The 12th of August proved 'glorious' for the Cairngorms National Park with the awarding of the prestigious European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.  The Cairngorms National Park, which is only two years old, is the first UK national park to gain the accolade.

The European Chater for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas is only awarded to European areas which meet the highest of standards for the sustainable development and management of tourism.

The new status will be presented to representatives of the Cairngorms National Park Authoirty (CNPA) by the Europarc Federation, an umbrella organisation of over 500 protected areas across 37 countries.  The official signing of the Charter certificate will take place at the Europarc conference in Holland in September 2005.

In May, an inspector from Europarc visited the Cairngorms to meet with a variety of organisations and individuals involved in tourism ranging from accommodation providers to visitor attractions.

Convener of the CNPA Andrew Thin said: "The assessor from Europarc...has clearly formed an excellent impression of how everyone, from small businesses to large organisations, are fully committed to sustainable tourism."

The CNPA's Tourism and Economic Development Manager, Debbie Strang, added: "With tourism being a key economic driver in the Cairngorms, it is important that future development and growth is managed reponsibly to ensure that the special qualities of the park are preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.  Our submission to Europarc was made on the basis of a strategy that outlines a range of priorities for action including environment management and conservation; information and interpretation; visitor management; partnership working and community involvement.

"In a survey of tourism businesses last year, 71 per cent of businesses said that their top priorities for managing and promoting tourism in the Cairngorms are to conserve the area's landscape and wildlife, to encourage visitors to conserve the area's landscape and wildlife and to promote good customer service.  What the Charter means for tourism businesses in the Park is that, with the commitment from all those involved in tourism, we can protect and enhance what attracts people here and thereby increase tourism value to the area."

In addition to the final recommendation, the Europarc assessor provided the CNPA with constructive feedback and advice including the continued involvememnt of local community and conservation interest in the delivery of sustainable tourism.  It was also noted that it is still early days for the Park Authority and that a review in five years time will assess exactly what achievements have been made.

Tourism businesses and other interested groups should have received a copy of 'Tourism in the national Park', a booklet outlining the Park Authority's work to date relating to sustainable tourism and the actions for the future that are required from enterprises in the Park and all partners to ensure that the Charter is retained.

For more information or to request a copy of the booklet:

• Call 01479 873535
• Email enquiries@cairngorms.co.uk
• www.cairngorms.co.uk