New ways of engaging residents in tourism planning

Last week, the Travel and Tourism Research Association held a conference in Quebec City to bring together researchers from across the country. I was attending to learn and also to make a presentation titled "Realigning tourism development research to support communities in transition: the potential role of participatory rural appraisal methods". Essentially, the message I was carrying was that researchers need to be using more participatory methods to get residents engaged IN research activities for tourism planning. Based on our application of the participatory rural appraisal method (PRA) in four communities in BC since 2006, I advocate that this is one we should be using more of in North America.

Many times, rural areas seek information on what their assets are, what their tourism potential is, or how to address issues. This research, in the past, is often conducted by outsiders - either researchers or consultants and in the end, a report - the traditional format of sharing results - is prepared and given back to the community. These often make their way into plans which are done by a small group of people within the community who are seen to be involved in tourism. While this has been useful for many, for other areas - these reports do not often reflect the input or desires of a wider spectrum of community stakeholders and as such, they are often difficult to implement.

The PRA process is research conducted WITH rather than FOR a community. It has been used a lot in the international scene in developing countries in areas such as health, education and agriculture. When I first became aware of it at Michigan State during my PhD, I wondered why this wasn't being used more in tourism development. Hence, we have piloted and learned about how it works in rural areas of BC for tourism development.

To view the presentation - CLICK HERE