Lesson video

Hello, geographers.

My name's Mrs. Hormigo.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today.

I hope you're going to enjoy the lesson and learn lots.

Let's get started.

In today's lesson, we're going to look at an example of an upland glaciated environment that's popular with tourists.

So by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to understand the impacts of tourism in Eryri National Park and how this is managed.

There are two key words for today's lesson, national park and sustainable tourism.

A national park is a protected area of natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural importance that's managed to preserve its environment while allowing public access for recreation and education, and sustainable tourism is tourism that considers its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts.

There are three parts to today's lesson.

Why do tourists visit Eryri National Park, what are the impacts of tourism, and how is tourism managed? So let's get started with our first learning cycle.

Eryri is the largest national park in Wales.

It covers an area of over 2,000 kilometres squares in the northwest of Wales, and it's home to the highest mountain, Yr Wyddfa, which is 1,085 metres above sea level and a very popular tourist attraction.

You can see here an image of the summit with over 600,000 people climbing up Yr Wyddfa every year.

But why else do people visit Eryri National Park? The unique natural post-glacial landscapes, the outdoor activities that they can take part in, and historical and cultural attractions.

We'll have a little look at these a little bit later in the lesson.

Before we go any further, let's do a quick check.

Can you identify what these symbols would represent on an OS map? The blue symbols are important for tourist attractions.

Pause the video and come back when you've had a go.

Hopefully you correctly identified A as a caravan or campsite symbol, B as a symbol for a castle, and C a symbol for a picnic site, all important amenities and attractions for tourists visiting an area.

This is an extract from an OS map.

Can you have a look at this and see if you can identify any other tourist attractions that might draw people to Eryri National Park? You can use the key next to it to help you.

Pause the video and have a go.

You might have identified some of these.

We've got nature reserves, youth hostels, caravan and campsites, museums, historic houses, information centres, lots of different things that attract people for many different reasons.

Some images now to support some of this understanding of why people are visiting.

There's Conwy Castle, Ffestiniog Railway, which is a railway built in the 1830s, and it was originally used to transport slate that was quarried in Bethesda down to the Port of Porthmadog to help with the exporting of it.

You've got images here of some of the outdoor activities that you could get involved with, hiking, wild camping, water sports, as well as climbing, and then on the right-hand side, we've got Snowdon Mountain Railway, which allows all people to access the summit of Yr Wyddfa, and below that, the National Slate Museum, which helps people to understand a little bit more about the historical industries from North Wales.

Can you identify now then three reasons, looking at these images, as to why people would visit Eryri National Park? Pause the video and come back when you've had a go.

You may well have identified these correctly.

We've got unique landscapes, for example, Yr Wyddfa, historical and cultural attractions, for example, Ffestiniog Railway or the National Slate Museum, and outdoor activities, for example, water sports, climbing, or hiking.

Well done.

First task for you now.

Use this map to help you explain why a family might want to visit Eryri National Park.

Use the symbols to help you think what would appeal or be useful to a family visiting this area.

Pause the video and come back when you've had a go.

You may have identified some of these things.

A lake for water sports, information centres for help with planning, campsites and hostels, which is affordable family accommodation, castle and museums to learn about the history of the area, and footpaths to help access the unique landscapes, including Yr Wyddfa and Crib Goch.

Well done.

You may have picked some other ideas as well, and it may be that you've visited with your family, or it might be making you want to visit with your family.

Let's move onto our learning cycle two.

What are the impacts of tourism? The permanent population in Eryri National Park is only about 26,000 people while it gets over four million people visiting each year, and this can have positive and negative impacts on the area.

These impacts can be economic, so it has an impact on businesses and employment and investment in the area.

They can be social, affecting people and local communities, and they can be environmental, so the impact that it has on the natural environment.

Let's have a look now in a little bit more detail at the economic impacts.

It can have a positive impact on local businesses, providing support to these businesses and increasing their revenue.

Cafes, hotels, and shops will have a lot more visitors, especially in the gateway villages to the national park, such as Betws y Coed and Capel Curig.

It can increase the land values in key tourist locations, and it's provided 9,000 full-time jobs, which has given the local economy a 385-million-pound boost.

Betws y Coed is seen on this OS map here.

It's a popular gateway village, which makes it an ideal base for tourists to stay in if they're going to explore the national park.

Can you see any attractions on this map that would appeal to tourists? You might want to pause the video and have a little look.

Using the key from earlier in the lesson might be helpful here.

You may be able to see toilets, information centres, campsites, caravan sites, museums, bike hire, footpaths as some of the examples of things that attract tourists.

So Betws y Coed has a range of tourist shops and hotels, and that provides jobs and it supports local people.

However, it may be that some of the businesses are part of larger chains or franchises, which means that they send their profits somewhere else.

Therefore, they don't go back into the community.

So they don't help the local suppliers and local businesses, and they don't provide any support to the local economy.

We've got an example here of a local delicatessen, which is a really positive influence.

It sells food products that are made locally and items that people from local businesses have made or provided.

Social impacts.

Let's have a think about these now.

Tourist developments can cause disruption to local people, causing noise, traffic, and pollution.

In order to support the four million visitors, there need to be a lot more developments to provide accommodation to improve the infrastructure, and that can have an impact on the ways of life of local people and to really disrupt them.

Tourists themselves may be disruptive to local people.

It may be that they are noisy or disrespectful.

They may park in inconvenient places, they may drop litter, and all these can really affect the relationship between tourists and local people.

It can cause property prices to increase.

So as a lot more property becomes used by tourists or even second homes, it puts the prices up, which means that local people may no longer be able to afford to buy property in the area they're from.

The jobs are often seasonal, so they only last for the most popular tourist season, which is likely to be the Easter to summer season, and often, they're not particularly well paid.

A lot of the villages have very small winding roads going through them, and so an increase in the number of cars using them can cause a lot of congestion, a lot of traffic jams, which delays local people that may be moving about or commuting and not involved in the tourist industry.

Llanberis is a village in North Wales.

It's located at the foot of Yr Wyddfa, and it's also a popular starting point for hikers and climbers.

It's got parking and cafes and shops and hotels.

You may be able to identify some of these on this OS map, but this tourism in Llanberis has a number of social impacts.

So we can see that there is a main road that goes through Llanberis, and this image here shows some of the problems that we can see.

You can see a lot of congestion there, a lot of parking along the side of the road, a lot of cars trying to get through the village, and that has a real impact on local people, local businesses, and it's not particularly pleasant for tourists either.

Let's have a quick check now.

What impacts of tourism does this photo of Llanberis High Street how? You may think about the traffic and congestion that we've looked at as well, but can you see any positive impacts as well? So there are jobs created by the local businesses, shops and cafes.

That's a positive impact.

However, there is congestion on the main road running through the village.

Well done.

Let's move now to environmental impacts.

So biodiversity is affected due to visitors.

High numbers of visitors using footpaths and exploring the natural environment will affect species and where they're able to find habitats and food supply.

Footpath erosion on popular mountain footpaths.

Over 600,000 people climbing Yr Wyddfa each year is a huge number of people for those footpaths to cope with, and so erosion will happen.

Tourists may litter.

They may leave behind wrappers whilst they're out enjoying their day in the mountains.

The main honeypot sites can be overrun by tourists.

So we've had a look previously in the lesson of Llanberis and Betws y Coed, two popular gateway villages, and because they're so popular and have so many useful services and amenities for tourists, it attracts a lot of people and that may have a real impact.

They may not be able to support the number of people that are visiting.

Let's have a look at this image then.

This map shows a key footpath up Yr Wyddfa, and we can see here what is happening on these footpaths.

What environmental impact do you think this shows? Hopefully you said footpath erosion on popular routes up Yr Wyddfa.

So task B for you.

Using Eryri National Park as an example, evaluate the impacts of tourism.

Alex has got something useful to share with you.

He's identified that evaluate is an important command word.

So Alex says, "Evaluate.

This command word means I must consider both the positive and negative impacts of tourism," and he's also gone on to say, "I think I should also try to include specific examples from Eryri National Park." Really good advice there from Alex, but carefully at the wording of the question, and make sure you include what is needed to get a good answer.

Pause the video and have a go at writing your response.

Your answer might include something similar to this.

So, "Tourism in Eryri National Park has both positive and negative impacts on the region.

On the positive side, tourism contributes significantly to the local economy.

For example, the Yr Wyddfa Mountain Railway, which takes visitors to the summit of Yr Wyddfa, generates income for the local economy, creating jobs for trained staff, guides, and for those working in nearby hotels and restaurants.

The popularity of places like Llanberis and Betws y Coed boost spending in local shops and accommodations.

This tourism revenue also supports infrastructure improvements, benefiting both visitors and residents.

However, the economic benefits of tourism in Eryri are often seasonal.

Many of the jobs in the region such as those in cafes, hotels, and attractions like the National Slate Museum are only available during the busy summer months.

Tourism also puts pressure on the environment.

Yr Wyddfa and surrounding mountains are very popular.

Over 600,000 people climb Yr Wyddfa each year, and this causes significant erosion and damage to the landscape, particularly on paths like the Llanberis Path.

Pollution, littering, and traffic congestion can further harm natural areas." Can you see now with that answer, we've got specific examples, so names of places and facts and figures to support it, and there's also balance.

We've looked at the positive impacts and the negative impacts.

I'm sure your answer was similar to this, so well done.

Let's move now to learning cycle three.

How is tourism managed? So we know that tourism brings both positive and negative impacts to an area.

Eryri National Park employs 9,000 people, which is worth 385 million to the local economy, a very positive impact.

However, tourism also causes congestion, pollution, and footpath erosion.

So we need to find some kind of balance, and that's where tourism management is so important.

It must be managed so that the positive impacts balance or outweigh the negative impacts.

Let's just check we know what we mean by sustainable tourism.

So sustainable tourism meets the needs of visitors while supporting local communities, benefiting the economy, and protecting the environment.

So it's trying to meet the needs of everybody involved.

Let's have a check.

What does sustainable tourism aim to do? Is it A, increase the number of visitors to a destination regardless of the impacts, is it B, maximise profits for large tourism companies, or is it C, protect the environment, support local communities, and ensure long-term economic benefits? Pause the video and make your decision.

I hope you said C, protect the environment, support local communities, and ensure long-term economic benefits.

The Gwynedd and Eryri Plan was launched in 2023, and it is a way of managing tourism in this region into the future.

It supports sustainable tourism.

So it wants to support local communities, protect the natural environment, and help the local economy to benefit while still celebrating what your area has to offer and encouraging tourists to visit.

It understands the importance of stakeholders working together.

So it understands that people have different viewpoints and different priorities but that everybody needs to work together for sustainable tourism to be successful in this area.

It aims to meet the needs of the local people, the environment, and the tourists, and it wants to protect the unique characteristics of the area.

Eryri National Park also helps to manage the area, protecting the natural beauty and helping tourists understand it and enjoy it, so helping to educate them on the importance of the area.

They try to manage footpaths and bridleways, so preventing erosion and looking after the footpaths for tourists to continue to be able to access them.

It supports conservation projects, trying to boost biodiversity and look after the natural ecosystems, and it supports local communities, trying to allow local people to access affordable housing in the area.

This bus service and the pre-booking system at the car park at Pen y Pass are trying to help reduce congestion in the area.

The bus service links many of the main car parks with popular walking routes up Yr Wyddfa and other mountains.

Gwynedd Council is working with the National Park Authority as well.

They're trying to encourage visitors to visit throughout the year rather than having the peak season to spread visitors out across the months of the year, attracting them for different reasons to the area.

So, for example, you may encourage people who want to enjoy the snow and the ice conditions in the winter as well as the sun and sunshine in the summer, and then we have rainy autumn and spring days.

It's also trying to support local businesses and also encourage conservation efforts.

Wales is also introducing a tourist tax.

So this will begin in 2027, and tourists that are using local hotels, B&Bs accommodation will be required to pay one pound 25 for every night that they stay.

This revenue will then be reinvested to support the Welsh culture and further support tourism in the area.

A quick check for you now.

How does the Sherpa'r Wyddfa support sustainable tourism? Does it A, reduce congestion, does it B, support conservation projects, or C, provide local jobs? Pause the video and make your decision.

Hopefully you chose these two.

It reduces congestion by providing a way of linking the main car parks to the popular mountain routes and also it provides local jobs, people to drive, maintain, look after the buses, and perhaps provide guides as well.

True or false for you as well.

Only the environmental impact of tourism has been considered in Eryri National Park.

Think carefully back through what we've been talking about to make your decision and give a reason why.

Hopefully you said false, and your reasons may have been similar to this.

"The local community and economy have also been considered.

They are trying to encourage year-round tourism, supporting local businesses and providing more stable income for local people." Well done.

Task C for you now.

How has tourism been managed in Eryri National Park to become more sustainable? Can you complete the table below with specific examples? Remember to include the names of places and facts and figures to back up your points.

The table includes the key ideas of sustainable tourism, supporting local communities, benefiting the economy, and protecting the environment.

Pause the video and have a go at filling out your table.

Come back when you're ready.

Your table might have included some of these examples as well.

For supporting local communities, you may have put pre-booked parking at Pen y Pass and Sherpa'r Wyddfa for bus service to reduce the congestion through the villages for locals, providing affordable housing for local people.

To benefit the economy, you may have chosen year-round tourism to create more permanent jobs and a tourist tax that is reinvested into local businesses.

Protecting the environment.

National Park Authority maintains the footpaths, and conservation projects are set up.

Well done if your answer was similar to this.

Let's look now at the summary of today's lesson.

Tourist visit Eryri National Park for the beautiful and unique glaciated landscape.

Tourism has social, economic, and environmental impacts, and these impacts are both positive and negative.

Sustainable tourism considers both its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts.

Eryri National Park has a sustainable management plan that aims to balance the needs of the local community, the environment, and tourism.

It recognises the importance of different stakeholders working together.

Well done.

You've worked really hard today.

I hope you now feel confident to talk about an example of tourism in a glaciated upland area using Eryri National Park in Northwest Wales as your example.

Well done, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.