Equestrian tourism in BC: France Symposium

Last night at 2 am, I delivered a presentation via skype to a group of delegates at a unique gathering in Saumur, France.  The group is gathering together with about 150 delegates from 15 different countries (30 sessions) to explore "Horses, Tourism and Leisure: Continuities, Transformation and Change".  Of all the conferences I want to be at in person, this is the one! It combines my interests in horses, tourism, rural development opportunities and international dialogue. I do wish the delegates the very best and look forward to further dialogue at the Equestrian session at the upcoming International Rural Sociology Conference in Portugal in August.

My presentation was called "Equestrian tourism in British Columbia: Its evolution, current state and potential" (download here). In the presentation, I cover material that has been formed over the last couple of years with some of my undergraduate students (thanks to Alyssa, Juan, Jacquie and Alessandra).  In short, equestrian tourism is a potential niche market for BC. Much travel activity is already occuring but it is not recognized as a unique niche and strategic efforts are not being made to capitalize on the potential of the industry in a meaningful way. With a growing number of equestrians located near urban areas who are looking for things to do (and money to do it usually), this group may be worth looking at - particularly for regions that have amenities already in place (i.e. trails, event facilities).

In order to move this niche forward in BC, we have much to do to establish a common language and understanding about what exactly equestrian tourism is. To this end, my students and I propose a definition and a typology to help that along. It seemed to get a great response from colleagues at the Symposium, and I look forward to hearing how the group developed further clarity in the week.