the ECNC Land & Sea Group. Together we assist coastal communities in improving their coastal strategies, sustainable tourism and destination management. EUCC's mission is to promote coastal and marine management that integrates biodiversity conservation with those forms of development that sustain the integrity of landscapes, the cultural heritage and the social fabric of our coasts taking into account the effects of climate change. EUCC is a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), the European NECSTouR network, ECOTRANS and a partner to DestiNet, the Sustainable Tourism Information Portal of the European Union, http://destinet.ew.eea.europa.eu/. EUCC is Europe’s most important expert organization on integrated coastal management (ICZM). It cooperates with the European Commission and many other institutions. Results of this can e.g. be found in the OURCOAST website http://ec.europa.eu/ourcoast/ and in www.eucc.net. Contact details For any information or clarification that is not addressed in this document, please contact us: EUCC - QualityCoast Team E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +31 (0) 71 5122900 Fax: +31 (0) 71 5124069 www.eucc.net, www.qualitycoast.info www.facebook.com/qualitycoast 16 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Annex I Benefits of QualityCoast for tourist destinations One programme for the whole community territory The QualityCoast Awards recognize qualities and efforts toward sustainability in the whole territory of the community: a town, a small region or an island. The Award gives the right to display the QC Flag, banner, poster and other material throughout the community, not only on the beach. Some of the existing QualityCoast Award winners are displaying the banners along all roads giving access to the town. The performance in Travelife, Blue Flag and Green Key programmes is positively taken into account in our Awards. Improved awareness of sustainability issues Participation in the application and filling in the Application Form will already improve the awareness of the community’s performance in important aspects of sustainability and local identity, within the local authority. Monitoring strengths and weaknesses (SWOT) The comparison with other Awarded communities through the Jury assessment and report provides the community with a good picture of its strengths and weaknesses in an international perspective. Cooperation opportunities within a coastal region or island Small adjacent communities can participate together in order to work more cost effectively; they can also apply for the Award together (e.g. islands with more than one municipality or a coherent group of municipalities considering and promoting themselves as a single unit). Learning from similar communities Upon registration of the community for the Award programme, the community can participate in the exchange programme with other awarded communities, in workshops and at annual events. Guidance for improvement The international assessment and recommendations by the Award Jury provide the local authority with a guidance to be considered in an agenda for improvement. Transparent information to residents and visitors Award winning communities are assisted in supporting their identity and profile in communication through transparent information on the basis of the 20 sustainability criteria. The best timing for local publicity Award winning communities can choose the moment when they would like to launch their own local and national publicity for receiving the Award (including a local Award ceremony) at a date that suits them best, e.g. at a local festivity, opening of the bathing season. This is also facilitated through the possibility to enter the procedure four times a year. PR opportunity for local Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Companies and shops in any Awarded destination can profit from the Award through the QualityTourism programme: http://www.qualitycoast.info/?page_id=356. 17 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Opportunity for marketing and promotion The community’s own international tourism marketing can profit from the status of QualityCoast destination or QualityDestination. Experience in several countries learns that this will continue to generate media publicity nationally and internationally. Award winners can widely disseminate the international brochure and refer to our public websites. Inclusion in the joint international marketing campaign The awards will be announced through an international press release and at the press conference at the international Award Ceremony and Workshop. QualityCoast destinations will also be promoted through: the QualityCoast public website: www.qualitycoast.info the QualityCoast brochure or flyers (circulation 10.000) the annual Kust&Zee Gids of the Netherlands (circulation 200.000) A second chance for free Unsuccessful applicants are encouraged to improve their application file and resubmit, because failure is often due to insufficient provision of information; within six months after the first application there will be no additional cost for the applicant. Solid two year basis for marketing for Award winners Winners of the Awards have the right to display the QualityCoast or QualityDestination flag, banner, poster and other material for 24 months (subject to an update of public information). Free services from the EUCC network QualityCoast Destinations can also get the Organisation Membership services of EUCC: Communication opportunities through EUCC’s media, including Coastal & Marine magazine, EUCC Coastal & MarinE-news, EUCC EuroMed News, and specific media for the Netherlands (Kust&Zee Gids, Kust&ZeE mail). Free subscription to the e-mail newsletters (four language editions). Free subscription to EUCC’s Coastal & Marine magazine Discounts to EUCC’s Littoral Conference fees Participation in project partner search, joint project preparation and fund raising 18 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Annex II Guidance to complete the Application Form Registered applicants will receive the 2015-‘16 Application Form from the QC Secretariat. Previous versions of the Application Form will not be accepted, except from those who have a confirmed registration from an earlier date. Please check at the Secretariat whether there is another language version that you prefer, or whether you can complete the form in your own language. Completing the Application Form You are advised to have the Application Form completed by your own local or regional tourism destination manager, or by a dedicated team including your own staff. Of course you can be assisted by external experts. But it is important to increase the capacity among your own staff in sustainable tourism planning and management. Please ask the QC Secretariat or your national QC Coordinator if they are planning to organise a sustainable tourism seminar in your region or country. Such seminars will not only increase the capacity of your team of tourism destination managers, but will also provide direct assistance in completing the QC Application Form. About the Excel file and tabs The Form is an excel file composed of 4 sheets (tabs): 1. General Info: All yellow cells need to be filled in. Please indicate what kind of Award you are applying for, and what kind of destination you are. 19 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 2. Quality with the 20 Award criteria mostly consists of BasiQ indicators. 3. Policy and GSTC with the 20 Award criteria mostly consists of GSTC-D suggested performance indicators. 4. YourChoice with the 20 Award criteria mostly consists of ETIS and ECO XXI. Indicators and Provision of Data In the Quality, Policy and GSTC and YourChoice sheets (tabs) you are requested to provide information for the whole territory of the destination. This information should be as recent as possible. Detailed clarification how and which information should be provided for the different indicators is given through the whole form via inserted remarks. For all criteria, there are 3 types of indicators situated in 3 different sheets: Quality tab, you are requested to provide information on all mandatory (coloured cell) indicators and at least one uncoloured for each criterion (please follow instruction in the form). Policy and GSTC (coloured cells) are generally compulsory, so please try to address all of them. You are requested to address at least 75% of the GSTC-D indicators per criterion. If you have no or low compliance to indicators that are less relevant for the destination, you may ignore it and indicate why they are less relevant; you may do so with up to 25% of the indicators and criterion). In case you address less than 75% of GSTC indicators in the Policy tab, please compensate that in the YourChoice tab. YourChoice are optional indicators (not coloured); you are not requested to provide information unless you find appropriate indicators for the destination and/or want to compensate information from the Policy and GSTC tab. For the provision of data there are two columns: - Column 3: Self Rate. Here you are kindly requested to provide a self-assessment for your destination. When you tick an option in the column Rate will automatically appear 1-No; 2-Little; 3-Limited; 4-Good, Sufficient; 5-Maximum. Clarify with examples when you indicated 4 or 5. For the GSTC-indicators in the Policy and GSTC tab, you are invited to clarify external obstacles for improvements; this is not mandatory, but if you provide useful arguments or information, this may increase your score! We also use this information to improve or edit the GSTC-criteria for next years. 20 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 - Column 4. Here you are kindly requested to provide information, following the instructions on the sheet. Addressing the minimum number of Core indicators is compulsory and in case the applicant fails to do so, the score for this indicator will be 1/5 (1 out of 5). Usually the weight factors of Core criteria are higher than of the optional criteria; this means they make a larger contribution to the calculation of the average score for a criterion. Applicants are encouraged to use the optional indicators to provide additional information, in particular if they will provide positive elements that better describe the efforts of the destination; this will additionally increase the score of the criterion. However, when no information is provided for an optional indicator, this will have no effect to the average of the criterion. “Most important improvement(s) made in the last 2 years” Please briefly describe the most important improvement(s) made in the past two years related to any criteria of a certain category. For second time applicants, please consider the improvements that you expected in the previous application (2013); the Jury will evaluate information provided here against the situation described in 2013 and in the previous Jury report and recommendations. If you do not complete this field, the Jury will assume that no improvements are made. “For 2nd time applicants: perceptions from stakeholders / QC Committee” 2nd time applicants are encouraged to gather opinions and views from important stakeholders in the territory. Relevant stakeholders’ initiatives contributing to sustainability in the area can be mentioned, A NGO organising beach clean-ups; Or: the local hotel owners association pushed the Local Authority for a better waste management. The municipality has therefore worked with the association to review the possibilities. Destinations that have formed a QC Committee should also use this section to provide their views and conclusions of discussions. “Other important information, problems and constraints” In the end of each category you will have the chance to provide any other information on any issue that you find relevant to be considered but also aspects that may be constraining the performance of the applicant in the criterion (e.g. if a particular issue is not within the jurisdiction of the applicant as reason for weak performance). “Most important improvement(s) planned for the next 2 years” Please briefly describe the most important improvement(s) planned for the next two years. This information will be evaluated when the destination re-applies for a QC Award in the future. QualityCoast Committee Since 2011 Awarded destinations are encouraged by the Jury to establish a local QualityCoast (or QualityDestination) Committee as a platform to discuss the Jury recommendations and their implementation, with representatives from stakeholders: NGOs and the business sector. In this way the Jury hopes to foster stakeholder participation, participatory planning, knowledge based management, etc. On the basis of this, the Committee can contribute to the preparation of the next QualityCoast application (in which case the input can be included in the section “Perceptions from Stakeholders / Input from local Committee”). 21 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Key tips Tip 1: the Application Form includes many optional indicators and the applicant has many opportunities to select those optional indicators that best fit the local situation (usually you will have to provide clarification at least one for each of the 20 criteria). Please use the clarification (small notes in the cells) in the electronic version of the Application Form. Tip 2: you are kindly requested to provide brief information in all “Core indicators”. Tip 3: try to be as brief as possible. We can always ask further information if needed. Tip 4: in large figures or percentages there is no need to be very precise, the order of magnitude is most important. Tip 5: in case you complete less than 75% of GSTC indicators in the 3. Policy and GSTC tab, please compensate that in the 4. YourChoice tab. Tip 6: tick rate "max" in the 3. Policy and GSTC tab when the criterion is regulated by a national or regional policy, and there is a full implementation in the destination. 22 QualityCoast Participation Manual 2015 Be highlighted as “more sustainable, green and human friendly” in tour operators’ consumer guides, like those of TUI (Netherlands; Holland International, Arke) www.tui.nl/nl/duurzaamtoerisme/buygr een/activiteiten.html Be highlighted as “more sustainable, green and human friendly” in an increasing number of hotel booking websites Have special exposure in the Global Sustainable Tourism Review (GSTR), the new global benchmark system for sustainable tourism destinations www.BookDifferent.com www.Zoover.com YES, FREE YES, FREE www.qualitycoast.info/alldestinations.h tm, www.sustainapedia.com/globalsustainable-tourism-review, www.totemtourism.com/1/post/2014/0 1/a-new-way-to-see-sustainabledestinations.html YES, FREE YES, FREE Receive a printed copy of the poster “QualityCoast welcomes you”, for display in your destination Participate in the VISTAS Awards competition that has been launched at the international tourism fair ITB Berlin 2015, to be issued at ITB 2016. Be enabled to create a local QualitySpots network with QR codes QC Communication Service mailings (monthly): information about developments and fund raising opportunities in international tourism; calendar of upcoming tourism events; reports. F. F. NON-member BasiQ destinations YES, FREE YES, FREE YES, FREE YES, FREE YES, FREE YES, FREE www.qualitycoast.info/?page_id=1611 http://vistawards.com YES, FREE YES, FREE www.qualitycoast.info/wpcontent/uploads/2013/09/QualitySpots -QR-Manual-2013.pdf www.qualitycoast.info/?page_id=2132 YES, cost basis 23 E. BasiQ Member Destinations (€250) D. Member Destinations (~50% of normal Application fee) C. CSP subscriber (50% of App fee) nd Web references B. 2 YR NONPaying QC Gold destinations Service item A. Paying QC GoldSilver-Bronze destinations Annex III Green Destinations Community - QualityCoast Services YES, FREE Cost basis + subscr. No (trial) YES, cost basis YES, FREE YES, cost basis YES, FREE Trial trial Receive free personal copies of the Sustainable Tourism Reports series, published by Totem Tourism. From time to time we will offer free seats in Master classes on sustainable tourism. Be included in QualityCoast international publications, e.g. QualityCoast pages in our magazines, reaching 200.000 readers Have your own destination page in the QualityCoast website and be highlighted in the QualityCoast homepage See your destination or its event(s) promoted in the QualityCoast Facebook page (4000 followers), twice in this period Receive a free subscription to EUCC’s quarterly Coastal & Marine magazine Receive major discounts to EUCC’s Littoral conference participation fees www.totemtourism.com/sustainabletourism-reports-andmasterclasses.html YES, FREE www.qualitycoast.info/promotion www.kustenzee.nl/kustenzeegids/index .htm http://data.axmag.com/data/VIP/2013 06/U27993/F223914/FLASH/index.html (page 12-13) www.qualitycoast.info YES, FREE www.facebook.com/qualitycoast YES, FREE YES, FREE YES, FREE www.eucc.net/coastalandmarine/index. htm YES YES YES http://euccnews.wordpress.com/2013/ 11/26/littoral-conference-2014-inklaipeda-lithuania-23-26-september YES YES YES Be allowed to include the QualityCoast logo and web banners in all your publications and websites YES, FREE No (trial) YES, FREE www.qualitycoast.info/?page_id=1012 Businesses and SMEs in the destinations can participate in the QualityTourism programme (NB: QualityCoast logos or flags can not be used by others than municipality, DMO, or the local DMC, because the QC certification only regards the destination as a whole) Inclusion in the Sustainable Destinations Global Top 100. http://www.qualitycoast.info/?page_id =356 http://greendestinations.info/top100/ trial trial YES, FREE Page yes, hl no YES, FREE YES, FREE Order extra QualityCoast flags or banners at a cost basis: flag (1,5 m x 2,25 m) €25; banner (1 m x 4 m) €44 YES, FREE BasiQ YES, 12 months BasiQ logo, 12 m BasiQ flags, cost YES, cost based YES, Cost basis BasiQ flags, cost YES YES YES YES YES YES, FREE No No No No No
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