27 - 28 May 2024 | Sustainable Tourism Mobility Forum

9.00 - 10.00 | Registration, coffee and a word of welcome by Jorrit Snijder (President of the Executive Board, BUas)

10.00 - 12.00 | Long-haul tourism mobility

About this session

In this session we delve into the realities and challenges of decarbonizing the aviation industry and its profound impacts on tourism in the face of climate change. We explore the prerequisites to unlock the full potential of rail and coach transport for tourism, and how to make them viable and efficient modes for European travel. Together, we discover the strategies and considerations necessary to realize sustainable development of the tourism industry towards a greener and more resilient future. 

Moderator

Robert Thaler, Senior Sustainable Mobility Advisor, Initiator of THE PEP Partnership on Sustainable Tourism Mobility & Austrian klimaaktivmobil programme

Stakeholder dialogue panel

• Floor Bregman, Sustainability manager, Corendon
• Elmer van Buuren, CEO, European Sleeper 
• Paul Peeters, Distinguished Professor Sustainable Tourism Transport, BUas  
• Petrouschka Werther, Director Sustainable Mobility, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management
• Mark Mallants, Co-Director, Benerail 

Project pitches 

• Climate risks for Dutch outbound tour operators
  Cheryl van Adrichem, PhD candidate Wageningen University
• Developments and perspectives of the Dutch touring car sector
  Maria Rodrigues, Senior Project manager transport and mobility, Panteia

12.00 - 13.00 | Lunch 

13.00 - 15.00 | Local tourism mobility

About this session

We delve into the pivotal role of consumers in shaping the evolving landscape of sustainable tourism mobility needs and a transition towards sustainable urban mobility. We scrutinize the responsibilities and necessary actions from various tourism mobility stakeholders and review the dependence of local tourism and leisure on car transport. We explore how to pave the way forward by seamlessly integrating rail, public transport, walking, cycling, and electromobility into the local tourism mobility offering and wider urban and rural mobility planning.

Moderator

Françoise Guaspare, responsible for the European policies on Sustainable tourism mobility, Ile de France region

Stakeholder dialogue 

• Carolien de Groot, Senior Policy officer sustainable mobility, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management 
• Thijs de Groot, Program Manager Destination Development, Netherlands board of tourism & conventions (NBTC)
• Eric Caspers, Strategic Advisor, Municipality Schouwen-Duiveland
• Mike Pinckaers, Advisor Public Affairs, ANWB 
• Bente Grimm, Head of Tourism mobility research, New Insights for Tourism (NIT) 

Project pitches 

• Modal shift, routing and nudging solutions in Nature areas for sustainable tourism
  Sterre Sparreboom, Project Officer Sustainable Mobility, Nationaal Park Utrechtse Heuvelrug
• Bed and Bike, Noëlle Verhage & Keisa Meyjes, HZ University of Applied Sciences

15.00 - 15.30 | Coffee break

15.30 - 16.15 | Business mobility

About this session

In this session, we break down the barriers between business travel and leisure tourism by identifying current shared challenges and opportunities, as well as opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration between these traditionally distinct realms.  We use the film and media industry as a compelling case study to delve into the possibilities offered by modern technology to reduce carbon emissions associated with business travel. 

We discuss an inspiring story from the Travel Smart Campaign that has successfully brought the impact of corporate travel and long-haul flying into the public sphere. By setting benchmarks on company travel emissions and promoting transparency, the campaign incentivizes change and provides a roadmap for tracking progress. 
 

• Sustainable travel for film productions: use of digital technologies to reduce the business travel
  Carlos Pereira Santos, Research & Design Coordinator, BUas 
• Travel Smart Campaign
  Erin Vera, Campaigner, Transport and Environment

16.15– 16.30 | Conclusion, Bert van Wee, Professor Transport Policy, TU Delft  

16.30 - 17.30 | Network drinks

9:00 hrs - 12:00 hrs: Three thematic workshops, following the Sustainable Tourism Mobility Forum and diving into the specific topics of tourism transport.

Workshop 1: Coach and the City: The place of coaches in transport and tourism

Hosted by: POLIS Network and Breda University of Applied Sciences 

Long-haul and local coaches for tourism raise challenges and opportunities linked to transport infrastructure, sustainability, air quality, accessibility and inclusivity, space usage, congestion and safety for coach passengers and residents living in tourism cities. This has been on the agenda of 
associations, with for example POLIS and IRU’s pledge.

Collaborative eƯorts between cities and coach operators are required to achieve environmental and operational targets at the city, national and European levels. This workshop will explore solutions to enhance the place of coaches in the tourism and transport systems through improved coordination, integration of coaches, regulations, assessments and consultations, technology enhancements, communication, and more. 

Agenda

• Introduction: Suzanne Hoadley (IRU), Ivo Cré (POLIS) 
• Coach access and driver’s information in Pisa (PISAMO) 
• Knowledge gaps deriving from the study on Coach in the Netherlands (Panteia) 
• In-depth session and discussion: 
  Defining the ‘coach curriculum’ – defining knowledge that can inform cities and coach operators to optimise the use of coaches in the urban context: covering such areas as: people (passengers and drivers); services; vehicles; traƯic and integrational issues. Defining actions that can help to deploy common tools and approaches in view of coach tourism in European cities (e.g. EIT UM training course). 
• Summary of results and next steps: an initial summary will be made by Suzanne Hoadley and Ivo Cré at the end of the meeting. A written summary will be prepared by POLIS. 
   

Workshop 2: Planning for sustainable mobility at tourist destinations

Hosted by: POLIS Network and MONA project.

Accessibility is one of the most critical variables in the planning of tourism development in nature destinations. With increasing number of visitors, intensified by COVID-19, it increases the pressure on nature, negative environmental impact, and nuisance for residents (locals) and visitors. Improved 
accessibility leads to changes in visitor behavior so accessibility improvements to protected natural areas should be planned in line with the goals of nature conservation and tourism development. 

Increase of sustainable mobility alternatives to car-centric accessibility should be in focus of nature tourism management. MONA project (Modal shift, routing, and nudging solutions in nature areas for sustainable tourism, Interreg) aims to stimulate sustainable tourism in and around nature areas 
aiming that it benefits nature, the environment, visitors, and the local economy. 

This workshop aims to discuss solutions on the uptake of sustainable transport modes like rail, shared mobility, electric car usage in peri-urban and rural areas, discussing inclusive routing strategies to and within nature areas, and nudging visitors and stakeholders towards more sustainable 
behavior. 

Agenda

• Introduction: Fanny Boccioli (Polis) 
• Modal shift in nature areas for sustainable tourism, Fabio Tat (Visit Brabant) 
• Routing pilots in nature areas for sustainable tourism, Martijn Mur 
  (Natuurmonumenten/Veluwezoom) 
• Nudging for sustainable mobility behaviour in nature areas for sustainable tourism, Caroline 
  Schuhmacher (Tourismus Zentrale Saarland) 
• Sustainable and resilient mobility connections between rural areas, within remote and between 
  remote rural areas and urban areas, taking into account the need to support ecotourism, André 
  Freitas, TIS, SMARTA – NET (TBC) 
• In-depth session and discussion on what works and not in planning for sustainable mobility in 
  tourism destinations. 
• Summary of results and next steps: Fanny Boccioli (Polis)

Workshop 3: Recreational cycling: opportunities and challenges 

Hosted by: BUas Cycling Lab and Greengage project. 

To increase the sustainability of movements throughout North Brabant and to increase the health of its residents, the Province of North Brabant aims at increasing the number of kilometers biked in the province. Understanding the link between recreative cycling routes and larger touristic destinations, as well as exploring the characteristics that make for an appealing route help increasing the attraction of the specific cycling route. To increase the appeal of these routes, to inventory their (international existence) and to identify metrics of quality, this session will do a deep dive into the considerations around recreational biking. This workshop will discuss the barriers and motivators for recreational cycling, identify deterrents and attractors per route, and discuss the policy decisions behind their design. 

The BUas Cycling Lab is a collection of sessions that aim to facilitate the use of the bike, in whatever way possible, addressing the obstacles and motivations of bike use and provide solutions or enhancements. BUas Cycling Lab is organized in the framework of the Greengage project (Engaging citizens and mobilizing technology, delivering the Green Deal; Horizon Europe). 

Agenda 

• Introduction : Sjors Martens (BUas) 
• Storytelling Bike Routes (Juriaan van Waalwijk – Visit Brabant) 
• Monitoring recreational biking (Joost de Kruijf – Dutch Cycling Intelligence) 

• In-depth session and discussion: 
  
  Assessment of cycling routes 
  To see what makes a bike route appealing or no, regardless of weather or distance, requires a scrutiny of its evaluation metrics. Although some criteria already exist, participants are asked to assess existing bike routes and identify missing criteria. To this end, a photographic survey of bike routes is presented, training participants in the assessments of bike paths and discussing motivating elements as well as obstacles. 

  Development of an assessment tool 
  Subsequently, participants are invited to co-create an assessment tool for recreational routes that allows them to assess their own preferences and tailor bike routes to their own profile. The assessment tool is equipped with photographic examples of standardised criteria.

• Summary and operationalisation of the assessment tool:
  In this closing section, participants are provided with the assessment tool in order to go out and gather data. This is facilitated by an overview of bikeable routes in the vicinity.