2.2 Actors, technologies and interests

To come up with a suitable solution for what we are trying to achieve, first the actors, technologies, interests, organizations and industries are analyzed. Most likely there will be relations between these aspects, so also these relations should be looked at.

Actors

For this problem there are a couple of main actors involved: Texelaars, tourists, hospitality industry and the knowledge institutes on Texel.

1. Inhabitants of Texel

The inhabitants of Texel live on Texel and are there to stay. So they will be the ones living with the solution an probably running it, if necessary. The inhabitants are a decisive stakeholder and factor, since any change must be accepted if it is have a future.  

2. Tourists going to Texel

The tourists are the ones tot visit the island and a major target. Tourism stimulates local economy, but at what costs? A research on why people visit Texel shows that more elderly tourists visit the island than younger tourists. There are different reasons to visit Texel [2], including:

-A lot of walking and cycling opportunities

-A lot of nature

-There are a lot of activities on Texel

-The tranquility

There are, however, also reasons why one would not visit Texel. However, the reasons to visit the island outweigh by far the reasons to not visit Texel. The most common reasons for this seem to be:

-Youth nuisance

-Only accessible by ferry

-Busy and touristic

3. Entrepreneurs on Texel

With the entrepreneurs, the owners of businesses within the leisure business are understood. They are part of the industry which attracts tourists and are an important hub. Businesses especially targeted at tourism can be split in nightlife [3], (water) sports [4], restaurants, sightseeing [5][6], shops and tourist accommodations. Most businesses are focusing on the tourism as their main customers and obviously there are a lot of entrepreneurs on the island.

For entrepreneurs on Texel there's a platform: TOP [7] . This organisation represents the interests of Texel enterprises on a local level. This is a non-profit and independent organisation which informs the entrepreneurs and is a first contact for government and social organizations.

Other organisations are Recron (Association of recreation entrepreneurs Netherlands) and more locally foundation Duurzaam Texel ("Sustainable Texel"), which initiates and stimulates activities for a sustainable Texel and have some financial means for this.

4. Local knowledge institutes

With the local knowledge are understood institutes like NIOZ, the Wadden Academy or the Marine Innovation Centre (ECN). These institutes hold knowledge and do research, which will be important if Texel is to be a knowledge island. Transferring this knowledge will be a challenge and will most likely be combined with the leisure activities on the island.

5. Government

Obviously, the politics also is a major actor. For this there are several levels of government. First is the local politics: the municipality of Texel. Changes on the island should always comply with the policy of the local public.[1] One scale larger is the province; Noord-Holland. The focus for this is mostly financial. Next is the central (national) government of the Netherlands (the State), which seats in The Hague. From The Hague come laws and regulations. Even larger is the European Union. The EU has a lot of regulations in a variety of area's. 

sometimes different laws or regulations give comply with each other. In this, rare, case the order to follow which rule or law is as follows: European law > National law > regional/local regulations. 

Technologies

While leisure isn't the first thing which comes to mind when thinking of new technologies, there are some breakthroughs on this area. And since a large part of the emission and energy consumption comes from leisure activities, it certainly is an area in which there is much to improve.

Energy generating dance floor

On Texel there's one disco; Toekomst Texel. While disco's might not be the first thought for technologies focusing on sustainability, there are some developments in this area. One is an energy-generating dance floor. Movement is converted into electricity using electro-magnetic generators. This technology doesn't change much for the lay-out of the dance floor, as it uses modular floor panels. So it can be installed rather simple. [8]

Waste management

For restaurants there are a number of areas to improve. First is the waste management, like oil recycling. This is not really a technology, but more a management program (using technology). [9] There's also improvement in food recycling, since there's usually quite some food leftovers or waste from restaurants. This, however, isn't either a technology but more of a management program. Alternatively, the food waste can be turned into biomass [10].

Apps

While museums and other sightseeing locations don't have a lot of new technology and even less innovation in this area, the experience of the visitor can be improved. With the increasingly popularity of smartphones and available apps, it was only a matter of time until also museums use these apps to enhance the experience of visitors. These apps can use augmented reality and virtual reality [11], for example, to enter a database and extract applicable knowledge. It also enables for a more interactive experience of improve the social aspect. If this will also be applicable for museums on Texel, will depend on the museum and its board.

Embedded in the culture

Relations

Relations for leisure are quite basic, actually, since it consists mainly of the leisure industry. The relations between the actors is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Relations between actors

Sources 

[1] http://www.texel.nl/de-gemeente/beleid_41829/

[2] www.texel.net/nl/r/6870/?url=%2Fgetfile%3B1575

[3] http://www.dekoogtexel.nl/ondernemers/uitgaan/

[4] http://www.texel.net/en/what-to-do/sports/

[5] http://www.texel.net/en/what-to-do/museums/

[6] http://www.texel.net/en/what-to-do/excursions/

[7] http://www.top-texel.nl/

[8] http://www.sustainabledanceclub.com/products/sustainable_dance_floor/

[9] http://www.rti-inc.com/oil-management/index.php

[10] http://www.viridianuk.co.uk/#!biomass/ci21

[11] http://mashable.com/2011/09/14/high-tech-museums/