The project stimulates economic development of rural areas based on the environmental distinctiveness of the regions. Main method is the use of a ?virtuous spiral? concept, which uses four activity areas (new tourism offers, marketing and sales, maximizing special regional qualities and linking environmental and economic activity) to promote environment based economic activity.

The BESST project will link together environmental management and economic development by creating a 'virtuous spiral?, so that the ?virtuous circle? of sustainability, the approach progressively reinforces over time. Having chosen tourism as the key linking theme, the project aims at new ways and solutions on the basis of local environmental qualities. A wide variety of rural businesses shall be engaged to develop new, distinctive 'tourism offers'. This shall encourage involvement in environmental issues, and create new markets for rural products, multiplied by returning tourists. The project also aims at transferring the methodology to other/different circumstances, rural areas and policy makers and national institutions by means of ?BESST Practice guides?.

Expected Outcomes

Besides the mentioned guides also trainings, markets and fairs will be organised. Clear business benefits are to be located on the basis of new marketing and sales techniques, appropriate to the small business character of the local economy. A wide variety of public sector / private sector partnerships focusing particularly on small and micro businesses is intended. Background will be the forming of new linkages between different sectors of the local economy based on pride in the distinctive environment. Also envisioned: The development of new and more sophisticated tourism packages.

Activities

There will be four main types of activity and four technical components of the BESST project, the types being: Exchanges of experience and inventories, new ways of working to common principles but with detailed variation to suit local circumstances, joint activities, carried out for the benefit of all three areas simultaneously and BESST Practice Guides recording successes and failures based on our experience. The components include 1. Developing and promoting new tourism offers based on the environmental qualities of the area with examples like ?Learning Tourism? and ?Activity Tourism?; 2. Developing and testing new marketing and sales techniques such as events, promotional materials and booking systems, appropriate to the small business character of the areas; 3. Maximizing ?What is Special? in the individual areas, focusing particularly on local foods, local crafts and other local specialties that will, individually and collectively, create a special holiday experience for the visitor; 4. Creating links between environmental conservation and economic development, e.g. by restoration of traditional buildings for tourism projects.

Reported Outcomes

Improving the local economy cannot only be achieved through the establishment of new infrastructure but also through building up confidence and co-operation between different stakeholders. BESST has established such a network of local entrepreneurs and stakeholders. Through co-operation, at least 30 new tourist activities in the participating regions have been developed for implementation in 2006. In the Peak District the main activity has focused on the completion o the Trails Triangle project. This involves the creation of a new 18 km cycle route to connect the existing Tissington and High Peak Trails to each other and to the existing cycle route around Carsington Water. This will create a completely new 45 km circuit (or 'Triangle'). In Fyresdal the main effort has been to consolidate the newly formed BESST business group and to work with them to generate additional customers. In Hylte a major achievement has been the production of the publication 'In the Wake of Ebbe Skammelson'. Ebbe is a legendary viking warrior featuring in a folk tale of love, betrayal and remorse whose story is set around Lakes Bolmen and Unnen. The new publication is a folder of 15 different leaflets featuring sites of wildlife or historic interest around the lakes. 24,000 copies have been produced in Swedish, German and English. In addition, the effect on businesses has been far greater than the Lead Partner could have anticipated. Businesses are now far more self-confident and are taking on new ideas, particularly as a result of BESST's Business Exchange Programme. As a result of the BESST project there are now 37 new offers available from businesses from the three partner areas. Another effect of the BESST project has been the actual value of all the BESST Development Fund projects is far greater than the BESST budget allocations. Finally, there are a number of projects inspired by BESST but not funded by BESST at all. This is most pronounced in Fyresdal where the new dairy, new abattoir/butchery and participation in the Authentic Norway Initiative have all generated as a direct result of the project. BESST has thus attracted national interest as a potential model for rural development applying sustainable development principles in Norway. A press release on the project as a whole was issued in July 2006 aimed at the international tourism journalists. This resulted in strong interests from 'the Times' in England, which featured several BESST offers in an article on 12th of May 2007.