Month: July 2018

Traditional vs. Sustainable Tourism

• Distinguishing between traditional and sustainable tourism

• Understanding the  basic principles of sustainable tourism development

• Identify tools to manage destinations more sustainably

• Grasp the state of the art of this still-developing field — lessons learned, challenges, and the importance of key players.

You know the scene: it is high season and today the famous historic site is drawing hundreds maybe even thousands of visitors. Tourists trail guides with colorful umbrellas held high. You hear routine explanations about kings, battles, artists, and architecture delivered in English, Japanese, French, Italian, and Arabic.

A minister of tourism (or Chamber of Commerce or Convention and Visitor’s Bureau) might look at the scene and smile, “Business is good.” Preservationists might look at the scene and fret, “Can the site withstand all this traffic?” Many residents simply avoid the area, while other more entrepreneurial types rush in with their wares and scams to prey on the crowds. And many affluent and educated visitors take one look at this scene and hasten elsewhere, “Too touristy!”

How to handle all this? In 1960, when affordable jetliners helped to launch the modern-day tourism explosion, the world experienced fewer than 70 million international arrivals a year. Since then, humankind has grown — a lot. We are more numerous and more affluent, and we want to see new places. Tourism’s growth confronts destinations with both opportunity and stress. Now international arrivals approach one billion, a fourteen-fold increase in tourism traffic — and that is only a fraction of domestic tourism, which has soared recently in countries with fast-growing middle classes such as China, Mexico, India, and Brazil.

In popular destinations, this increasing visitation offers both challenges and opportunities. Destinations that hope to become popular face a choice: traditional tourism or a more sustainable approach.

For the traditional tourism model, short-term reward often outranks long-term planning. Low- margin quantity can eclipse high-benefit quality; success is measured in sheer number of arrivals, not benefit per tourist. Without careful planning and management, the negatives outnumber positives. The issues transcend just overcrowding. Reckless development harms the environment, degrades scenery, disrupts local culture, and channels tourism revenues away from local communities. Delicate historic, archaeological, and natural sites suffer physical wear and tear. Oil residue from hands and fingers slowly erodes aging limestone blocks and gypsum walls. On coral reefs clumsy divers bump into living polyps, crush them with flippers, or bury them under kicked-up sand. In caves, even carbon dioxide from too many human exhalations can chemically alter both rock formations and prehistoric paintings. Entire landscapes fall victim to resort and vacation home sprawl, and developers force out native residents.

Yet simply adding more planners and managers does not necessarily work. Destination leaders and stakeholders need to embrace principles and techniques to make tourism sustainable.

(To be continued.)

For the full text of this guide on Destination Management see:

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2151/DMOworkbook_130318.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found Dog

UPDATE – OWNER AND DOG REUNITED ON TUESDAY. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED.

My name is Chelsea Smeaton and my husband and I found a male Kobe pit bull wandering Highway 1 right next to entrance to treebones on Saturday morning at around 7:45 7/27.  We spoke to Miranda at Plaskett and she gave us the impression that you had been contacted but just wanted to follow up.  We have the dog with us and are heading back down South.  We were told that you might be able to help locate the owners.  Please email me back if you are able to find them…this picture is up the hwy at gorda market and plaskett as well as downtown near Big Sur bakery.

We will foster the dog until his owners are found. (If this is your dog, please contact Chelsea at smeatondesigns@gmail.com)

3FCDA320-3DA0-46D3-936A-B4AD76D92889

 

Overnight Closures at Paul’s Slide

Today’s Date: Monday, July 30, 2018

District:       05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa                               Cruz Counties

Contact:                  Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones

Phone:                              (805) 549-3138 or 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EMERGENCY RETAINING WALL WORK AT PAUL’S SLIDE REQUIRES THREE FULL OVERNIGHT CLOSURES IN BIG SUR STARTING SUNDAY NIGHT, AUG. 5

MONTEREY COUNTY – Augmenting the existing retaining wall will require both directions of State Route 1 at Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6) to fully close overnight for three nights, starting on Sunday, August 5th.

The highway will be closed from 10 pm to 6 am the next morning. Motorists/cyclists are advised to plan around these three emergency overnight hard closures. This roadwork should be completed by Wednesday morning, Aug. 8th at 6 am.

Paul’s Slide suffered major storm damage last January, 2017, losing part of its embankment including the southbound lane and closing for several months. Paul’s Slide remains active and continues to be monitored; it has currently been operating under a temporary traffic signal for the last 12 months and the signal will remain in place.

John Madonna Construction is the contractor for this project. Augmenting the existing  retaining wall at Paul’s Slide will ensure a safer environment for all travelers.

Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through Highway work zones.

For more information on this project and for traffic updates on other Caltrans projects in

Monterey County, residents can call the District 5 toll free number at 1-831-372-0862 or

can visit our website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/release.htm#mon

# # #

 

 

 

 

 

–PHOTOS ATTACHED AND BELOW—

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul’s Slide Photo #1 from today showing Retaining Wall needing Repairs

 

Paul’s Slide Photo #2 from today showing Retaining Wall needing Repairs

 

 

 

Susana Z. Cruz

Caltrans District 5

Public Information Officer

Portavoz de Relaciones Públicas

para Caltrans en el Distrito 5

805.549.3138

805.549.3326–fax

Follow us on Facebook

We welcome your feedback: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RNBZG55

 

 

 

 

 

Vehicle over the side near Gorda

10:15 – UPDATED CHP DISPATCH

15 AM 17 [38] PER MONTCOM 800 FEET OF FOG / PER S7 ADVISE S7 WHAT WE HAVE / CAN THEY DO AN AERIAL SWEEP
10:03 AM 16 [34] [Notification] [CHP]-PER STATE PARKS / THEY HAVE 2 OFCRS 97 / VEH VIS FRM HWY / UNK OCCPTS / REQ SO CORONER / CONFIRMED BY USFS 2 1144 ON THE BEACH
10:03 AM 15 [33] PER MONTYCOM / BIG SUR FIRE RESPONDING / ALREADY 1097 / K-CAR ALREADY CALLED / CALLING OUT SandR FOR BODY RECOVERY / VEH 200 FEET DOWN / FOREST SERVICE IS HIKING DOWN / ALL RESPONDING PERSONNEL ARE WALKING DOWN BEACH ACCESS RD / REQ 1013 / WILL RECALL
9:58 AM 14 [32] PER S7 CALL BIG SUR OR PALO COLORADO FIRE BRIDGRADE / ARE THEY ENRT AND HOW LONG TO ARRIVE
9:51 AM 13 [27] PER 27-S7 / WHEN 22M IS 1097 / GET 1013 WEATHER / THEN CALL FOR AIR AND SEE IF THEY CAN SWEEP AREA TO CK FOR ANY OCCS F/VEH
9:51 AM 12 [26] LPCC CAN SEE THE VEH AND IT APPEARS 1124
9:50 AM 11 [25] CK W/LPCC AND SEE IF THEY CAN GO DOWN ACCESS RD AND/OR MAKE CONTACT W/RP SEE LN 12-14
9:50 AM 10 [24] 1036 LPCC TO INQ HOW THEY DETERMINED VEH IS 1124 / LPCC WILL INQ W/UNIT AND CBK
9:43 AM 9 [23] [Notification] [CHP]-LPCC / HAS UNIT 97 / VAN 600 FT DOWN / APPEARS 1124 / INQ IF CHP HAS 1185
9:24 AM 8 [21] 1039 AIR OPS -H70 108 AT 1000 HRS
9:06 AM 7 [16] LISTEN TO CALL AGAIN – PER EZAR BTWN LOS BURROS AND WILLOW CREEK RD
9:02 AM 6 [14] IN THE PKLOT WHERE VEH WENT OFF RDWY
9:02 AM 5 [12] RP WILL BE HEADING BACK WILL BE 1023’G ON RHS
9:01 AM 4 [11] VEH IS ON THE BEACH ITSELF
9:01 AM 3 [10] VEH IS APPROX 250-300 FT OFF THE CLIFF
9:00 AM 2 [6] RP PRIOR BIG SUR FIRE VOLUNTEER
9:00 AM 1 [4] PER ANOTHER RP WHI VEH OVER CLIFF

Below is from the CHP website. Problem is, Los Burros and Willow Creek Rd are one and the same, and the RP, a former BSVFB member, would know this, so somehow, dispatch got this one confused.

Here is the LPF WildCAD and then the CHP:

07/28/2018 09:14 LPF-2068
 New Traffic Collision willow creek hwy 1 . E17LPF PAT17LPF Q .
9:24 AM 8 [21] 1039 AIR OPS -H70 108 AT 1000 HRS
9:06 AM 7 [16] LISTEN TO CALL AGAIN – PER EZAR BTWN LOS BURROS AND WILLOW CREEK RD
9:02 AM 6 [14] IN THE PKLOT WHERE VEH WENT OFF RDWY
9:02 AM 5 [12] RP WILL BE HEADING BACK WILL BE 1023’G ON RHS
9:01 AM 4 [11] VEH IS ON THE BEACH ITSELF
9:01 AM 3 [10] VEH IS APPROX 250-300 FT OFF THE CLIFF
9:00 AM 2 [6] RP PRIOR BIG SUR FIRE VOLUNTEER
9:00 AM 1 [4] PER ANOTHER RP WHI VEH OVER CLIFF

 

Remembering the Gorda-Rat Creek Fire or how the South Coast extension of the BSVFB got started

First the backstory: Soaring contacted me about gathering local stories to include with her stories of her look-out days up on Cone Peak, specifically the Gorda-Rat Creek Fire, her first as a look-out. I forwarded her inquiry on to Redtail, as she had requested, but also on to Chicago Kid, whom I knew had been involved.

And Chicago Kid sent this:

I couldn’t find my notes so I’ll just have to wing it.—–We must have partied the night before as I found myself nursing a long neck Budweiser at Pacific Valley bar late morning of July 6th, 1985 when someone came in to report a lightning strike above Gorda. I finished my beer and went South to the Willow Springs Maintenance yard just North of Gorda. I was told Don Harlan had just recently taken off with a dozer and was up on the grassy meadows above Gorda and the Cal Trans yard.  I went and got my motorcycle and came back to the yard and borrowed two radios, two canteens and two large cotton bath towels and drove up to find Don. I knew the road above pretty well as I was mining some Jade up that way at a place we called “Mudbone”. I found Don cutting a line between the fire and the town of Gorda and the Cal-Trans yard. I gave him a radio, some water and a towel and he thanked me. I went up around the flank of the fire to see if I could cut it off before it got into a drainage we locally call Spruce but it is labeled South fork of Willow Creek on the map. With just a wet towel to beat down the flames, I soon lost the battle.

I went back down and got the slip on unit that Pat Chamberlain had loaned to the South Coast, into my 1970 GMC 3/4 ton pick up truck. Weeks earlier a vehicle had gone off Highway One to the West at a place we call Broken Truck. The driver was killed but his vehicle caught on fire. The fire raced up the hillside and although there were several people there, the fire was able to jump the highway to the East and begin its way uphill. It looked pretty darn serious when suddenly a large Borate bomber showed up and dropped its load on the fire East of the highway and knocked it down so it could be mopped up by those who were there. This close call spurred Erik Jensen (a local who had been a fireman in Carmel) and Sandy Sanderson to contact Pat Chamberlain about starting a South Coast branch of Big Sur Fire. Pat liked the idea and sent the slip on unit down for first response and Erik and Sandy got me on board to store it at Gorda where I had a Jade Shop above the gas station.  (To be continued next Saturday, unless…)

 

 

 

Hidden Fire – San Benito Co.

There is a new fire in San Benito County that is 50 acres and traveling in a SW direction reported by BEU (MoCo and SanBenCo CalFire) Here is the approximate location. I will be watching this throughout the day, given the high temps with no cool down at night. It was 92 here last night at 9:30 pm.

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There is also a nightmare of a fire that started this afternoon in SoCal that is spreading rapidly and has closed roads and caused the evacuation of Idyllwild. The IC asked for 10 airtankers. He is getting 1 LAT and one VLAT (914). I mention this because it will be drawing down resources, as this one will go extended based on what I am reading.

Destination Management Plan

People travel for a variety of reasons: to escape, explore, understand, and participate. But at the core of the experience lies the destination — the place that hands something to the traveler to keep forever and share with others. This toolkit helps destinations put in place strategies and programs that will best tell their unique story and become an inviting host for visitors no matter the purpose of their journey.

Destination management organizations (DMO) are often the only advocates for a holistic tourism industry in a place; and in this role they ensure the mitigation of tourism’s negative impacts to the environment and local communities as well as the sharing of opportunities for a vibrant exchange of people. In fact, a DMO may best serve to facilitate dialogue among the private sector, public sector, and other stakeholders that may otherwise never collaborate or understand how their decisions reverberate down a destination’s long tourism value chain.

Because of this unique capability, DMOs prove invaluable for supporting tourism development, especially in developing destinations where tourism is an important economic driver and mechanism for equitable social capacity building.

Developing a DMO iteratively relies on identifying and redefining a destination vision through collaboration. The pages that follow outline how to build a successful DMO to increase visitation while preserving a destination’s assets. Every destination is different, however, so no one volume could ever be a complete resource. The information within hopefully guides the reader to explore more deeply additional interests and seek out examples of innovation by other organizations around the world. (From Unites States Agency International Development, USAID)

(To be continued…)

 

Park It!

Ernest Chung and others have worked tirelessly on this project, and it looks like they have a pilot program! Congratulations!

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As most of you know, Monterey-Salinas Transit has submitted a grant application to the Monterey Bay Air Resources District for the Park It! Point Lobos Area Shuttle.  The shuttle service is a key element of the summer 2019 Demonstration Project.  Other elements of the project include offsite parking north of the Carmel River, a reservation system, and elimination of Highway parking in the vicinity of Point Lobos. We are thankful that MST is leading the effort to provide shuttle service during the demonstration.
 
Park It! is most appreciative of your overwhelming support of the shuttle grant application.  We understand that many of your respective organizations have already expressed your support to the Air Resources District, including:
 
Big Sur Land Trust
Big Sur Marathon Foundation
Carmel Chamber of Commerce 
Carmel Highlands Association
Carmel Meadows Homeowners Association 
Carmel River Watershed Conservancy
Carmel Valley Association 
Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers
Coast Property Owners Association
LandWatch Monterey County
Lobos Ridge Road Association 
Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau
Point Lobos Foundation 
Ventana Wildlife Association
 
We are also deeply grateful to Assemblymember Anna Caballero, Assemblymember Mark Stone, Senator Bill Monning, and Supervisor Mary Adams for their strong support.  You maybe interested in reading their support letters which are attached.  Please thank them, not only for their tremendous support of Park It!, but also their dedication to making our communities better for all of us.
 
To better understand the visitation pattern and numbers to Point Lobos State Reserve, our partner Point Lobos Foundation is commissioning a traffic and visitation study at the park.  The study is scheduled to begin in August.  Data from the study will be used for the planning of offsite parking capacity, requirements for the reservation system, and impact of eliminating parking along the Highway.
 
While we are planning for the demonstration project and what might make sense for subsequent phases, the east side of Highway I around Point Lobos is actually closed to parking during the construction of the Highway 1 Climbing Lane Project.  We have all noticed a distinct improvement in traffic safety, a reduction in parking-related traffic congestion, and better emergency vehicle access to communities south of the park.  It adds to our confidence that the Demonstration Project will work well.  In fact, some of you have suggested maintaining the current “No Parking” zone while we work on a more comprehensive, longer term solution.  We want to hear from you about your experience, and what you think would make good sense in the near and longer terms.
 
We still have much work ahead in order to pull off the demonstration project next summer.  We are only able to continue our progress through the dedicated efforts of a small group of volunteers.  But we can use more help.  If you have expertise in public engagement, project planning and management, and coastal access and land use permitting, would you consider helping us?
 
Our gratitude for your support.