The Relationship between Scheduled Transport Operations and the Development of Tourism. - A Case Study of Bornholm. Derek Robbins

Transcription

1 The Relationship between Scheduled Transport Operations and the Development of Tourism - A Case Study of Bornholm. Derek Robbins Senior Lecturer School of Services Management Bournemouth University Talbot Campus Fern Barrow Poole BH12 5BB ABSTRACT There is a clear relationship between the development of the tourism industry at a destination and the transport links between the main tourism generating areas and that destination. This paper examines the problems for public transport operators of providing transit services to tourist destinations, which are increased manifestly where demand is heavily peaked, as the transport product itself cannot be stored. It utilises a case study of a small island destination, Bornholm, which simplifies measurement of visitor movements and numbers. Currently visitor numbers are static but the pattern of demand is heavily peaked, both seasonally and by day of the week. The paper identifies the role transport operators must play and the policies they must develop if attempts to stimulate tourism growth are to have any chance of success. It demonstrates how ferry operators have been able to provide additional capacity for peak periods whilst avoiding unacceptably low utilisation of assets during the off peak. It also discusses whether the tourism industry itself could make a greater contribution to evening out patterns of transport demand and whether responsibility for tourism development should involve greater co-operation between the two sectors. It explores recent innovations whilst analysing the barriers to such co-operation. Peripheral areas are characterised by their relative inaccessibility from the main tourist generating regions and the paper contends that the interdependence between the tourist industry and the transit services to the destination is at its greatest for peripheral locations. Association for European Transport 2004

2 1. INTRODUCTION The relationship between transport services and the development of mass tourism has been well documented in a historical context. Patmore (1972) for instance outlines the importance of the role played by railway development in the UK from the 1840s onwards in the successful emergence and growth of visitor numbers to UK coastal resorts using Brighton on the south coast of the UK as a case study. Cuthbert (1987) describes a similar relationship between the development of charter air services between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean in the 1960s and the growth of mass tourism to that region. The technological advances of jet engines combined with a deregulated framework which allowed new charter airlines to offer cheap fares were both necessary prerequisites, and development of a mass market would not have happened without both elements. The links are obvious. Tourism has two key components i) the movement of people to and from the destination ii) their activities at the destination. For any large scale tourism activity to occur there must be a transport system enabling tourists to travel from their normal place of residence and work to the destination. The author terms this the Transit function and it is identified by Leiper (1990) in his model of Tourism systems (Tabel 1). Without such transit links tourism cannot occur. One common principle identified in the development of UK seaside resorts in the mid to late 1800s and Mediterranean resorts in the 1960s is that both were driven by dramatic improvements in the transport links brought about by new technologies. It made journeys seem possible that had previously appeared impossible. The London to Brighton journey was reduced from 7 hours by stagecoach to 2 hours by rail. Equally important was the dramatic increase in capacity created by the new technology which reduced unit costs (per passenger kilometre) and which was subsequently passed on to the consumer with significantly reduced fares. Brighton was made accessible to a large catchment area of day visitors with relatively little disposable leisure time or income at a stroke. Likewise developments in aviation opened up the Mediterranean to a large catchment of holiday makers from the developed economies of northern Europe. The development of tourism to the case study island of Bornholm is also directly linked to transport systems. It commenced with the first ferry service between Copenhagen and Bornholm starting in the 1860s and a service between Mukran in Germany and Bornholm begining in 1906 by which time 11,000 tourists per annum were reported to have visited (Twining-Ward & Twining-Ward 1996). Association for European Transport 2004

3 TABLE 1 THE TOURISM SYSTEM \ Departing travellers (Transit route) / TRAVELLER TOURIST GENERATING DESTINATION REGION REGION / Returning travellers (Transit route) \ Source Leiper THE NATURE OF TRANSPORT DEMAND Uneven Patterns of Demand Transport is a derived demand. It is rarely undertaken for its own sake but as a means to an end. That is not to say that the journey cannot itself be an enjoyable leisure experience. Previous research by the author indicates that over 50% of UK passengers on holiday journeys to Europe consider the journey itself as an enjoyable part of the leisure experience (Robbins 1995). Nevertheless the key purpose of the journey is arrival at the destination rather than the pleasure of the journey itself. The derived nature of transport creates very uneven patterns of desired demand with significant peak periods. This is true for many journey purposes other than holiday and leisure trips with the journey to work peak as the most studied example. For holiday journeys the peaks tend to be seasonal. They are often linked to specific events such as national holidays (Christmas, Easter and the Summer School Holiday) but in a cold water destination such as Bornholm or the UK, climatic factors are also very important. 21% of BornholmsTraffikken s passengers travel in July (Figure 2). Even within the seasonal peak period the demand for travel remains remarkably uneven. The tradition of change over on Saturdays still persists both in the UK and in Bornholm. Accommodation providers contribute to a peak travel day of Saturday by only letting their accommodation in inflexible 7 day blocks, Saturday to Saturday. This is particularly true of the self-catering sector in Bornholm. The problem of uneven demand is exacerbated by the fact that in common with other service industries, transport as a product cannot be stored. It must be consumed at the point of production and once a scheduled departure has left with unoccupied seats, there is never a second opportunity to resell those unoccupied seats. The capacity of a public transport operator is partly governed by the number of vehicles in a fleet and the size of those vehicles. Therefore serving large peaks of demand which last only for a very short period is expensive and often not profitable, Association for European Transport 2004

4 especially if the vehicles are under utilised for the remainder of the year. Growth in the number of tourists wishing to visit during the existing peak period may cause specific problems to the transport operators unless it can be accommodated by the existing fleet being used more efficiently, either achieving more departures on peak days or higher load factors on the same number of departures. If increased demand requires an increase in fleet size the transport operator may prefer to decline to carry this extra demand. Options for the Transport Operator A key objective for a transport manager is to match supply and demand. The greater the peakiness of demand the more difficult this becomes. There are two fundamental approaches: i) Adjust Supply. Clearly the transport operator ideally wishes to reduce supply in the off-peak and/or increase supply during the peak months. For some modes of transport a temporary increase in capacity can be achieved by hiring in vehicles for the peak period without incurring the fixed overheads of these vehicles for a full 12 month period. However a temporary increase in the peak period supply will also increase labour requirements and finding skilled labour to operate on a causal basis over the peak period may prove more difficult. Transport operators with a large network of routes such as airlines may benefit from different peak periods on different routes and can alternate the vehicle allocation between routes for different times of the year. However in this case study the largest transport provider is a ferry operator. There is little scope to charter vessels to cover peak periods and no large route network and the peak period does not vary between routes. Any adjustment of supply centres on a policy of fewer sailings during the off peak period. This brings about valuable savings in variable operating costs, particularly fuel, but of course results in under utilisation of assets for which the fixed costs have to be met. The reduced number of crossings during the off peak period also enables vessels to be taken out of service for routine maintenance, refurbishment and annual inspection purposes. Changes in the fleet since 2000, to include a Fast ferry on the most important Ystad Ronne route has, as subsequent analysis will demonstrate, increased Bornholms Trafikken s ability to adjust supply for the peak period. ii) Adjust Demand Given the derived nature of transport demand it is difficult for transport operators to influence the pattern of demand. The main tool at their disposal is discriminatory pricing, which when used well, can marginally influence patterns of demand. For instance a surcharge on peak days during the peak period (such as Saturday) will transfer some demand to the remaining weekdays. Those for whom Saturday travel is not essential have the scope to adjust their behaviour and travel on a weekday if the incentive to do so is large enough. A much more radical price differentiation is required to generate new additional traffic during the off-peak period when there is much under utilised spare capacity. There is a case for the introduction of some form of marginal cost based pricing. Association for European Transport 2004

5 Any additional passenger who pays a fare that covers all the variable cost of the journey but does not cover all the operator s fixed costs, can improve the financial performance of the operator. However the existing customers, albeit small in number, may also be eligible to pay a reduced fare so care needs to be taken to ensure that the revenue gained from additional passenger numbers exceeds that lost from revenue dilution caused by existing passengers paying lower fares. Whilst the calculation of the variable cost for the crossing is straightforward the variable cost of carrying each extra passenger is not. In some senses the cost of carrying an additional passenger where there is spare capacity is virtually nil for a ferry operator and there are historical examples of very radical pricing policies. In the mid 1980s cross channel operators offered off-peak day return fares of 1 between Dover and Calais, usually as part of a joint promotion with a national newspaper. Competition with the Channel Tunnel also encouraged both to offer fares of 10 for a car and all occupants. These fares are clearly below even the marginal cost of operation but were justified by an additional distorting factor. Unlike most other forms of transport there are significant revenue earning opportunities on the vehicle in the form of shops, bars and restaurants. The strategy was to earn revenue on the secondary spend rather than on the fare. The loss of duty free shopping and the emergence of low fares on low cost airlines for short breaks to Europe has seen significant decline in this day trip market over the last 4 years. INTER DEPENDENCE OF TRANSPORT AND TOURISM The hypothesis of this paper is that there is an inter-dependence between between the two industries. Certainly Central Government, Local Government and Tourist Boards cannot meet strategic objectives of tourism growth without the direct and explicit cooperation of transport operators. Likewise decisions and activities made by the tourism industry can make a significant contribution to the transport operator s ability to undertake the transit function during peak periods. The use of an island destination as a case study makes the impact of this relationship more transparent and the tourism and transport flows more measurable. In Bornholm, the potential future growth of leisure travel to the island has been hampered by the transport links. To date there has been a manifest lack of joint policy initiatives. A second hypothesis is that the inter dependence between transport and tourism is at its greatest for peripheral locations. Bornholm suffers from disadvantage of a peripheral location and in the 1990s missed out during a period of modest tourism growth within Denmark as a whole (Table 3). Could joint transport and tourism initiatives have made an impact on Bornholm s stagnation as a tourist destination? CASE STUDY: BORNHOLM Why Bornholm? Bornholm was selected for the case study because as an island the phenomena of tourism is confined to a specific spatial area making it easier to identify and measure. Although it is a peripheral location it has become increasingly more accessible over the last 4 years increasing the scope for tourism development. The dominant mode of transport for tourism is by ferry (93% of arrivals) and the dominant ferry company is Association for European Transport 2004

6 wholly owned by the public sector, which influences its commercial strategy particularly over pricing. The author undertook a study visit to the island in August 1996 and has subsequently been a regular visitor. The hypothesis for this paper builds on work undertaken in 1996 but also analyses a changing operating environment and the strategic responses to it. Location Bornholm is an island of 587 square kilometres located in the Baltic Sea at 15 degrees east and 55 degrees north, virtually the same latitude as Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It has a low population density with a resident population of 45,000. However as a rural peripheral location it has suffered depopulation over last 10 years and the number of inhabitants fell by 3.4% between (Ioannides & Petersen 2003). The majority of those leaving the region are young leaving an ageing population on the island. There is also some evidence it is becoming a retirement destination. It is the most easterly county of Denmark, located 150 km from Copenhagen. The ferry crossing from Copenhagen takes seven hours. However geographically Bornholm is closer to Sweden (36 km) than to the remainder of Denmark. There is a year round ferry link from Sweden (Ystad), and seasonal services from Germany (Mukran, Sassnitz ), Sweden (Simrishamn) and Poland (Swinoujscie & Kolberg) in addition to Copenhagen (Figure 1). FIGURE 1 LOCATION OF BORNHOLM AND MAIN FERRY ROUTES. Association for European Transport 2004

7 The Tourism Product Bornholm has a diverse coastline. The Southern coastline between Nexo and Ronne are largely sandy beaches marketed as an ideal location for family holidays with safe and clean bathing waters. However it is classified as a cold water destination and cannot be predominantly be regarded as a "Sun, Sea and Sand" destination despite the fact that the island has more hours of sunshine, longer summers and less rainfall than any other Amt (Regional Council area) in Denmark. Bornholm has been developed as a green destination (Bornholms Amt 1993). Its main attributes are natural scenic ones. This is clearly demonstrated in the Tourist brochures marketing the island. "Studies of why tourists choose Bornholm show the majority come to experience the island's nature, tranquillity and charm." (Bornholms Velkomstcenter 1996) The brochure goes on to argue that for a small island there is a wide variety of landscapes. The island has encouraged the reputation enshrined in its long standing local nickname Scandinavia in a nutshell. Marketing material keeps alive the mythological story of Bornholms creation. After God created Scandinavia he was left with a little of all the beautiful features that now typify Scandinavia. He gathered them altogether, threw them out into the Baltic Sea and thereby created Bornholm (Bornholms Velkomstcenter 1996). The marketing creates a powerful image of an island destination with a variety of landscapes and forms over a small geographical area unrivalled elsewhere in Scandinavia. Tourism: Magnitude and Trends In 2001 Bornholm attracted around 557,000 visitors per annum who stay 4.3 million visitor nights (Ioannides & Petersen 2003). Tourism is of particular importance accounting for approximately 13% of the region s GDP, the second highest contribution of tourism to the regional economy in Denmark. (Zhang 2000). The industry has not diversified over the last 140 years. The three dominant source markets are the same as they were at the turn of the century. The German market accounts for 55% of all visitor nights although a smaller % of visitor trips, Denmark for 24% of nights and Sweden 14% (Danmarks Statistik 2002). Visitor numbers have also stagnated over a prolonged period (Table 3). The main attraction of the island as a natural, quiet scenic destination is also virtually unchanged over this period. Indeed Bornholm developed as a green environmentally friendly destination long before the concept became either established or fashionable. Association for European Transport 2004

8 Bornholms Trafikken The main transport links to Bornholm are provided by Bornholms Trafikken, a company founded 1866 which became state owned in The published primary objective of the company is to provide transport of passengers, mail and goods to and from Bornholm for the greatest possible benefit of the Bornholm community. (Bornholns Trafikken accessed Sept 2004). Bornholm Trafikken does not therefore act solely for its commercial interests. It is subsidised by the Danish government and, quite reasonably has wider social objectives linked to accessibility and quality of life for residents. It plays an important role offering a lifeline to the island for freight movement as well as passengers. There are two year round services, namely between Ystad and Ronne (2.5 hour crossing) and Copenhagen Ronne (7 hour crossing) with additional summer only services to Germany and Poland. In 1995 the traffic split between the two routes was: Ystad - Ronne Coppenhagen - Ronne - 63% of traffic - 33% of traffic The Ystad - Ronne route was dominant for two main reasons: Speed. Car journeys from Copenhagen to Bornholm with the combination time of driving to Ystad plus a 2.5 hour crossing was quicker than the ferry service from Copenhagen. The distorting impact of on board shopping. At that time there were duty free sales on the Ystad Ronne crossing which were not allowed on the wholly domestic Copenhagen Ronne route. This was particularly attractive to the leisure market. Since 1995 the dominance of the Ystad - Ronne route has increased and now accounts for over 70% of traffic. There have been two infrastructural developments. The opening of the Oresund road and rail bridge (on the route E65) between Sweden and Zealand (Denmark) has significantly reduced the drive time to Ystad. Bornholm Traffiken replaced one of its 3 conventional RORO ferries with a Fast Ferry, H/F Villum Clausen (see Table 2) and introduced it solely on the Ystad route. These two developments have reduced the total travel time between Copenhagen and Bornholm to under 3 hours on this route. Furthermore such improvements in accessibility significantly decrease the perception of Bornholm as a peripheral destination. Nevertheless there are certain markets attracted to the Copenhagen route. The scope for an overnight crossing combined with a cabin can make this option attractive for a Association for European Transport 2004

9 business related market. Furthermore it appears politically important to retain one ferry route between Bornholm and the rest of Denmark. TABLE 2 BORNHOLM TRAFIKKEN FLEET (2004) RORO FERRIES M/F POVL ANKER M/F JENS KOFOED Length 121 Metres Speed 18 knots (34 km/hour) Capacity 1,500 passengers. 262 Cars FAST FERRY H/F Villum Clausen Length 86.6 metres Speed 40 knots (74 km / hour) Passengers 1500 Cars 165 Crossing 1 hour 10 minutes (Source: Bornholms Trafikken (2004) Timetable. Ronne.) The pattern of demand for Bornholm Traffikken is particularly heavily peaked with just over 20% of traffic carried in the month of July (Figure 2). In reality the peak season extends for around seven or eight weeks with one or two peak weeks in June and two peak weeks in August. The 11 to 12% of traffic carried in June and August masks this pattern of very heavy flows of traffic for half of the month with much reduced flows for the remainder. 25 % of Visitors FIGURE 2 PERCENTAGE of PASSENGERS CARRIED BY BORNHOLMSTRAFIKKEN (PER MONTH) % of Visitors Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Association for European Transport 2004

10 Certain elements of uneven demand bring operational advantages. The two conventional ferries are both serviced in the period between 1 March and 19 March with a reduced timetable of departures operated for this period. Likewise the fast ferry is removed from service between 26 January - 5 February. However there is clear under utilisation of assets for much of the year. For instance the number of crossings per week on the Ystad route ranges from 18 in January up to 51 for the peak weeks. Table 4 reflects the impact of variations in the timetable on capacity BORNHOLM STUDY The author first undertook a study of the development of tourism to Bornholm during a one month study visit in 1996 (Robbins 1997). The most significant pattern was the clear stagnation of visitor numbers over a pro-longed period. There had been 1,691,100 visitor nights in 1980 compared to 1,681,000 in Table 3 contrasts the performance of Bornholm as a destination with Denmark as a whole between TABLE 3 VISITS TO DENMARK (NIGHTS 000) % Change (91-95) Foreign 23, , % Domestic 15, , , , , % Total 38, , , , , % Bornholm 1,806 1,905 1,905 1,865 1, % The figures in Table 2 & Table 3 must be treated with caution. They considerably underestimate the total number of visitor nights because they exclude all hotels with less than 40 beds, all camp-sites with less than 75 pitches and all summer-house (chalet style summer residences) not rented through an officially registered agency. When combined with survey data on the average length of stay they conspire to underestimate the total number of visitors. However they are the only source of time-series data and there is no reason to believe time series trends differ for those staying in smaller hotels, campsites and privately rented summer-houses. Source : Travel & Tourism Intelligence Danmarks Statistik ( ). However the study indicated that Bornholm may have been contributing to its own lack of development. A series of 10 semi-structured interviews combined with occupancy data clearly demonstrated that there was spare accommodation capacity in the peak. However at the same time there were large variations in daily loadings on the ferry services with many Saturday crossings full whilst there was spare capacity during the midweek. There was qualitative evidence that accommodation bookings were lost due to a shortage of ferry capacity on Saturdays, although the size of this potentially suppressed market was more difficult to ascertain. The largest component of tourism accommodation was the self catering summerhouse. The exact size of this sector can be difficult to ascertain as these summerhouses are privately owned and although the majority are let through officially registered agencies, some can be advertised and let privately although estimates range from 35% - 40% of visitor nights (Zhang 2000). However, as outlined above, they are predominantly let in very Association for European Transport 2004

11 inflexible one week blocks, running from Saturday to Saturday. Bornholms Trafikken were constrained in their ability to increase Saturday capacity. At that time they had a fleet of 3 conventional ferries. The Copenhagen route operated once daily in each direction for the whole year except for the peak period from 22 June - 11 August when it operated twice daily. The shorter crossing time on the Ystad route allowed for more complex arrangements which also increased crossings on peak weekend days. The base point twice daily service in each direction operated only between Tuesday and Friday in the peak period (22 June - 11 August). It increased to three times in each direction on Mondays and four times in each direction on the peak days of Saturday and Sunday. Proposed policies for Tourism Growth (1996 Study) Tourism is a very important industry in the economy of Bornholm, accounting for 13% of GDP (Zhang 2000). It is only rivalled in importance by fishing and agriculture. It is therefore not surprising that the regional plan establishes tourism growth as a key policy objective (Bornholms Amt 1993). There are three main approaches to achieving future growth. i) Increase peak period visitor numbers. Having established that the Bornholm product is a scenic, tranquil, picturesque green eco friendly destination, it is clear it will decline in popularity if it becomes overcrowded and therefore has a maximum carrying capacity. The need to apply a maximum carrying capacity has been accepted by the Local Authority who have decreed that the number of tourists staying overnight on Bornholm cannot exceed the resident population, currently around 45,000 (Bornholms Amt 1993). Despite this maximum carrying capacity, there was clearly scope to accommodate growth in spare capacity in the current accommodation stock. The constraint of the lack of transport capacity on peak Saturdays could be addressed by greater coordination between transport providers and tourist accommodation providers to the mutual benefit of both. A more flexible booking system for self catering accommodation would enable more tourists to travel on weekdays where there was spare capacity. A discriminatory market based pricing policy within the high season with higher fares charged for Saturday crossings by Bornholms Trafikken would further develop the strategy. ii) Generate a larger shoulder peak demand There is potential for tourism growth during the shoulder months, especially May, early June and September. Indeed the recent reductions in the travel time to reach Bornholm has increased the scope for shorter break trips. Joint promotional initiatives with the Tourist Authority and Bornholm Trafikken would benefit from innovative market based pricing for ferry crossings with much wider differentials between the peak fares and those charged for shoulder of the peak season. iii) Attract visitors from a wider geographical area A longer term strategy is to reduce dependency on the three key markets. There s a slowly developing market from neighbouring Baltic states, although much depends on Association for European Transport 2004

12 the relative economic strength of former Eastern block countries. Seasonal ferry services are already beginning to develop the market from Poland. BORNHOLM TODAY Co-ordinated Transport and Tourism Policies There are significant barriers to a co-ordinated approach by tourism and transport providers. The fragmented nature of the tourism industry makes it difficult. The private sector is dominated by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), especially the accommodation sector in Bornholm, and therefore it is difficult for effective industry wide leadership to emerge (Ioannides & Petersen 2003). In reality a coordinated approach requires input from the public sector. However in the case of Bornholm, there is no single authority responsible for the tourism industry introducing further complications (Ioannides and Petersen 2001). Nevertheless there have been innovations, driven in part by on-line booking systems for both the ferry and for accommodation. Indeed the larger accommodation providers book travel services such as ferry crossings and the next step will be to make the overall product booking more flexible. Already some self catering packages being developed for less than 7 days outside the peak period. A TRANSPORT SOLUTION Bornholm Trafikken s strategy of using the opportunity of routine asset replacement to replace a conventional ferry with a fast ferry has given greater flexibility to adjust levels of supply between the peak and off peak (Table 4). Indeed during the peak period they have utilised the faster crossing times of the fast ferry to increase capacity on peak days by over 50% (Table 5). TABLE 4 WEEKLY CAPACITY: YSTAD RONNE (One Way) Passengers Cars January 20, Easter 34, May 30, June - 8 August 59, (Source:Bornholms Trafikken (2004) Timetable. Ronne.) Association for European Transport 2004

13 TABLE 5 DAILY CAPACITY: YSTAD RONNE (One Way) Passengers Cars Monday Tuesday - Thurs Friday Saturday - Sunday (Source:Bornholms Trafikken (2004) Timetable. Ronne.) EXTENDING THE SEASON The significantly improved travelling times to Bornholm would appear to improve the prospects for an extended season with short breaks in the shoulder of the peak season. This opportunity has not been seized and would benefit from the impetus of lower fares for the shoulder season one seeks to promote. Table 6 shows the current fare structure, with relative small differences (around 30% on the main Ystad route) between the peak and off peak fares. The ferry companies social mission to the people of Bornholm to provide transport of passengers, mail and goods to and from Bornholm for the greatest possible benefit of the Bornholm community does raise issues. Is it equitable to charge widely differential fares at different times of the year for essential journeys undertaken by Bornholm residents? No doubt such considerations influence this pricing policy. On the other hand if greater use of differential pricing succeeded in stimulating a price sensitive tourism market over a pro-longed season, this would also benefit the people of Bornholm TABLE 6 PRICING POLICY Return Fares: Off Peak Peak Ystad - Ronne Adult Euro 20 Euro 30 Car Euro 91 Euro 135 Copenhagen Adult Euro 32 Euro 44 Car Euro 122 Euro 193 (Source: Bornholms Trafikken (2004) Timetable. Ronne.) Association for European Transport 2004

14 CONCLUSION Despite the findings of the original 1996 study, combined strategies between Bornholms Trafikken and accommodation providers to solve capacity problems during peak periods have not really materialised. Certainly the fragmented nature of the tourism industry combined with the division of planning and marketing responsibilities in the public sector public have not helped the development of formal joint strategies. Nevertheless a transport solution, rather than a joint solution, has emerged. The replacement of a traditional ferry with a fast ferry has made it easier to increase capacity both for the peak season and indeed for peak days within this peak season and therefore enabled the transport provider to meet the requirements of the tourism industry. However it is more questionable whether the transport operator s pricing strategy is fully meeting the requirements of the tourism industry in its stated objective to increase the length of the season. The scope for joint initiatives remains. More analysis is required on the daily ferry loadings during the peak periods, but analysis to date suggests that the scope to lose accommodation bookings as a result of fully booked crossings on Saturday s is much reduced if not entirely eliminated. Nevertheless, despite yearly fluctuations with increased visitor numbers in some years (1998) (2001) overall visitor numbers to Bornholm have continued to stagnate. Total nights stayed in self catering accommodation, the largest segment of the market, peaked in 1998 and hotel occupancy during the peak period remains at only around 75%. (Danmarks Statistik 2002). Additional case studies are now being developed for other island destinations in Greece and the Balearics. This ongoing research seeks to develop a framework with which to analyse the relationship between the two sectors, and identify best practice for co-ordinated policies. References Bornholms Amt, (1993), Regionplan 1993, Tekniske Forvaltning, Ronne. BornholmsTrafikken, (1995), 1995 OG Frem, Ronne. Bornholms Trafikken (2004) Timetable. Ronne.) Bornholms Velkomstcenter, (1996), Bornholm, Ronne. (Tourist Brochure) Cuthbert.G., (1987). Flying to the Sun, Hodder & Stoughton, London. Danmarks Statistik, (2002), Statistisk arbog, Copenhagen. Ioannides.D & Petersen.T, (2001) Challenges for tourism development within a restrictive planning environment: the case of a cold water destination, Tourism 49(4): Ioannides.D & Petersen.T, (2003) Tourism non-entrepreneurship in peripheral destinations: a case study of small and medium tourism enterprises on Bornholm, Denmark. Tourism Geographies 5(4) November: Association for European Transport 2004

15 Leiper,N. (1990), Tourism Systems, Dept of Management Systems, Occasional Paper 2, Massey University, Auckland. Patmore,J.A. (1972), Land and Leisure, Penguin, Harmondsworth. Robbins,D.K. (1995) The Leisure Transport Continuum, 28 th Studies Group Conference, Cranfield. Universities Transport Robbins.D.K. (1997) The relationship between scheduled transport operations and the development of tourism markets to Peripheral Island destinations, Peripheral Area Tourism International Research Conference, Bornholm, September. Travel & Tourism Intelligence, (1996) Denmark, International Tourism Reports, No , EIU, London. Twining-Ward and Twining-Ward, (1996), Tourist Destination Development - the case of Bornholm and Gotland, Bornholms Forskningscenter, Nexo. Zhang.J (2001) The Impacts of Tourism on the Economies of Danish Regions, Institute of Local Government Studies Denmark (accessed on Association for European Transport 2004

16 Scheduled Transport Operations and the Development of Tourism Derek Robbins School of Services Management Bournemouth University Talbot Campus Poole BH 12 5BB

17 Hypothesis Transit function of transport in the Tourism System (see Leiper 1990) directly links tourism development to transport systems Inter - dependent Central Government, Local Government, or Tourist Board Objectives can only be achieved with the direct co-operation of the transport provider

18 Basic Tourism System \ Departing travelers (Transit route) / TRAVELER TOURIS T GEN ERATING DES TINATION REGION REGION / Returning travelers (Transit route) \ Source Leiper 1990

19 Transport Provider cannot or will not meet requirements of the Tourism Industry Transport is a DERIVED DEMAND Peaks and Troughs cannot be served profitably Transport cannot be stored for later consumption Hence : Tourism providers must take account of transport operators requirements.

20 Interdependence Tourism providers can contribute to the transport operator s ability to meet heir requirements to the mutual benefit of both The need for a co-ordinated integrated approach between the two industries increases for peripheral destinations (Bornholm - Majorca)

21 BARRIERS Fragmented nature of the Tourism Industry Number of SMEs (particularly in the provision of accommodation) Role of the Public Sector Lack of a single authority responsible for tourism industry (Ioannides and Petersen (2003).

22 WHY BORNHOLM? It is an Island (identify and measure) It is a Peripheral Location (but has become increasingly more accessible in last decade) Public Sector Transport Operator provides the main transit link. Undertook a study visit in August 1996 (continued interest and data collection).

23 Facts about Bornholm Located in Baltic Sea (55 North degrees 15 degrees east) 150 kms Copenhagen 36km from Sweden 587 square kms Resident population of 45,000 Suffered depopulation over last 10 years, no. of inhabitants fell 3.4% (Ioannides & Petersen 2003) Ageing population

24

25 Tourism Facts about Bornholm Attracts around 557,000 visitors per annum Attracts 4.3 million visitor nights Accounts for approx 13% GDP. Second highest in Denmark. (Zhang 2000) Heavily dependent on 3 principle markets Germany 55% Denmark 24% Sweden 14% which has not diversified in 140 years Market stagnating.

26 Transport Links to Bornholm 93% arrivals by Ferry (only 7% by air) Two year round routes 1995 Ystad - Ronne 2.5 hours - 63% of traffic Copenhagen - Ronne 7 hours - 33% of traffic

27 Bornholms Trafikken Founded 1866 State Owned Company since 1972 Primary Objective : to provide transport of passengers, mail and goods to and from Bornholm for the greatest possible benefit of the Bornholm community.

28 FERRIES M/F POVL ANKER M/F JENS KOFOED Length 121 Metres Speed 18 knots (34 km/hour) Capacity 1,500 passengers. 262 Cars

29

30

31 Seasonality 25 % of Visitors FIGURE 2 PERCENTAGE of PASSENGERS CARRIED BY BORNHOLMSTRAFIKKEN (PER MONTH) % of Visitors Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

32 Operational Considerations Not all elements of peak & off peaks are bad. Conventional ferries are serviced between 1 March and 19 Mar Fast ferry is out of service 26 Jan - 5 Feb. However there is clear under utilisation of assets for much of the year.

33 1996 Study Findings Visitor numbers to Bornholm had been stagnant There was spare accommodation capacity in the peak There were large variations in daily loadings during the peak period with many Saturday crossings full!! Bookings were lost due to ferry capacity Bornholms Trafikken were constrained to increase Saturday capacity.

34 Matching Supply to Demand Generate a larger shoulder peak demand with innovative market based pricing Use price to distribute daily demand in peak more evenly Develop joint strategies and products with accommodation providers (daily peaks) Attract visitors from a wider geographical area

35 Developments from 2000 Opening of Oresund road and rail bridge (Zealand to southern Sweden) (E 65) Introduction of Fast Ferry on Ystad - Ronne route. Total travel time Copenhagen - Bornholm around 3 hours!!

36 FAST FERRY H/F Villum Clausen Length 86.6 metres Speed 40 knots (74 km / hour) Passengers 1500 Cars 165 Crossing 1 hour 10 minutes CAPACITY FOR PEAK DAYS

37 Weekly Capacity Ystad - Ronne (One Way) Passengers Cars January 20, Easter 34, May 30, June - 8 August 59,

38 Daily Capacity Ystad - Ronne Passengers Cars Monday Tuesday - Thurs Friday Saturday - Sunday

39 PRICING Return Fares : Off Peak Peak Ystad - Ronne Adult Euro 20 Euro 30 Car Euro 91 Euro 135 Copenhagen Adult Euro 32 Euro 44 Car Euro 122 Euro 193

40 Innovation Internet bookings. (Ferry and Accommodation) Some accommodation providers book travel (next step will be to make booking more flexible) Some self catering packages being developed for less than 7 days.

41 CONCLUSION Solution was a transport solution (not a joint solution) More analysis to undertake on daily loadings for peak period Despite some years with increased visitor numbers (1998) (2001) overall visitor numbers to Bornholm have continued to stagnate. Hotel occupancy during peak period is around 75% Harder to measure for the more important self catering sectors (but nights stayed peaked in 1998)