Tourism and recreation – Managing the impacts

Benefits of tourism

The popularity of the New Forest with visitors undoubtedly brings its benefits. With over 15 million people living within 90 minutes of the Park that benefit could be considerable! At present the total spending associated with leisure visits to the New Forest is estimated at around £107.6 million per year. However, taking into account “leakage” from the area the actual amount contributing to the local economy is estimated at £72 million.

The total number of jobs sustained directly and indirectly by visitor activity is estimated as 2,451.

Potential negative impacts

Livestock

Some of the environments of the New Forest such as the lowland heath need grazing and other management (such as periodic burning) in order to maintain their character. Visitor access therefore poses different potential conflicts such as those between landowners, livestock, wildlife and visitors, in particular, problems arise from the feeding and petting of livestock.

Trampling

This is defined as mechanical erosion by foot, horseback or cycle. It can lead to compaction of fragile soils and changes to the nature of vegetation cover. Severely trampled areas can become inaccessible and this further increases the area affected as people seek alternative ways through.

Traffic

The volume of visitors arriving by car (96% of all visitors) means an increase in congestion along main routes. This generates higher levels of air pollution as traffic queues along main roads. An associated issue is that of animal accidents. These are caused when traffic travelling on unfenced roads across the Forest comes into contact with the free roaming livestock. Around 100 animals are killed each year.

Disturbance to wildlife

This is a particular problem from March to July when the Forest is home to a number of ground nesting birds such as the curlew and snipe. During this time there is a potential conflict between visitors and birds, and dog walkers should take care to keep their dogs under close control during this period.

Honeypot sites

These are sites that have very high concentrations and numbers of visitors due to the special nature of what they have to offer. The village of Lyndhurst is a classic honeypot site. For more information see factsheet 4 Lyndhurst: a classic honeypot site.

Increased access to tranquil areas

This could reduce the remoteness and tranquillity of some parts of the National Park.

Camping

This may cause erosion, compaction, changes to microclimates, and alteration to behaviour patterns of commoners stock.

Litter

Although this is not a big problem in certain areas it can be a very visual problem. Litter is not only unsightly but can be harmful to wildlife and could also cause fires.

Forest fires

Careless use of barbecues or dropping cigarettes in the Forest can trigger forest fires. These can have a devastating impact on the habitat concerned not to mention posing a danger to wildlife and humans alike.

Role of the Authority in visitor management

It is not the purpose of the National Park Authority to actively promote tourism. There is, however, a very active New Forest Tourism Association which represents approximately 300 local businesses. The New Forest District Council is responsible for promotion and marketing of tourism and sustainable tourism within the New Forest. The Tourism section actively promotes the ‘VICE’ model which seeks to represent the collective interests of visitors, industry, community and environment.

Like other national parks, the New Forest National Park Authority has two clear purposes:

1. To conserve and enhance the unique environment of the National Park, and in particular the special qualities of its landscape, wildlife and cultural heritage.
2. To encourage everyone to understand and enjoy the National Park’s special qualities, while ensuring that is character is not harmed.

In meeting these purposes it should also support the social and economic wellbeing of local communities in ways that sustain the National Park’s special character.

Sustainable management is, therefore, implicit in the Authority’s work as stated in the purposes above. The key way in which this will be addressed is in partnership with the many organisations already working in the area. The main way in which this joint effort will happen will be worked out through the formulation of two key strategic documents which will be ‘owned’ by all partners:

1. The New Forest National Park Management Plan which is being developed through a full consultation process due to be completed by April 2009.
2. As a key daughter document of the Management Plan, the Recreation Management Strategy (RMS) will look at ways of managing the impact of recreation. The RMS will underpin the Authority’s work related to recreation and visitor management. It is currently being developed through an extensive process of consultation with different groups and should be completed by Autumn 2008.