Analysis of the Eden Project: Sustainability, PEST and Tourism Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of the Eden Project, a prominent tourist attraction in Cornwall, England. It begins with an overview of the project, highlighting its unique botanical gardens and its mission to address environmental exploitation. The report then examines the project's sustainability initiatives, including its partnership with Planet Mark and its efforts to promote sustainable business practices. A key component of the report is a PEST analysis, which assesses the political, economic, social, and technological factors influencing the Eden Project. The political analysis considers the impact of Brexit and government policies. The economic section explores the project's contribution to the UK economy and the effects of recession. The social factors delve into changing demographics and societal attitudes towards sustainability. Finally, the technological analysis examines how technology enhances the project's operations, including customer relationship management and sustainable resource management. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and their implications for the Eden Project's future.

Hospitality, Tourism
and Events
Environment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................1
Overview of Eden Project as an attraction..................................................................................1
The way Eden project is improving their sustainability..............................................................2
Situational analysis (PEST analysis)...........................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality and tourism are the crucial sectors and carry a significant impact on economy
of a country. Hospitality sector aims to entertain and accommodate guests who visits the
country. The efforts of these industries are aimed to provide leisure services to guests. The main
areas which are undertaken in this domain are accommodations, business and leisure events as
well as dining facilities (Åkerlund and Müller, 2012). The attraction of country plays a major
role in development of these sectors. The Eden project in Carnell, England is a popular tourist
destination. In this assignment, a brief analysis of the attraction will be done along with manner
in which they are improving sustainability in operations. PEST is conducted in context of this
project to identify the influence of forces on attraction.
TASK
Overview of Eden Project as an attraction
Eden project is a favourite tourist attraction in Cornwall. It consists of distinct plants
which are gathered from various environments. This multiple green house complex consists of
various domes which encompasses thousands of species which are on the verge of existence. The
project was undertaken 15 years ago and converted a pit into a biotic community. There is a
botanical garden which experiences n number of tourists and scholars on a regular basis. This
project was initiated to overcome the exploitation of natural resources being done by human
beings (Chen, 2011). Dedication of builders is to be appreciated for the handwork they did in the
project. This project has successfully catered needs of its developers and encouraged them to
take such programmes in the future as well. The presence of Eden project is not sufficient to
counter with existing environmental problems but certainly plays a crucial role.
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(Source: The Eden Project, 2017)
The way Eden project is improving their sustainability
The Eden project is a venture which helps in raising concerns of present measures of
business so that sustainable means can be developed. The collection of plants helps in forming
contemporary garden which has become extinct these days. It helps the connection between
human beings with other living creatures and creates a sustainable future.
Eden project has entered in an agreement with planet first to introduce “The planet
mark”. Both these organisations play a crucial role in spreading awareness about sustainability
and assisting business organisation in adopting sustainable means of carrying out operations. The
organisation adhering to sustainable measures will be awarded with Planet mark certification.
The efforts are aimed to make organisations opt for sustainable means and engaging employees
in the effort to maximise its impact (Ferdinand and Kitchin, 2012).
A business organisation that is certified with Planet Mark has made certain improvements
on the manner in which environmental, social and economic factors are employed in business. A
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Illustration 1: The Eden Project

certified member is persuaded to support the Eden project. The environmental consultancy
promotes marketing communication of organisation by informing people about their efforts
towards sustainability. Employee’s engagement plays a vital role in the reduction of costs,
energy and wastage of water along with carbon emissions. The conditions which are to be
fulfilled by an organisation to achieve The Planet Mark are:
 Making improvements on environmental and social performance of an enterprise.
 Employee engagement, engaged stakeholders and measures to be undertaken for global
community.
 Adherence to legislation and protocols in context of an organisation.
Situational analysis (PEST analysis)
It is necessary to conduct an analysis of the external environment so that a better
understanding can be ascertained (Goeldner and Ritchie, 2012). Environmental projects such as
Eden are also influenced by the factors which surround it. This analysis will help in identifying
the key opportunities and threats which lie in market for this project. PEST analysis is a major
tool which is used to conduct the analysis of external environment. It helps in ascertaining the
current situation of macro environment factors so that they will be helpful in formulating
strategies in future. The current circumstances of market can be identified along with major
threats and potentials. The important elements of PEST are:
Political Stability: This factor has taken into consideration the forces in political
environment of an organisation. The government is continuously taking up measures to improve
the situation and provide a stable environment for organisation to operate (Mair and Laing,
2013). Country has been hit by recession in the worst manner and efforts of the government are
aiming to get the country out of that particular circumstance. Recent exit of the United Kingdom
from the European Union has added fuel to the fire. The country has reached to such a vulnerable
stage that it can now be termed as an unstable economy. The Cornwall is expecting a loss of
income due to Brexit. European Union was one of the major beneficiaries of business. There can
be minimal impact on the tourism sector in country. There can be seen a decline of around 6% in
tourists visiting the country. Labour party of county is seen to be weaker than political parties in
rest of the country. It is a known fact that dreams cost money and that too a lot of it. The major
organisation which has funded Eden project are big lottery fund, local government, communities
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and Renault. There has been a funding of 26 million euros from the European Union which will
be impacted diversely from country exiting the same.
Economic Factors: The Eden project constituted as a crucial part of economy of United
Kingdom. The operations are carried out in 2001 and have been able to affect the economy in an
ideal manner. It is termed as a major tourist attraction for the country. In the year 2014, Cornwall
suffered a tough time in coping up with the losses incurred. There has been a decline of nearly
1.6 million tourists during that time. This tourist destination attracted over 1.2 million travellers
in the region. The concept which is undertaken is that they are focused on regenerating
operations which are carried out in the economy in a sustainable manner. There have been a
significant increase in the funds from 80 to 121.5 million euros. The organisation has formulated
a decision to ascertain the amount of success which is garnered through two greenhouses before
building a third one.
The economy has been suffering through recession and there is a significant decline in
the disposable income of consumers. The Cornwall is available to organise events such as
marriages and venue hire. This award winning architecture is one of the best places to host
wedding and Christmas parties. It is a perfect place to organise such events and locally sourced
which gives a boost to the local businesses of Cornwall. There is no denying in the fact that
economic factors of macro environment play a crucial role in determination of spending
behaviour of an individual (Nickson, 2013). The market is on its way to recovery and therefore,
people possess now a better spending behaviour compared to time when country was suffering
from recession. This project have been successful in providing employment opportunities to
more than 400 people and has volunteers amounts around 300. this helps in raising standard of
the county which have been suffering ever since their establishment. There are major
opportunities which lies for this project on the financial grounds as more and more organisation
are aiming to be a part of something more accomplished. It has been able to uplift the Cornish
economy through providing employment through tourism businesses.
Social factors: Social factors takes into consideration the society in which operations are
carried out. It is crucial to understand these factors so that ideal assessment of the environment is
to be carried out. There are variety of changes in the patterns and trends in demographic which
are crucial to be determined by a business (Sampaio, Thomas and Font, 2012). It undertakes a
summation of the attitude, beliefs and practices in the business environment. The society which
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surrounds a business is known to be external social environment of an business corporation. It is
essential for a businesses to match steps with the external social surroundings so that it is able to
carry out its operations for a wider period. The outlook of society is changing towards the way
operations of these organisation have been carried out and have preferred sustainable means and
efforts are aimed to minimize energy conservation. The changes in the global climate are taken
very seriously by people and changes in patterns of society.
The adoption of sustainable means and resources which can be replenished. It is done by
organisation to prove their concern for the environment and communities which revolves around
it. It carry a lot of impact on the manner in which people's attitude and buying preferences
change. Residents in the country now prefer Hybrid cars over diesel motors. The changes comes
with a price and a business may not able to successfully transit from one place to another. The
Eden project resides in Cornwall which carries a estimate population of 549,000. there can be
changes seen in the demographics of the area. There is a trend that people are migrating out of
the country for better opportunities in working sector. Due to these reason people residing in the
area are mostly of older generation. The income of these people is considered to be worst in the
whole country. The earning are less by 25% when compared with rest of the country. Car theft is
a major crime which takes place in county. These changes will carry a transformative changes in
society. The changes are expected to be a lot when it comes to diversity within a country. The
increase in number of population will carry a positive impact on Eden as it will be able to attain
more visitors (Yeoman and et al., 2012). The maximum number of population in Britain come in
the age group of 15-64 which is a suitable age for people visiting the projects. The trends are
such that English spoken people are increasing in a significant manner which reduces the scope
of communication barrier.
Technological Factors: it is the most crucial factor which influence functioning of a
corporation. The advance of technology helps in automation of business which helps in
improving efficiency and effectiveness of operations. The internet is one of the most crucial
components which is helpful in communication and spreading awareness in an cost effective
manner (Zaei and Zaei, 2013). Internet have helped in identifying areas which are beneficial for
business and to develop a thorough understanding of the circumstances. This technological
revolution have helped people migrate from one country to another. The mobility is now
available at cheaper price which increase number of migrants to the country therefore carrying a
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positive impact on the number of visitors to the Eden. Discovering job opportunities have been
made easier with the adoption of technology in a country.
Eden projects have adopted application of Customer relation management which
enhances scope of of technology in providing sustainable means. The application of
technological have resulted in beneficial for the organisation as it provides marketing over the
online platforms and CRM activities. The green 4 technology is adopted to improve CRM
capabilities of this organisation. These tactics will help a business to improve their
communication as well as their sales. There is a food waste disposable technology is also tested
under this project so that it can be used for sustainable means. The sustainable tools of
technology is adopted by the projects to reduce consumption of energy and non renewable
resources. Therefore undertaking such factors will help in understanding through external
technological environment of a business. Technology plays a crucial role in determining
alternate and better ways to complete a task. This external environment factor can be utilised by
an organisation to carry out its operation in manner that it does not harm the environment. It can
be ascertained that technology is beneficial for this organisation and impacts their businesses in
an positive manner. The awareness about this initiative will see and improvement and there will
be a substantive increase in the number of visitors.
The assessment of the external environmental factors helps a corporation in making
policies so that favourable outcomes can be attained (Ziakas and Costa, 2011). The scenario in
the operating nation is thoroughly analysed and forecast of this project have been carried out.
The country exiting from European union turned out to be a major drawback for this corporation.
But the factors such as social and technological came out to be really supportive to organisation
are help in making people aware about adopting sustainable means and minimizing of
consumption of energy. The economic situation is not very favourable but there are signs of
improvement.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that The Eden projects are biggest sustainable
project undertaken in England. It is an summation of hard work, ambition and dedication which
have resulted turning a pit into a treasure for the country. The project is prone to various
environmental influences such as political, economic, social and technological. The analysis of
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external environment results in challenges which are faced by this on grounds of political
instability of a country. The financial grounds of this corporation stands firms and it is able to be
more financially stable and sustainable.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Åkerlund, U. and Müller, D. K., 2012. Implementing tourism events: the discourses of Umeå's
Bid for European capital of culture 2014. Scandinavian journal of hospitality and
tourism. 12(2), pp.164-180.
Chen, S. C., 2011, April. Residents’ perceptions of the impact of major annual tourism events in
Macao: Cluster analysis. In Journal of Convention & Event Tourism (Vol. 12, No. 2, pp.
106-128). Taylor & Francis Group.
Ferdinand, N. and Kitchin, P., 2012. Events management: an international approach. Sage.
Goeldner, C.R. and Ritchie, J.B., 2012. Tourism: principles, practices, philosophies (No. Ed.
12). John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Hall, C. M. and Page, S. J., 2014. The geography of tourism and recreation: Environment, place
and space. Routledge.
Mair, J. and Laing, J. H., 2013. Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: the role of
sustainability-focused events. Journal of sustainable tourism. 21(8), pp.1113-1128.
Nickson, D., 2013. Human resource management for hospitality, tourism and events. Routledge.
Sampaio, A. R., Thomas, R. and Font, X., 2012. Small business management and environmental
engagement. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 20(2), pp.179-193.
Yeoman, I. And et al., 2012. Festival and events management. Routledge.
Zaei, M.E. and Zaei, M.E., 2013. The impacts of tourism industry on host community. European
journal of tourism hospitality and research. 1(2), pp.12-21.
Ziakas, V. and Costa, C. A., 2011. The use of an event portfolio in regional community and
tourism development: Creating synergy between sport and cultural events. Journal of
Sport & Tourism. 16(2), pp.149-175.
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