Apart from the specific comment given under the various headings, a number of general conclusions about tourism demand can be made.

 

a) There is a substantial demand in the South East for tourism products that is being fulfilled. However the data given represents the present situation and does not provide an indication of latent untapped potential for tourism, both day tripping and overnight. Further development of the Sussex Downs "product" could well trigger the conversion of that latent demand into real trips.

 

b) There are three major sources of visitors to the Downland. These are: firstly, local residents taking short trips, secondly, distant residents taking day trips or short stay visits to the area and including a Downland visit, and lastly longer stay tourists, both from the UK and abroad, visiting the Downs on a day trip basis. The boundaries between each category are difficult to define as each merges into the other. The lack of data specifically on South Downs visitors renders the precise demand and its origins difficult even to guess with any degree of confidence from the pre-existing data as identified.

 

c) Comparison between the more general data and the Downland surveys of visitors suggests that Downland visitors have a distinct profile. Further investigation is required to explore that profile in detail.

 

d) The characteristics of visitors change appreciably from location to location. Applying this to the Downland, the need for Downland specific visitor data is apparent but a large sample would be required in order to identify a typical Downland user. Such a survey would in turn enable cluster techniques to be adopted to the data in order to ascertain distinct visitor types, without loosing the reliability of sub samples.

 

e) There has been little qualitative or quantitative research carried out into visitor attitudes and motivations in the south east and Sussex in particular.

 

These conclusions lead to the identification of a clear need for both quantitative and qualitative studies of Downland Visitors. This need is addressed in the next chapter. From the findings of the Visitor Survey it will be shown that much of the above data is misleading if applied to the Downland, thereby endorsing the decision to pursue original research for the study area.

 

 

Footnotes:

[1] BTA/ETB, 1992, Regional Tourism Facts South East England, CS974, SEETB, Tunbridge Wells.

[2] see report (9), p67.

[3] SEETB, 1991, South East First, A stategy for tourism in South East England.

[4] SEETB, 1990, West Sussex, East Sussex, Tourism Fact Sheets.

[5] WSCC. 1986,

[6] Standeven J. Clarke R. Larner S. 1994, West Sussex Visitor Survey, report prepared for WSCC, Leisure Research Unit, University of Brighton.

[7] ESCC. 1992, Exploring Sussex Guided Walks and Rides Programme.

[8] Sports Council, 1986, "Outdoor Recreation", from Digest of Statistics, No.7.

[9] Department of City and Regional Planning, 1994, Countryside Recreation Network News,  Univ. Wales College of Cardiff, Vol.2. No.1. Feb.

[10] WSCC. 1992, Standard Visitor Surveys - South Downs Way 1 & 2.

[11] Willis K G. Garrod G D, & Saunders C M. 1993, Valuation of the South Downs and Somerset Levels and Moors ESA Landscapes by the General Public, University of Newcastle, Centre for Rural Economy, Executive Summary and Main Report.

[12] ESCC. 1993, Tourism Survey Locations Report, Tourism Officers of East Sussex.

[13] Clarke R. Lawrence L. Parker S & Tomlinson A. 1993/4, Final Report on Recreational Use (Summer 1993) of the Heritage Coast (East Sussex), Leisure Research Unit, University of Brighton.

[14] Standeven J. Clarke R. & Larner S. 1994, Sussex Downland Visitor Survey, report prepared in conjuction with University of Sussex for SDCB, Leisure Research Unit, University of Brighton.

[15] see report (4), p5.

[16] see report (4), p19.

[17] see report (4), p11.