Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development

Rural Tourism Entrepreneurship Conference Sept 28-29 in Ontario

2012-01-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

CALL FOR PAPERS!

The Laurier Centre for Research in Entrepreneurship, LCRE, (formerly the Next Research Centre), Wilfrid Laurier University is pleased to announce that a conference on Rural Tourism Entrepreneurship will take place in Waterloo Canada on: Friday and Saturday, September 28th and 29th 2012.
Important dates
Early expression of interest in attending the conference January 31, 2012 Abstracts submitted by March 31, 2012 Abstracts accepted by April 30, 2012 Registration opens August 1, 2012 Full conference papers due by August 15, 2012 Full papers submitted for review for the Special issue due by October 15, 2012

Hope to see some of you there.
Suzanne Ainley, BES, MSc PhD Candidate
Dept. of Recreation & Leisure Studies
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON
seainley@uwaterloo.ca

Governing for Sustainable Rural Futures: Summer School

2011-12-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

June 21 – July 6, 2012

For those interested in learning more about rural policy and forming networks, consider participating in the ICRPS summer school in Québec in the summer of 2012. The annual summer school, which will be held in Québec this year, brings together an international, multi-disciplinary group of faculty, students, and professionals to study the many facets of rural policy. The goal of this school is to provide graduate students, researchers, and rural development experts from around the world an opportunity to exchange insights and knowledge regarding rural and northern policy using a comparative perspective.
All information on the two-week summer school, including registration information can be found at: www.icrps2012.ca. If you have any questions or require any further information please contact us at icrps2012@yahoo.ca

Contacts:
Professor Bill Reimer, Co-organizerDepartment of Sociology & Anthropology, Concordia University
Professor Bruno Jean, Co-organizer
Canadian Research Chair in Rural Development, Université du Québec à Rimouski

Duncan area experience

2011-10-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Blogpost by Martin Pariseau
Friday, October 29th, began with a group meeting during which Don Barrie from Tourism Cowichan shared a great wealth of knowledge and experience on the circle route and amenities in the Cowichan region. For instance, 40 to 60 logging trucks pass through Lake Cowichan daily. Don was good enough to honor my request and sent me five files including some focus group results and the Cowichan Region Tourism Plan. After Don left, the group continued the meeting to coordinate the various components of the collaborative case study. Finishing, we packed up and headed to Duncan for lunch.
Vans were separated at this point. One group went to the Dog House Restaurant and then on to the VIU Cowichan Campus where we got a tour. While some stayed for a tour while the rest of our group visited adjacent recreation amenities such as the giant hockey stick, Cowichan Aquatic Centre and the Island Savings Centre. After stopping briefly at the BC Forest Discovery Centre (which was hosting a Halloween event for local kids), the group drove through Chemainus and went on to Ladysmith where they explored the town. The other group spent most of the afternoon at the Quw’utsun’ Cultural and Conference Centre.

Cobble Hill amenities

2011-10-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Blogpost by Chris Beharrell

Here are some of the highlights and amenities along the Cobble Hill to Duncan stretch of the Pacific Marine Circle Route:

The Cherry Point Nature Observation Park offers fabulous ocean views of Satellite Channel and Saltspring Island to enjoy. Ideal for family outings, explore the rich sea life found on the long sandy shores. Bring along beach shoes to best enjoy the environment and a pair of binoculars to observe the birdlife.

For a breathtaking view, climb Cobble Hill Mountain in Quarry Regional Wilderness Park.Parts of the old Quarry and its history can still be found - watch for the picnic site that displays a 1914 steam compressor.

Arbutus Ridge Golf Club is only one of five organizations in their sector across Canada to officially measure their Carbon Footprint through a partnership with a national organization using the GHG Par“0” program. In 2009 they have created a greening committee, invested in newer and more efficient alternatives, purchased locally made products and opted to spend more for an environmentally friendly finish and began the process of becoming the 8th organization in BC to be fully Audubon certified. The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses awards certification to recognize golf courses that protect the environment, conserve natural resources, and provide wildlife habitats. Achieving certification demonstrates a course’s leadership, commitment, and high standards of environmental management.

Cowichan Bay Maritime Centreà From a condemned fuel loading dock to a museum, the pier now houses "Galleries" rich in maritime history. It's all here in the quaint seaside village of Cowichan Bay, British Columbia. With a reputation for excellence, the Maritime Centre offers hands on courses in traditional boat building techniques and restoration. Skillfully hand-crafted models of historic ships are housed in the museum at the end of the pier. Activities are for any age, sea-farer or land-lubber alike.

Sooke and coastal amenities

2011-10-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

Blogpost by Augusto Dominguez

Today, we visited Sooke’s Visitor Centre. We were advised to visit the new Charters River Salmon Interpretative Centre (http://www.salmonforsooke.com/). This 1.49 hectares property,located at 2895 Sooke River Rd.; just on the way to Sooke’s Potholes (the town’s most well-known natural attraction), has a 100 people capacity facility. Inside this building volunteers gave us an extensive explanation about the salmon’s life cycle and the water systems of the region. There are models and two microscopes, among many other resources, to accomplish the centre’s educational goals.

In the creek besides the building, we had the opportunity to see Pacific salmon coming up the river to spawn. For some of us it was an amazing new experience impossible to describe (see photos above).

After the Interpretative Centre, we headed to the Sooke PotholesProvincial Park. A series of pools and waterfalls carved into the river’s bedrock, yellow maples losing their leaves and pines on both sides of the canyon walls are some of the natural features this site has to offer to visitors. Wildlife like the bald eagle flying above us (unfortunately we could not get a pic as evidence) as well as Pacific salmon in the pools totally made us understand the importance of preserving this local wonders.

Mill Bay to Cobble Hill amenities

2011-10-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Blogpost by Laurel Sliskovic

Waking up to a crisp October morning at Ocean Wilderness Resort north of Sooke, we packed up our bags, loaded the vans and headed out for day 3 of our Pacific Marine Circle Route exploration. With Mill Bay as our destination for the day, the female SLMs toured through the communities of Shawnigan Lake, Cobble Hill, and the southern Cowichan Valley, taking in the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of this rich and diverse landscape.

Traveling west on Shawnigan Lake Road, we passed the Kinsol Market (home of the self-proclaimed best Nanaimo bars) on route to the newly restored Kinsol Trestle on the Trans-Canada Trail. Wow – the Kinsol Trestle is awe-inspiring! I highly recommend visiting this accessible, spectacular section of the trail. We chatted with a local woman who had been exploring the area for 27 years and she spoke with pride about the recent re-build of this historic trestle. Check out the website www.kinsol.ca for photos and more information.

The next stop on our adventure was Merridale Cidery (www.merridalecider.com). Rolling pastures and idyllic fields provide the backdrop for this impressive agri-tourism business. All 6 of us ladies were immediately drawn into the sights and smells of the apple orchards, the beautifully constructed outbuildings and the warm and inviting main Cider house. We were treated to a complimentary cider tasting that offered a selection of 6 different ciders, then moved into the Bistro for the tastiest roast pork sandwich I have ever eaten. The Merridale Cidery is an experience not to be missed.

After a leisurely drive through the scenic backroads of the Cowichan Valley, we arrived at Cherry Point Vineyards – home of the well-known Blackberry Port. We were treated to a wine tasting and wonderful hospitality from the gentleman behind the counter who was knowledgeable, friendly and committed to producing quality wine and preserving the fertile lands on which he grows grapes. Our first day spent in the Cowichan Valley allowed our group to slow down and truly enjoy the natural and cultural amenities of this rich agriculture area.

Sooke area amenities

2011-10-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

Blogpost by Janice Johnson

The Sooke Harbour House was definitely a highlight in my trip. This is an amenity I would recommend to visitors because it provides a warm, relaxing and romantic environment. Also with the house being located on the Sooke harbour, it provided the most amazing ocean view. When I first walked into the house, I automatically felt I was in a home because of the beautiful artwork displayed everywhere and the gorgeous dining area looking over the Sooke Harbour. In addition to feeling cozy, the front desk lady was very helpful in giving an overall discription of what the house had to offer and the community itself. The last thing I admired most about the house was their sustainable practices. The fact that their restaurant features the freshest of local seafood, meats and produce and actively supports the local farmers, gardeners and fishermen shows appreciation for their local economy. The Sooke Harbour is definitely an asset to the community so I think it is important to continue promoting and supporting it success. In my eyes, they are roles models that are paving the way to the importance of sustainable living.
Our visit to T’Sou-ke First Nation village was a visit I very much enjoyed. T’Sou-ke First Nation recently installed one of the largest solar panel systems in British Columbia and was gracious enough to share their journey. It was a project first initiated by a former chief of T’Sou-ke First Nation and carried out by current Chief Gordan Planes. Prior to the funding proposal, T’Sou-ke First Nation conducted some background research and discovered that Germany who normally uses solar panels, received less sun then the south coast of Vancouver Island, therefore catching the interest of the community and immediately persuading them to invest. In their journey, it was interesting to see how the project brought the community closer together. Normally you would not see a First Nations community invest in such a product but after hearing the purpose behind it, you definitely feel inspired. Although this project took a lot of hard work and time, I feel it was worth the investment because it gives the community a sense of pride and status. When I first walked into the community, I could see how excited and eager the members were to share, which showed me how very proud they were of their accomplishments. I seen it as an opportunity to showcase the alternatives a First Nations community could adopt for sustainable success. Overall in this experience, I found it neat to see how the leaders were strategically helping their community make the transition from old technology to new technology without jeopardizing the traditional values of their people. Showing their community the importance of change and providing them the opportunities to adopt new practices that can environmentally, economically and socially benefit them all.

Port Renfrew to Sooke

2011-10-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

Blog entry by Erin Heeney

Our day started with the sunrise over the Sheringham Point Lighthouse from Point No Point Resort. What a beautiful view! From there, we ventured down to Jordan River Beach, watched the surfers and had a great chat with Pascale, the president of the Community Association. It’s been absolutely fabulous to talk to the locals and hear the passion in their voices about their communities.
We then headed back to Port Renfrew for another look since yesterday we were a little rushed going through. We all enjoyed the friendly people and the peaceful and quiet atmosphere. The Coastal Kitchen Cafe served up a delicious end-of-season lunch on our way out of town. If traveling through in the off season, be sure to gas up in Sooke or Lake Cowichan as the marina and gas station are closed this time of year (and only open 8am to 5pm in the summer).
The Visitors’ Centre in Sooke is not to be missed. The beautiful gardens, inviting museum and gift shop and of course, their friendly and knowledgeable staff make it a great spot to stop along the route. We were directed to the newly opened Charters River Salmon Stewardship Centre on the way to the Potholes Regional Park. The new interpretive centre highlights everything you need to know about salmon and the watersheds on which they depend. A great new facility for the residents and visitors of Sooke!
Our last stop of the day was to Potholes Regional Park, a beautiful place for a nice swim or walk along the river. We were then off to a warm welcome at Ocean Wilderness Inn and another beautiful sunset along the Juan de Fuca Straight.

Journey begings - Lake Cowichan to Port Renfrew

2011-10-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Blogpost by Mandeep Singh

The museum in Lake Cowichan is amazing, illustrating the innovation from a station to museum. One could understand about the interesting history of the area and the different tools used back in time for different purposes from pictures shown. It is interesting to see the different kind of lamps, saws and other tools preserved for such a long time displayed in the museum.
When I was reading about this area, I read about the artists, their work on poetry, paintings, etc. I was expecting some of the works by artists in the museum, howeverthere was not much about these artists.
When we stopped at the visitor centre we heard about the AVATAR GROVE - being promoted for visitors. We were excited to get there. We found difficulties to get there as the directions were not so specific though the drive was quite comfortable and beautiful. Even when we reached the trail, the sign for the trail was quite invisible. Many people are likely to miss it. The signs, ribbons, used for the trail are not effective or sufficient. We lost our way twice. The ecology is quite unique from other forests however and as we interviewed a member of Ancient Forest Alliance, we got more information about the need for this area to be protected.

Examining the Pacific Marine Circle Route

2011-10-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

Circle tours or routes are a strategy to disperse tourism throughout regions. They have been used widely around the world to create economic benefits in rural areas. By designating scenic routes and promoting the amenities available to visitors, destinations simplify complexity for visitors and enable them to access areas that may otherwise be missed.

I often advocate for tourism routes because of their ability to support rural areas that are using tourism for diversification. This week, I am taking ten graduate students in the new Masters in Sustainable Leisure Management at VIU into the field to develop a case study on the Pacific Marine Circle Tour on Southern Vancouver Island. Together, we have done research on route tourism in other contexts such as South Africa, Australia, USA and Canada to learn from their approaches. We are comparing what we have learned, to what we see and experience in the field. We are also comparing what is being promoted on the route vs. what we actually experience. In this sense, we are doing a modified gap analysis and our results will be fed back to those involved in championing the route to visitors.

Over the week, I have asked each student to submit a short blog entry on a portion of their experience. This sort of fieldwork is important for students, and it will provide some information to those in the communities along the route - a win win. Wish us luck!

Healthier small communities - a virtual town hall event on November 3

2011-10-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

Healthier Small Communities - A Virtual Town Hall Event
Join us for a Webinar on Thursday, November 3

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/768952542

This webinar will explore some of the ways that local governments can build health into the daily life of small towns and rural and remote communities.

Speakers will provide real examples of how small communities are supporting food security, physical activity and developing a vision for a healthier future. Webinar participants will be encouraged to share their thoughts on how to create healthier communities and to identify priorities and this will be communicated to the local governments of participating communities.

Speakers
JOHN INGRAM is a professional planner and partner at EcoPlan, an award winning, multi-disciplinary firm of planners, urban designers, decision analysts and economic development specialists. EcoPlan was recently was recognized for their part in an innovative Regional Growth Strategy for the Comox Valley which won the 2011 Planning Institute of B.C. Award for Excellence in Small Town and Rural Planning. John will discuss how community planning processes that create vision and utilize structured decision-making can build the foundation for healthy, vibrant communities.

EDNA MCLELLAN, with Northern Health’s Kitimat Health Unit and SHAUN O'NEILL with the District of Kitimat’s Leisure Services Department have long worked in partnership to promote active living, health and wellness. They will discuss the evolution of this collaboration and describe how they’ve been able to make health programs more inclusive and to move inactive citizens to healthier lifestyles.

ROSE SONEFF is a Registered Dietitian and Community Nutritionist working in Promotion and Prevention through Interior Health. She will explain how the communities in Williams Lake and the North Thompson have come up with innovative approaches to address both the economic and environmental aspects of local food security issues.

DR. NICOLE VAUGEOIS holds the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development and as well as leading research she is also a professor in the Department of Recreation and Tourism Management Faculty of Management at Vancouver Island University. She will discuss her research and the multiple benefits that parks and recreation can provide to rural areas.

Title: Healthier Small Communities - A Virtual Town Hall Event
Date: Thursday, November 3, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM PDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Dr. Tobias Luthe - first visiting scholar speaks on sustainable consumption in the Swiss Alps

2011-09-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

The new Masters in Sustainable Leisure Management at VIU is done in partnership with the World Leisure Organization. As such, we are trying our best to internationalize the content that the students are exposed to. One of the ways we are doing this is to bring in "visiting scholars" or experts in sustainability and innovation. Our first visiting scholar is Dr. Tobias Luthe, Senior Researcher at the Transdisciplinary Sustainability Studies - University of Applied Sciences Institute for Tourism and Leisure Research in Chur, Switzerland.

The Graduate students have been learning from Dr. Luthe in their first course on Paradigms and Principles in Sustainability. Tonight, Tobias will share some perspectives with the public when he gives a lecture on : Sustainable Consumption - innovating products and behavior: the case of tourism in the European Alps. Sept 27, 7 - 9 pm at the Nanaimo Campus of Vancouver Island University in Building 355-203. Join us!

"Todays’ challenges of designing and managing a complex world require innovations in how economies and markets function. Global environmental change further increases the pressure on societal transitions to design resilient and more sustainable economies.

As one example, tourism in the European Alps is of highest regional economic importance while being a saturated industry suffering from climate change and socio-economic developments. Current efforts to increase adaptive capacity focus on maintaining a status quo – clearly lacking innovation and pioneering developments. The Alps have a history though of pioneering success in tourism, such as the train up to the Eiger or the gondola to the Klein Matterhorn. Fresh ideas are needed now to develop an industry that is resilient to change, and that understands change as an opportunity to innovate in both products and services. Such a step requires behavioral changes from all stakeholders, on the production and the consumption side. Sustainable consumption is a paradigm of growing importance that allows to fuel necessary market innovations that can drive Alpine tourism to become more sustainable. This presentation discusses examples of new products and market developments in the tourism industry of the Alps both from a qualitative and a quantitative angle.

Graduate students debate public investment in tourism

2011-09-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

This week, our new Graduate students in the Masters in Sustainable Leisure Management met to debate to what extent public investment should be made into tourism in the Vancouver Island Region. It was held at the Annual Tourism Vancouver Island Conference in Nanaimo from Sept 20-22.

The pro side, led by speaker Laurel Sliskovic, argued that investment into tourism is actually reinvestment into an industry that generates significant revenue for local and provincial governments. The pro team also argued that consistent investment is needed in a number of areas, including into the systems that are required for tourism such as BC Parks.

The con side, led by Marc Sorrie, argued that investments in tourism should come from the private, not the public sector. His team also suggested that there are numerous other competing priorities for the limited public dollars that exist, and tourism takes a back seat to things like health and education. He also suggested that until First Nations agreements are made, public investment would be inequitable and we would not reap the full benefit of the potential that will be present when Aboriginal communities can more fully participate in the industry.

Both teams did a great job of presenting to a packed room full of operators, Mayors, marketing organizations, and a variety of other delegates. I am sure their ideas sparked off conversation for the conference as well. While a show of hands indicated that the pro side won, it was obviously, a biased audience in the room!

I was reminded in organizing this debate at how effective they are in bringing about both sides of issues. We all too often hear what we want to hear, that which validates our own thinking on topics. In a democratic society, where complex issues are all around us - we can learn from these students perhaps, to think about the opposing sides and ideas to try and find common ground to move forward.

Undergraduates help out at the Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival

2011-09-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Each fall I have the pleasure of teaching undergraduates in the Recreation and Tourism Degree about the joys of doing applied research. In doing so, I think it is imperative for them to work with real life scenarios and organizations that need information for improved decision making. This year, the Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival, who we have worked with in the past, asked our students to be involved in collecting market intelligence for them. Six students in the course signed up to greet visitors at various vendors in the festival to survey them on their experience.

Surveying people during an experience is a bit problematic in terms of getting valid data. If you ask someone who is not done their experience yet, it is difficult to get complete information from them. For example, asking someone how much they spent at the festival when they are still spending, may provide you with inaccurate amounts. I have been trying to experiment over the years with models to correct this bias. The students method with the organizers was to solicit visitors contact information and then to contact them post experience to ask the questions. They had tremendous success with this approach, and are now busy collecting their data for the organizers. If they have strong response rates, it may be worth sharing with other organizers who are facing similar issues.

Kudos to the students on their work, to the vendors that worked so hard during the festival and to the organizers for asking VIU students to engage with them in their search for information. Win-win-win scenarios are always possible.

Using amenities to market liveable rural regions

2011-09-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was golfing at the St Andrews By the Lake course just outside of Penticton when I came across this sign. Much of my work in the past two years has been focused on amenity based rural development - or the idea that rural areas can use the amenities that make them attractive to visitors, to encourage repopulation of rural areas as well. This sign showcased what many in real estate have known all along, that the attractiveness of these amenities when experienced as a visitor, can often be the impetus for resettlement decisions.

In this case, the golf course and the scenic amenities in the rural area were being promoted as key lifestyle enhancements. I have written about ABRD in previous posts, so won't repeat a lot of that here - but will reiterate that for rural areas thinking about using this approach (or who already are pursuing tourism and repopulation but perhaps not with a unified strategy) - collaborating with those in real estate is likely an important step in setting up a sustainable future for the area. While most view real estate sales as "anti-sustainable development", I have been impressed with the level of market intelligence that firms possess that can help indicate who is moving to the area, how long are they staying, what attracts them and what influences them to leave. This information, combined with the long term land use plans for rural regions (once we get those in place in all regions of BC) can help us connect amenities with desired migrants.

Just ducky to be back at work

2011-09-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

As I transition back to work, I decided to take my new textbooks for the MA in Leisure and Sustainability with me on the long weekend. I have to decide what reading these new students will be exposed to, which is always a challenge. Not only are there lots of books out there nowadays, but they vary greatly in their ability to get ideas and content across to audiences. Academics, as wise as they can be, are often terrible at getting their wisdom across to the very people that can most benefit from it. This often leaves important knowledge out of touch and inaccessible for people, including students. I am a real advocate for selecting reading that stimulates thinking and discussion and encourages students to see things from opposing sides (not what they necessarily want to hear).

So, in the end, I chose a couple of great ones that I hope will do just that. The first is by Cecile Andrews - called "Slow is Beautiful: new visions of community, leisure and joie de vivre".
I chose this one so that students could see the link between consumption, the pace of society and our quest for status and overall sustainability. While they are not likely to agree with everything, or to digest some of her messages easily, it will inspire good discussion. We are skyping Cecile in on the first day so she can discuss the background of the book with them as well. I always find that meeting the authors can help one situate their work a bit better.

I also chose Andres Edwards "Sustainability Revolution: Evolution of a Paradigm Shift" as a way to bring students onto the same page with sustainability concepts. He packs a lot of background and initiatives into this little book and covers off a variety of principles that various groups have developed to try and move sustainability from and idea into reality. I think that the duck on the beach at Walnut Beach Resort in Osoyoos enjoyed this book too, as he and his buddies were hanging around me while I read it (taking any opportunity to nibble at the food I had with me).

After this, the students will get lots and lots of readings from Dr. Tobias Luthe, our visiting scholar and lots of independent studies as well. I hope it inspires great dialogue and reflection, the goal of all teaching.

Linking products for enhanced visitor experience - art and wine combo

2011-09-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend I tried to soak up some of the last days of summer in the rural area of Osoyoos. There is so much to do in this gem of a place, beaches, great weather, small towns, authentic spaces, friendly people, antique markets, and of course - wine and art!

I was impressed at one of the initiatives taken by Tinhorn Creek (near Oliver, BC) when I passed by their sandwich board on the road. I am a bit of an artist and always look for ways that rural areas are trying to showcase their arts and culture products to visitors. Tinhorn Creek had partnered with local artists to showcase their work in the tasting area. While we weren't planning to visit wineries on that day, it caught my attention and we went in. The greeter at the venue asked if we were there to see the art or to taste wines (impressive as they are gathering market intelligence too!). We told them we were there for the art (and of course, bought a few items when we departed). All visitors were given a ballot to vote for their favorite painting which encouraged us to see them all, and to participate in providing feedback to their artists. The works were stunning and the venue worked great for a display.

I always like to see these innovative ideas to collaborate. In this case, the winery provided a venue for local artists and the artists provided a value added part of the experience for visitors. I am sure it was a win win for them and wanted to share it with others as I know display opportunities for artists in rural areas can be difficult. So, follow their lead and take it where the visitors are going already!

Amenities abound in 108 Mile House

2011-08-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week traveling with my horses, dogs, husband and friends up to the Hills Health Ranch at 108 Mile House, BC. I make this trip annually to participate in a competitive trail ride hosted by BC Competitive Trail Riders Association. The venue is set up with corrals that are build and maintained by the Backcountry Horsemen of BC and if you stay there with your horses, you can use the resort facilities such as showers, pool, hot tub, restaurant and pub. A very nice arrangement and one I'd encourage other private ranches to pursue. There are few places for equestrian travelers to do this at in BC. There is much potential...

While there, we ride the trails at the ranch and on adjacent lands, fish in nearby lakes, golf at the 108 Mile course, mountain bike and run the trails. This region is a great example of a rural region that has identified its amenities and gone about using them to bring people in for a short time (visitors) or a long time (part and full time residents). While business and traffic is slow, as I understand, there remains a lot of potential in this destination.

One of the great assets that the area has protected and promoted, is the 108 Mile House Historic Site where the 105 Ranch House rests. This impressive historic site is run, like most of them in BC, by a dedicated group of volunteers and local ambassadors. We were greeted by the volunteers who told us about their efforts and their situation, which again, is not unlike other historic sites in BC. While we have tremendous heritage assets in the province, many struggle to survive. They are often not viewed as stakeholders in tourism, yet they are important ones. Their priorities often focus on maintaining and presenting heritage so that residents and visitors can appreciate its role and value to society. In doing so, they create valuable experiences for visitors and a sense of place and pride for local residents. The story of the evolution of this site is worth noting - read more about it on the linked site above. And better yet, plan a visit next time you are in that area. Thanks volunteers for your efforts, and local artisans for all the goodies we purchased in the gift shop.

Accountants and other Daredevils:Unlocking your Inner Superhero

2011-05-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

Like anyone who has had the good fortune to meet her, I have gained a lot from my interactions with Carol Patterson of Kalahari Management. Carol and I had a chance to connect at the recent South Carolina NET conference and she gave me a copy of her latest book "Accountants and other Daredevils: Unlocking your Inner Superhero". This is such a fun book, and worth the read. A talented story teller, in person and in writing, Carol begins the book by telling her own story of how she moved from being an accountant to following her inner compass to do something that mattered to her. Then, she transitions to tell the story of a number of inspiring individuals who work in rural tourism around the globe. In each story, readers are sure to find examples of what works and what doesn't, but moreso, I was reminded about the more valuable lessons in development work - that it takes people, bold ideas and relationships to make things move from ideas to reality.

Carol was also in the process of doing up a short video to share ideas on female travelers and she just emailed me last week to let me know that her newsletter is ready (and the video). If you want to sign up for her newsletters, see the contact information below...

spring newsletter with info on marketing to female travelers http://www.kalahari-online.com/

video version at http://www.youtube.com/user/reinventure#p/u/0/Qpk-x7gKGpE.

and information on Carol Patterson

Kalahari Management, Inc. Nature Tourism Planning and Communications
(Tourism assessments • Feasibility studies • Conference Presentations • Training)

Author of The Business of Ecotourism and Accountants and Other Daredevils: Unlocking Your Inner Superhero
Learn how you can increase the economic development and success of your business and community, by attracting cultural travelers, nature lovers and adventurers who want to spend money with you http://www.kalahari-online.com/ and her blog: http://canadiantravelgal.blogspot.com/

BC Resort Municipalities Symposium

2011-05-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

This week I was asked to deliver a keynote at the BC Resort Municipalities Symposium in Osoyoos, BC. This is a small but productive gathering of administrators from the 13 designated resort municipalities in BC to share their plans, initiatives and lessons learned on an annual basis. It was a pleasure to be asked to share some thoughts with them and to meet this elite group.

I always find keynotes to be a bit challenging and nerve wrecking. A good keynote can set the tone for a conference, pose questions, get people chewing on new ideas and offer suggestions. A poor one can put folks to sleep with someone at the podium for an extended period of time. I seek to do the former of these two. So, I spent some time discussing ideas with Jim Newman, of Osoyoos to make sure I could pitch something of value to the group.

In the end, I ended up making a few points (I think). I tried to start at the 30,000 foot level to have folks recognize that they are part of something much much larger than running operations at the community level. They are part of a larger international and national movement in rural development - of which I have written about more on this blog - amenity based rural development. The BC Resort Municipalities were created as a strategic provincial policy to provide supports for amenity rich locations in the province. Initially, this came with financial supports such as a share of the Hotel tax which could be reinvested back into communities for infrastructure and marketing (items which cause issues for many rural communities in tourism). Over the years, one of the most positive things that this group has done has been to create links with one another to exchange ideas. Knowledge is power when shared and the creation of a collective with experience in resort community development can act as a resource pool for the communities but also for the province.

I tried to reinforce in the talk how bold policy moves such as the creation of the BC Resort Municipalities needs to be followed up with ongoing support. New structures like this need time to evolve, to learn and to provide feedback on what is working and what is not. It may be the researcher in me, but I tend to think of this as an experiment in policy supports for rural tourism development - and as such, they need to be evaluated on an ongoing basis with adjustments made when they are supported by evidence. I'd be happy to provide this sort of research for the group as they continue on their evolutionary path and to the province as it finds ways to provide appropriate support.

For more information on this group and the Acts that created it, see:
BC Resort Municipality update
BC Resort Municipality Initiative

From Policy to research and back again - Conference in Ottawa May 5

2011-05-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

This week I attended the first Canadian Rural Policy Conference in Ottawa on May 5th called "From Policy to Research and Back Again". It was a great gathering mixing researchers and policy makers from across the country in a day jam packed with sessions, panel discussions, posters and networking.

I gave a session and paper called "The Homogeneity Dilemma: Fine Tuning Supports for Rural Tourism" based on my observations of the tendency for one-size fits all supports for rural communities. Here is the abstract anyways, and I will be pursuing having it published in an upcoming version of the Journal of Rural and Community Development.

Despite the tendency to generalize about rural areas, they are not homogenous. Programs to support development in rural areas however tend to assume homogeneity and are often packaged for one-size fits all use by various communities. This paper will outline a typology of rural tourism destinations based on level of engagement ranging from those just beginning to pursue tourism to those managing its impacts. Using data from six years of field research in rural British Columbia, the paper illustrates how current government supports within the delivery and development system showcase deficiencies for some types of rural areas seeking to develop tourism. Overall findings suggest that there is a dominance of supports for communities that are seeking to expand tourism via marketing models, however those that are in the earliest steps, and those that are dealing with saturation issues are currently without adequate supports. The paper provides recommendations for enhanced program supports for rural areas to more fully explore tourism as a diversification option or as a tool for amenity based rural development.

I often think that the measure of success of much of my research is the extent that it influences policy or decision making (at any level). So, I have been interested in how to do that for about 10 years. The Tourism Research Innovation Project helped me to gain a better understanding of the world of the "other" (policy makers) and one of the most important things I learned was the need to build relationships of trust between researchers and those who can use our research. I don't view knowledge mobilization as a one way exchange from researchers to policy makers -but rather a dynamic exchange of information and priorities and in many ways, a collaborative effort to create change in areas that need it (like rural development).

It was a pleasure to be at this conference and hear that I am not off track in this line of thinking and that others share this perspective and have practices that I can use to help me in this goal. Keep posted for next year's gathering - I am assuming that calling it the first - will mean that there is a second to come.

Photo is of Dr. Bill Reimer (top) and then of the dialogue session at the end of the day.

Stories from the Trail - more from the Rural Tourism Conference

2011-04-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Guest Blog by Fran Thorburn

STORIES FROM THE TRAIL

MARTIN LITTLE JOHN – OPPORTUNITIES MOUNTAIN BIKE TOURISM

British Columbia is the epicentre of the mountain biking world and participation rates are still going up. There is a wide range of ages that are involved in this sport, with the median age at 30 years and the majority of participants being male. More and more women though are taking an interest in the sport.

Positive aspects to Mountain bike tourism are:

· That it is important to the industry.
· It is organized and led by the community.
· It supports the tourism growth and local recreation.
· It is a low investment.
· It encourages pride within the community.

3 critical factors to implementing the sport are;

1. Signage and maps of the trails and having a management system in place.
2. Having a local stakeholder alliance such as DMO’s, land manager and services.
3. Funding sources such as membership fees to cover the maintenance, infrastructure and marketing.
Two case studies were presented and the common threads were:

· It is important to have community support.
· Need to have a plan and make sure that all paper work is in place before starting construction of the trails.
· Build healthy relationships with all stakeholders and the community.
· Be aware of the competing interest such as forestry/logging.
· Make sure that land access, i.e. license of occupation and right of way agreements for using private properties are in order.

NOELLE KEKULA & CONNIE FALK – HORSE TRAILS AND CAMPSITE PARTNERSHIPS ON THE BONAPARTE PLATEAU – Again it was mentioned the importance on building healthy relationships and partnerships. An interesting piece of information was to go to the job creation program when in need of help as this is an area where you can get skilled people to help build trails and campsites. Advice given on where to start:

1. Talk to Recreation Sites and Trails on your plan and to see if it can work.
2. You need to find out where trail authorization is required.
3. Be prepared to spend time on the paper work and legalities as this is a slow drawn-out process.
4. Consultation takes place with all the stakeholders.
5. To avoid delay, have your plan as in-depth and complete as possible.
6. Work with First Nations, they love to share their culture, you need to understand what is important to them, i;e. they preserve culturally modified trees and to know which is a modified tree you will see a strip of bark removed while it was young.
7. Get to know the local ranchers as they will be a great help in the creation of the trails.
8. Have good collaboration with all stakeholders, as this is key.

BOOTSTRAP TOURISM

BILL RICHARDSON-STARTING A TOURISM INDUSTRY FROM SCRATCH

It was mentioned that the number one thing people are looking for is a relaxing atmosphere with friends and family. A strategy when you don’t have the resources is to take a small group and give them a wonderful experience. A tip given was that you could make something out of nothing for example a young entrepreneur decided to create a trail up a very steep hill in order to ride his mountain bike up there as fast as he could, which in turn has become a popular yearly competition bringing many visitors to the community.

Tourism development methodology

1. Identify tourism assets and options

2. Choose one tourism asset to develop

3. SWOT your tourism activity

4. Develop your strategy to overcome your challenges

5. Define your market

6. Develop a marketing strategy

7. Resource development (people, money, skills, infrastructure etc)

8. Build community support

9. Choose 5-8 key people to help build community support

There are two kinds of tourism, destination or diversion (when people are going to a destination they divert to another place). “A tourism product does not have to be big to be of high value”.

New trends in tourism are short get a ways within 150 miles or a once in a life time experience.

MOBILE WORKSHOPPAT CORBETT – WALKING THE HILLS HEALTH RANCH.

The theme of this workshop was to see some of the trails found on the ranch. There was a fair amount of conference visitors who took part in this activity. From the introduction that Pat gave us on some of the history of the ranch to the finish of the tour was a 2 hour exercise. The tour started off by walking through the corral campground which was an area that had a corral for each campsite. This allowed visitors that come to the ranch with their horses to have a safe place to keep their horsed during the night and while they were not out riding. The campsites are large to allow easy movability for large vehicles. The area is close to the lodge so that the visitors can easily walk up to the restaurant, showers, pool etc. The trail that runs through this campsite is the original gold rush trail which was a pretty amazing piece of information. It left me feeling a little in awe to know that this track had seen so much activity in the past and was still being used. From the campsite and still on the original gold rush trail we walked down trail 10 which led us to the main road where Pat showed us an underpass he had constructed to allow his visitors and community members a safe crossing to either side of the road. From here we turned left and came to the biathlon trail and shooting stadium. With all the dirt that was extracted for the making of the underpass, Pat had the shooting stadium built. This is a fairly large area with the dirt built up to create a wall in the shape of a half moon and this prevented the pellet bullets from going beyond the wall. Lots of starlings were out pecking for their breakfast while we were there. The walk then went on down the biathlon trail until we came to a fence marking the boundary. From there we basically just walked back, but on trail 21. All these trails are ski and skidoo trails in the winter. The biathlon has its own trails in a separate area. In the summer these trails become in use for mountain biking, walking, hiking and horse back riding. ATV’s are not allowed on the trails due to the damage they can cause. There were no signs as such up to guide visitors on what trails they were using except for the occasional sign stating it was a skidoo trail on a B for biathlon. Apparently signs go up when the season is about to start, so we were in between seasons and were therefore in the transition period. There are three categories of endurance trails to choose from, easy, moderate and advanced. The longest trail is 6.6 kms and is classed as an easy trail. The longest advanced trail is 3.5 kms. Maintaining these trails has a large cost to it. They have small machinery as well as a large snow plough when there is a lot of snow. With the amount of trails to be groomed and maintained it takes a lot of man hours. These trails are groomed and cleaned up twice a year. There is a $10.00 fee to use the trails, apart from people just walking the trails, so therefore it is always a worry that they get enough visitors using the trails in order to cover this cost.

CONCLUSION

This has been a full on, very informative and well organized conference. A lot of information has been shared in the last two days. What I saw as a common issue throughout the event is the challenge in either developing healthy relationships with stakeholders and politicians or being unaware of the importance of building these healthy relationships. I also learnt that small tourism businesses are not taken seriously by government and this has created huge challenges for these small tourism operators. It seems to me that education is a missing link here on a number of fronts. There needs to be awareness on the value of these businesses and how they are a sustainable means of economic growth. One area that needs to be addressed is the conflict between small businesses and land tenure and the power forestry have with the right to come onto that land and clear cut it. This seems a very unfair practise and an unbalanced process. If a lease is granted on crown land then government should honour that and not allow forestry the privilege of coming in and clear cutting that area. Could TIA not be involved in bringing rural tourism operators together as one voice to pressure government to change this policy? Again could TIA not bring awareness to the people of BC through a visual manner that this is goes on and that it not only affects sustainable businesses, but that clear cutting is still taking place in a big way in BC. I believe there needs to be more awareness on what sustainability looks like. We basically look at sustainability as an environmental issue, whereas it is much larger than that. Without a sustainable environment, we do not have a sustainable economy, a sustainable business environment or a sustainable life style; they all go hand in hand. Government needs to take responsibility of this and not rely so heavily on forestry and mining etc as the main economic factors. Government is responsible for taking care of all its people and businesses in the country, so maybe TIA and other small business organizations can look at creating partnerships and working together in bringing awareness to the people on these unfair issues and demanding policy changes with finding a more “sustainable” and balanced way to protect all businesses in the country. From our Policy and Planning class we were taught that, we the people do have the power, but we have to stand together and demand change. Maybe it is time to bring awareness to the people so that we can make a choice of whether we want to take our power back or not.Creating those healthy relationships with all stakeholders and learning from each party becomes critical when you understand the depth of what a sustainable environment really entails.

Rural Tourism Conference updates from the field

2011-04-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

During the conference, I had a guest blogger - Fran Thorburn, take notes during the sessions and provide perspectives to those who could not make it. We will have a series of blogs from Fran - starting with this one... enjoy

My name is Fran Thorburn and I am a 4th year tourism management student studying at Vancouver Island University. It was in my third year that I was exposed to rural community development in a tourism context, and discovered that I have an interest in learning more about this subject. I live in a rural community on Vancouver Island and like many other local rural communities it is struggling to find a way to survive. I am hoping to find a way to become involved in rural development by using tourism as a means to inject economic growth into the area. One area of interest I am presently researching is to see if there is any potential to start either an on-line tourism brokerage business or an on-line concierge business for Mid Vancouver Island.

The second annual Rural Tourism Conference is being held at the Hills Health Ranch in 108 Mile House, BC from the 19th April to 21st April. I will be attending with 4 other tourism students from VIU who are also interested in rural tourism.

Following is a summary of some of the topics we sat in on.

TUESDAY 19TH APRIL OPENING PLENARY Speakers were Simon Milne, Laurence Moss, Pat Corbett & moderated by Nicole Vaugeois. The theme of the conference is to look at rural development in a broader picture. Presently rural development is looked at in one perspective and that is creating jobs and making money. This conference is to bring in new ideas and to find alternative approaches to rural development such as looking at the natural and cultural amenities found in rural areas and building relationships and overcoming challenges with the different stakeholders in order to move forward.

NICOLE VAUGEOIS introduced the idea of using natural and cultural amenities found in rural communities as a way to develop tourism products. She says that there were three important issues that need to be addressed,To repopulate the rural communitiesTo attract the younger generation to rural areasTo find ways to deal with the aging structures in the area. Nicole states that by developing the tourism industry in rural areas could be a solution to dealing with the above issues, and that it is important to invest in these places and to look at importing people, ideas and investments rather than looking at what to export from communities. Amenities are those pleasurable aspects that are associated with the cultural and natural amenities that make places attractive and allow people the opportunity to play, rejuvenate and invest in the area.Natural amenities are the surrounding areas such as mountains, the ocean, lakes, the air quality etc.Cultural amenities are the heritage/history of the area, art, and recreation. Both these amenities are the back bone for a tourism product and there must be a clear understanding of finding a sustainable balance to promoting and preserving these amenities and the industry.

SIMON MILNE - global aspect use and promotionSimon spoke about how to attract tourists to your area and hold onto them so that they spent time in the area. This is a common problem with communities that are not on the main route or have poor signage. He said that although signage is critical, so is providing information to visitors before they arrive and that using the internet is essential.A solution that he talked about is having the local communities in the area develop their own websites. These websites, which he called webraising and is a community bottom up based developed website and has representation from every community in the area. Each community has a chance to tell “its story” and is as all-encompassing as possible. Examples he gave were, tourists wanting to research and find out what the area has to offer, as a resource for the local people, health centres, which provides information to anyone interested such as doctors and nurses interested in migrating to that community. So it is a community resource as well as a tourist resource. www.westernsouthland.co.nz). As a marketing tool this addresses the following issues.How do we give tourists the chance to interact more with the locals?How do we get enterprises and local businesses to network and work together?How do we get community support for tourism?How do we get tourism to sustain communities?I personally thought that this was a unique and innovative marketing tool which I would like to do some research on and to see if my community and the surrounding communities in Lighthouse Country would be interested in developing.

LAURENCE MOSS - migration & rural tourism – global and cultural tourismLaurence claims that Tourism and Amenity migration go hand in hand.What is meant by this is that there is a trend for people to come to these communities as tourists and then come back to settle. They could be retirees who choose to live in rural communities who want to enjoy the natural and cultural amenities of the area. Or they could still be economically active and choose to make their living off tourism. As the natural and cultural amenities are what draw people to these areas they become the core to rural economic development and therefore it is paramount to protect or rehabilitate them if you do not want to loose them. Laurence’s argument is that it is vital that you, the resident of the community become involved in the planning and organizing of the tourism industry. It is important to get to know and create partnerships with the local NGO’s, the regional offices, planners and town council and other important links. You are part of the team that will help, and your voice is essential to bring awareness to the importance of this industry.

PAT CORBETT – Leader in tourism, active leadership role in different organizations.Pat believes that to get amenity tourism going you need to ignite the community and use regional development.To strike out to do something in Rural BC or anywhere else, you need to bring together a good team from the community. An example given was the importance of developing good relations with the staff of the ranch. They have staff that have been with them since the beginning of this endeavour which is approximately 30 years. Their mission statement is – “To provide an environment to a kick start for an improved lifestyle”. They invest in the growth and development of their staff by providing training and opportunities in sending their staff to other health centres to learn new and different skills and knowledge (Mrs. Corbett, personal communication, 2011).

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

MILTON ALMEIDA – Regional Tourism: A model for sustainable rural development. This was more of an interactive group session where we all introduced ourselves and explained what brought us here, what challenges we were facing or any questions we may have and to share something that we had learnt up to this point. What this exercise did was expose the different backgrounds and knowledge available in the room with the intention of brainstorming to find solutions.Some issues that came up were, when do you call amenities resources or amenities?How do you balance rural communities in development and preservation?Some suggestions that came up on building partnerships were:

Perseverance

Openness and willing to listen

Be prepared to do a lot of listening

Be aware of the different skills and make the most of them

Must trust and create a safe environment

Develop mutual gain with the increase in power and strength available

Don’t just focus on the financial gain

Make sure your vision is inline with othersHave rules for the road

Make sure that there is a common understanding of the language and meaning

Build mutual respect with the different partners

Be patient

Suggestions on moving forward were:·
Have a fit for all communities·
Educate stakeholders and residents on the benefits of tourism·
Have a community vision and build pride within community·
Make sure that the community is willing to move forward with tourism·
Find like minded people·
Be involved – go to meetings, create partnerships, recognise and share in successes·
Don’t give up.

It is becoming evident to me that building partnerships is not a common process in this industry and that there is a challenge in building and maintaining these partnerships. I would think that finding someone with good leadership qualities within the community to start to build relationships within the community and all the necessary stakeholders would be a step forward.

20TH APRIL, 2011
REGIONS & LOCALES
NICOLE VAUGEOIS - Moving beyond Community Tourism myopia to a more regional approach. To protect and promote community tourism all communities should be involved. There should be awareness on marketing and how to inform visitors of the different attractions in the many rural communities. Stakeholders need to be aware of the different experiences that visitors are looking for. Communities need to work together and build trust as a way to help each other overcome the lack of financial capital needed for building infrastructures and services. Communities need to find good leadership to help move forward with building partnerships and to deal with different conflicts, i.e. dealing with amenities that fall outside municipal boundaries and are currently not under land use.

ED GRIFONE - The why, what and how: elements of the community enhancement and relevance to tourism development. Ed talked about the importance of creating a new face to the old communities in order to attract visitors to these places. The development of a down town is critical as this is the heart of the place. Today many of the rural communities have to upgrade water pipes which are underground and is a huge expense, so to upgrade and renovate above ground at the same time is a sensible move. It is a long process and affects businesses for a few months while the renovations and upgrading takes place, so it is important that businesses and community members are aware of this upheaval and that they are prepared to sacrifice this time for the long term gain. There are many steps to be taken and many decisions that need to be made and it is important that the community members and all stakeholders have a say in the design of the uplift, the cost of it all and understand the benefits to their community.

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
EVAN LOVELESS, ALLYSON ROGERS, CRAIG MURRAY & SCOTT ELLIS –
State of the industry roundtable: Issues challenges and opportunities. Evan from BC Wilderness Tourism Association (WTA) opened up this session. He talked about some of the challenges the industry are facing presently which are, security of land tenure, property taxes and HST, transportation and access, high marketing costs, management of amenities which covers things like, who has control of regional development. There is competition for the natural resources among the many different industries and the lack of security regarding the long term protection of the view-scapes.This discussion portrayed the challenges of running a family business and how it feels like it has been a continual challenge, especially with politicians. The weakness in building partnerships with other stakeholders became apparent again. There was some positive talk that the new premier of BC is interested in supporting family business, in particular in the tourism industry. There was talk that the new C.O.T.A. advocacy agency should get back to supporting all the members and allow the members to voice their thoughts on how tourism should work. It was suggested that private operators should become members of COTA (TIA BC) and have influence in the association. Problems and challenges happening today in BC that are affecting the tourism industry are:Japan is demanding wood to re-build so therefore the forestry industry is logging again. This is having a negative affect and uncertainty on tourism operations that rely on land tenure. Forestry has the right to come in and log the forest which in turns affects the tourist operation.Wild salmon are dying from lice and other problems due to the increase in Norwegian companies who are creating fish farms at the mouth of rivers.The government has introduced an online licensing program whereby people can go online and purchase fishing licenses. This is affecting rural fishing companies to access these licenses for their visitors as they do not have internet access. Some recommendations that were made that may help overcome some of the issues faced by tourism operators.Need to gather data on the economic benefits of the tourism industry to present to government.Use crowd sourcing – encourage a variety of industry to come together and share data and give voice to the benefits of tourism.Encourage tourist to advocate for the tourism industry.There is need to promote the values of the local cultural and natural amenities.There is a need to shift attitudes – logging maybe a high paying job, but tourism is a long term sustainable industry if managed correctly.There is a need to change the attitude of youth with working in a small mum and pop rural tourism industry as the general belief is that they are not interested in facing such challenges and doing the dirty work.Educate community on taking control of their area. Take a grassroots approach on finding balance with forestry and development of the community.I wonder if (TIA BC/COTA) would consider collaborating with all their stakeholders on creating a commercial for TV, U-Tube, face book and any other social media method that could portray the contrast between the destruction of the natural resources, in particular the forests and how the tourism industry (if managed in a sustainable manner) is a solution to a long term and healthy alternative as a means of economic benefit to society. This means of communication would be a more beneficial method of reaching the youth of today and could ignite a change of attitude with this demographic and the rest of society.

More tomorrow...

Asbestos: a danger in rural development

2011-04-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Guest blog entry by Krista Peterson

As initiatives increase to improve the standard of living and preservation in your local neighborhood or countryside, some dangers are presenting themselves as an obstacle during the rural development process. In the effort of remodels and rebuilding, outdated structures are sometimes excreting asbestos during the process. This is putting builders and workers at risk of developing health problems and diseases such as mesothelioma.

Asbestos is a term given to six mineral fibers that were often used for a number of commercial purposes until recent decades. It can be found in just about every country. The fibers were commonly placed in structures, buildings, houses, and ships. They were used as fireproof lining for walls, pipes, and ceilings, among other materials. As time went by, it was realized that exposure to these fibers can bring about major health problems and sometimes fatal diseases.

Where does that come into rural development? Rural areas are usually home to a number of older buildings, often in the process of remodeling or revitalization these days. Increasing population, tourism, and overall living is at the forefront of the mission to develop these areas. Remodeling, revitalizing, and filling out of date buildings, structures, and homes is a key factor in the process of rural development. Asbestos could be present in a number of buildings and properties that are intended to rent, sell, or be transferred. Removing the fiber safely from these structures is a matter of major importance.

Many rural development teams around both Canada and the United States are making a point in leading a proactive fight to get asbestos safely removed from certain structures. For example, American states Colorado and Delaware have rural development personnel working to investigate potential selling properties for asbestos. Asbestos is an immediate health hazard when it’s in a “friable” condition. This means it’s crumbly or broken and easily released into the atmosphere. If you are working on a rural development team that does on site work with houses and buildings, exposure to asbestos is something to be cautious about, especially in older structures.

As far as the health risk of asbestos, the most common types of diseases contracted from exposure are lung cancer and mesothelioma, both of which are debilitating to the lungs and chest. Mesothelioma symptoms will likely arise after a latency period or dormant period of up to fifty years. Following this time a patient may feel shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and fatigue. Lung cancer symptoms include a constant cough, coughing up blood, and chest pain. Being diagnosed and treated for these diseases is a matter of major importance for fast treatment. For example, mesothelioma life expectancy is usually only eight to 14 months following an original diagnosis.

As diversification and improvement of communities in Canada increases, this is just a common health risk to associate with the improvement of buildings, homes, and other structures in your local community. Along with the need for revitalization of certain structures, the need to preserve some older buildings and landmarks is important to the tourism for many areas. During the process of keeping these types of structures safe and useable, it’s important to be cautious about the looking out for asbestos.

Few days left to register for the conference!

2011-04-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

The BC Rural Tourism Conference is only a week away! Join us in beautiful 108 Mile House at the Hills Health Ranch from April 19-21st for the Second Rural Tourism Conference. There are still a few spots left for those who haven't registered - and if you are a rural delegate, there are also a few sponsored spaces available as well. See the website at http://www.ruraltourismconference.com/ The program looks great, with a range of workshops, sessions and roundtables taking place. Speaker bios and abstracts for the sessions are all on the website now as well. Hope to see you there... Registration open until April 14th

Amenity discussion from the webinar

2011-03-31T12:04:00.000-07:00

This morning I led a webinar on Amenity Based Rural Development with colleague, Michael McLauglin from Rural Futures. There was strong attendance by a very diverse group of individuals from across BC including planners, economic development folks, First Nations representatives and researchers. If you missed the session, the BC Rural Secretariat will be posting the recorded session and notes on their site soon which you can access at: CLICK HERE

I thought the questions were excellent, and am sure there were others, so I invite individuals to pose other questions to me after the fact, and I can try to respond further. A few other thoughts I had after the call though... I tried to stress that ABRD has the potential to act as a tool for integrated rural development - as it brings in economic development strategies, planning, tourism, and infrastructure and services together with a common focus - attractiveness. We often find rural areas short on time and human resources to address all of the various issues that require attention. And, what is missing perhaps, is a broader level understanding about how they all fit together to enhance the overall quality of life of rural areas. I have seen that in regions where there is clarity on values, there is often more collaboration on initiatives with less conflict or friction from competing interests. So in that sense, it can be used as an umbrella concept to get regions identifying their amenities, learning about how they are currently being promoted (and to who), protected (by who) and valorized (by who and how much).

I encourage folks to take a close look at the handout I provided on the webinar as well, the typology of amenities in rural Canada. This tool may help to spur discussion in your region about what your potential amenities are - and how they are valued by different audiences. Look closely at them and perhaps engage in dialogue on these with others in your region.

Thanks to everyone for attending and participating, and to the team in Victoria at the BC Rural Secretariat for facilitating this session. You made it easy for us, and the strategy of sharing knowledge with rural audiences in ways that work for them is to be commended.

Webinar on Amenity Based Rural Development - March 31

2011-03-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

For those who want to know more about Amenity Based Rural Development - you may want to join my colleague Michael McLaughlin and I at this upcoming Webinar.

The RuralBC Secretariat invites you to participate in their next webinar.

Please join Dr. Nicole L. Vaugeois the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and professor of Sustainable Rural Development at Vancouver Island University; and Michael C. McLaughlin Rural Futures Associates Lead Economist who will present the topic of Amenity-Based Rural Development-What is it? How does it work? Is it for us? on Thursday March 31, 2011 from 10:00-11:30 am. Join us to explore the new imperatives and opportunities for economic development emerging within the amenity based rural economy. Participants in this webinar will be given the opportunity to learn about the amenity based rural development (ABRD) approach including:

1. Which BC rural amenities can be used in ABRD;
2. How economies can be created from the use and conservation of amenities;
3. Potential impacts of ABRD in rural areas;
4. The role of regional planning and collaboration;
5. Lessons learned from regions that are involved in ABRD; and
6. Application of economic development strategies.

Register early as it is limited to 40 participants (first come, first served). Register here:

Date and time of the webinar: March 31th 10:00 to 11:30am

Please Note - If you have questions about this webinar, please do not hesitate to contact Darby Cameron at 250 356-8180 or Darby.Cameron@gov.bc.ca

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Embedding tourism in broader rural development strategies

2011-03-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

This morning I gave a presentation at the National Extension Tourism Conference in South Carolina called "Embedding tourism development in broader rural development strategies: Insights from Canada". In the talk, I attempted to highlight why those involved in tourism need to understand broader rural policy issues such as depopulation, aging infrastructure and regional planning in order to be more effective. One of the overarching approaches that would help us do this is called Amenity Based Rural Development (ABRD), of which I have written on the blog previously.

I see tourism as one tool for rural communities to use in revitalization, and I see tourism as part of a bigger picture than a sectoral approach to simply bring in money and visitors to communities. To date, I have seen rural areas approach tourism for sheer economic development purposes, without necessarily understanding the broader realities of rural life or the goals of residents. If we understand that tourism also plays a role in providing exposure to an area that may attract new residents or invesment (if they are seen as attractive), then we may be seen as an important player at different tables. These tables and the different stakeholders seated at them, would also value the role tourism can play in rural development - and be willing to embed it within. So instead of always complaining that we need others to value tourism, our presence and broadened perspective, using an umbrella like ABRD, would result in the type of support needed.

I was lucky to be book-ended by two heavy hitters at the session as well. Dr. Stephen Burr from Utah spoke about the role of tourism in gateway communities. He shared data from a recent visitor study in Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument and demonstrated the benefits of proximity to natural amenities like this, to the adjacent communities. For example, 1/3 of visitors stayed in local hotels, 1/3 in various campgrounds in the region. 8 of 15 of the gateway communities had visitation rates of 30-75%. In terms of activities, 57% of folks were using the amenity for recreation purposes (not related to the monument itself) including photography (75%), hiking, (69%) and viewing of attractive amenities such as natural features, rocks, wildlife etc. This study made me think that we could use similar insights in BC about the presence of our protected areas and adjacent communities - in particular to note differences in the communities that benefit and those that do not. This type of information would be useful to assist in ensuring that these areas maximize benefits to adjacent areas. The ICURA on protected areas and poverty reduction at VIU, of which I am currently part of, might be the place to explore this further.

The final session was done by Cynthia Messer from the University of Minnestoa, Extension. She shared insights on an 18 year longitudinal study on tourism development in two particular case locations - San Luis in Colorado and 12 villages in Van Buren County, Iowa. Of particular interest to me was the observation of how Van Buren has been more effective over the long term due to their collaboration between the communities - whereas San Luis has struggled with burnout of the "STP" or same ten people. As I advocate rural areas to collaborate to maximize resources AND because visitors usually travel to rural regions - I found her insights validating.

That is it for the conference now - it was great - and I was able to encourage folks to come up to Canada for ours as well. Will keep you posted on the next NET conference in either 2013 or 2014.

National Extension Tourism Conference 2011

2011-03-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

Well today was jam packed with great sessions at this years National Extension Tourism Conference. This is one I try not to miss and have been to the one in Vermont 4 years ago, Utah 2 years back and now in South Carolina. The US has a different system than Canada with an embedded support to work with regions/communities and operators in rural tourism. Their Land Grant institutions have what is called an extension arm - where professionals from the Universities work as agents of change within their regions in a variety of specialist areas. Earlier this week, a conference was held for the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (March 7-9th) here in Charleston as well.

I first became familiar with this system when I did my PhD at Michigan State. My research work with the Recreation and Tourism Resources Center was in rural tourism in the Michigan Thumb region. I often wish that we had an equivalent system, at least with the same structural supports within Canada. Our system in Canada seems to place Universities within communities and regions, but there is not a clearly articulated mandate to serve and work with them for change. While it can be found in mission statements, there are few funded structures to enable things to happen long term. My position is one however, at VIU, that was created as a long term strategy to create some of these links. If I could only have a team of specialists like down here though...

I digress - the conference. Today was packed with good sessions - here are some tidbits to take away for those who can't be here:

David Sheatsley was the keynote this am (US Travel). He gave an overview of some research on visitation to the US. Their total domestic visits have been increasing and are expected to hit a new record in 2012 as Americans are encouraged to travel closer to home. Consumer confidence is on the upswing - but is still only at 70.4% whereas 90% is considered healthy - so a ways to go yet. There is a gap between the perception of affordability of travel and people's money available to do so - this gap is biggest for boomers. One of the issues, not surprising, is the effect that fuel prices is having on an already weakened system. For example, of the top concerns that may impact travel, the top ones were all financial - including gas prices, airline costs whereas the impact of personal debt on travel has been decreasing in significance. The reasons people are indicating they may travel more this year? 40% to relieve stress, 40% for a break from home or work, 39% they have additional time, 39% to reconnect with family or friends, 25% had put off travel due to the state of the economy and 15% due to household budget improving. The outlook for 2011? People will continue to stay close to home, but will drive further. High fuel costs will impact household budgets so value and frugality will reign.

I attended a series of sessions on the use of mapping to assist in tourism planning and marketing. These were useful, but I found myself wondering if costly investments into developing databases and then maintaining them are not better done in the private sector. One session on Market Maker was quite interesting - it connects producers to buyers of agricultural products - but they have been expanding the application across various states and into new sectors, such as agritourism.

Carol Patterson and Miles Phillips did a great workshop on the "Good Bad and the Ugly of tourism" complete with sound effects. Based on numerous experiences, they outlined how operators creatively used their ideas to either produce successful ventures or to "gain experience". Too many examples to share - but you can check out Carol's information for regular updates and newsletters.

And, the last of the day was a great workshop on how Ohio extension agents have been introducing social networking applications to agritourism businesses. Julie Fox provided details on their introduction sessions and their hands on workshops and outlined some of the lessons learned. They have piloted their approach a number of times and I kept thinking that this is something we need to build in as a collaborative approach between students and operators in BC. A couple of the tips they share at their experiential workshop are:

1. Know what people are saying about you (online already) Use google alerts, social mention to find out and get alerts from online mention of your business name

2. Become familiar with popular media sites such as twitter, face book, YouTube and linked in - and think about how they could work with your business;

3. Get engaged in great content - give people something to talk about - photos, videos, chats, polls, stories

4. Get the customer engaged - have them tell their stories, ask for feedback on new products, and build a relationship with them

5. Integrate social media into your marketing plan

Well, I will update more tomorrow and am presenting on how tourism needs to be embedded in broader rural development strategies, like amenity based rural development.

The value of horse drawn carriage rides for visitors

2011-03-09T06:42:00.000-08:00

I am writing this entry from Charleston, South Carolina where I am visiting this week for the National Extension Tourism Conference - one of my favorites (and I will write more about it this week).

Yesterday, in an effort to get a feel for the City, I decided to take one of the horse drawn carriage rides throughout the City. I often try to do this as I have found that the experience provides me with a lot of benefits. I get familiar with the destination, learn a ton about the history and architecture, and it connects me to the products that I can add to my list during the visit. These benefits are not provided in many communities and I am not sure that those in the industry recognize the role that carriage companies play in overall visitor experience.

In the past few years, I have begun to think that a study to compare the strategies and supports used by various communities to attract or manage carriage companies is needed. When I was in Montreal, I learned that there were many issues for the companies in trying to work with the City. Some were being lured away by a progressive community in Manitoba that was trying to establish the service there. Yesterday, I learned about the regulations in place here in Charleston, and I also observed some of the innovative strategies being used to control the impacts of the industry - for example:

The City has integrated the stables for horses within the market square area - these are heritage buildings for the most part. The sense for visitors, of seeing horses in their stalls and part of the landscape is great - and I am sure it entices, as it did for us, a number of people to decide upon taking a trip. The location of the carriages waiting, is very visible for visitors. There is something about horses drawing a carriage that gets people's cameras out...

The horses are employees with excellent labour standards - they can only take out five trips per day, work 5 days a week with 2 off, and they have to take 3 months off after serving 6, so they work half the year. They also get new rubber shoes every 6 weeks - soft on their legs but also protects the streets and keeps noise down.

The companies use a lottery system to control where they take their guests. They pull up to a "bingo ball" unit and give a series of numbers to the recorder - the number of their unit, the number of people on the trip, the horses name (to control the number of trips a day) and the driver. They are then given a route to take, which disperses them throughout the city and eliminates too much congestion.

There is an equine sanitation unit on patrol. When a horse has nature call while on route, the driver drops a small flag on the pavement. Within 2o minutes, a sanitation truck comes by to clean it up - which prevents smell and unsanitary conditions from evolving. Horses also wear manure bags.

Drivers give cars the right of way - but on narrow streets, it is often difficult. I am sure there is some tension with the home owners, but from what I could see - they appear to have the right building blocks in place.

All this for $20 per person for an hour long trip! Quite affordable considering what I have paid elsewhere. The company we used said business is usually good - as tourism is the number one industry for the City.

So there you have it, many insights for others who are using this strategy for tourism. I often believe that these sorts of initiatives are ones that should be welcomed and supported by communities (vs. regulated to death) as they probably do a better job of connecting people to product than many of our current systems (i.e. visitor information centers).

More on NET to come in the next few days...

Registration is open and plenary panelists selected!

2011-03-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

The Upcoming Rural Tourism Conference is almost here! April 19-21 in 108 Mile House, BC.

Registration is now available - to proceed with registration CLICK HERE
Early Registration Feb 1st -March 11th $210
Regular Registration March 11 - Apr 8th$250
Student Registration Feb 1st -Apr 8th$175 Sponsored

The program schedule will be released shortly, we are just confirming our presenters. There was a fantastic response to the call for submissions and the program is shaping up to bring a diversity of presenters to share their expertise with delegates.

Plenary Panel
We have invited three experts to share their perspectives on the use of amenities in rural tourism development. The esteemed panel will open and close the conference - first to set the stage and initiate discussion and later to provide insights on how rural areas in BC can use their natural and cultural amenities in tourism development in the future.

Dr. Simon Milne
Simon Milne is Professor of Tourism at Auckland University of Technology, where he directs the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (www.nztri.org). Simon completed his PhD in economic geography at Cambridge in 1989 and then taught at McGill University, Montreal until 1998. Simon’s current research focuses on the links between tourism, IT and sustainable development. Simon has worked as a consultant to a number of international organizations including UNESCAP, UNDP, the European Union and the Organization of American States. Simon will bring an international perspective to the use and promotion of amenities for regional tourism development.

Dr. Laurence Moss
Dr. Moss is one of the most recognized names in amenity led development. His consultancy work across the globe has provided him with rich insights into the role of amenities in rural development and its links to tourism. His professional work has focused on regional and local change and sustainable development. During the past 20 years he has targeted cultural and environmental sustainability issues in mountain regions, particularly the effects of amenity migration, tourism and related global forces. His expertise is sought by many and has resulted in him working for clients in 25 countries. He has sustained active engagement with numerous professional associations and is the author of numerous publications that have helped raise the awareness and understanding of amenity migration across the globe. He lives with his family by the Kootenay Lake in Kaslo, BC, Canada and currently works principally through The International Amenity Migration Centre and Glorioso, Moss & Associates.

Pat Corbett
Pat is a well recognized and respected leader in tourism and amenity based rural development in British Columbia. In the 1970’s he was the project manager for 108 Mile House, a resort community built to take advantage of the wealth of natural amenities in the area. He later conceptualized, built and has successfully operated the provinces first health resort – the Hills Health Ranch. He and his resort have won numerous awards to recognize their achievements in the industry and he has maintained an active leadership role with numerous organizations nationwide. Pat will speak to these experiences and his insights about rural tourism development from an operator perspective during the plenary.

Luncheon for BC Research Chairs

2011-02-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

Today I attended a luncheon to recognize research and innovation in BC, hosted by Premier Gordon Campbell. As he nears the end of his leadership for the BC Liberal Party, this was an opportunity to recognize one of the legacies he will leave for the province.

Back in 2002, the province created the BC Leading Edge Endowment Fund and invited proposals from Universities across the province to create Research and Innovation Chairs to add to the intellectual capital of the province in a variety of fields. The fund asked institutions to match funding from the province to create endowment funds that would support research positions in perpetuity. My chair position, the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development, was one of those funded in the province.

As I listened to some of the other accomplishments of the Chairs and the Premier, I was motivated to think boldly about the opportunities ahead in my position. Having a position funded “forever” and in a neutral body like the University allows for some certainty and consistency to pursue questions that need to be answered in rural development. I left the event tasking myself about the key research questions, the potential work and the legacy that the Chair can make for rural BC communities. I don’t have the answers yet, but there are a few ideas that I am going to bounce off some trusted colleagues and stakeholders in rural tourism development. I believe that good decisions are made with good information and my role in the system is to identify gaps in this knowledge and then work with others to fill those gaps and get information to those that can most benefit from it.

As I head back into the field to collect data for my current research project - this experience has reminded me of the privileged position I have in the larger picture and I plan to think boldly about how to make the best use of the opportunities before us. I am always open to hearing ideas – so if you are thinking boldly as well – I encourage you to share your thoughts with me.

Finding success stories in Amentiy Based Rural Development

2011-02-21T06:34:00.000-08:00

I am currently working with a team of researchers on a contract for the Canadian Rural Secretariat to profile three rural regions of Canada where natural and cultural amenities have been used to drive development in a collaborative way. Our team has been out in the field conducting research in the case regions we have selected including Kings County, Nova Scotia, the Charlevoix region of Quebec and the Columbia Basin region in BC. We hope to be able to understand what some of the keys to success have been in these regions so that ABRD, as an approach for rural Canada, can be advanced with evidence based decision making.

ABRD is new language and I have found myself having to explain it to folks a bit while in the field. So, thought I would take a chance to give the ABRD 101 version on the blog.

Amenity based rural development is an approach to rural development. Essentially, natural and cultural amenities are viewed as potential drivers of development. But instead of being viewed as resources for extraction, they are seen as things that make regions attractive – to visitors, residents and investors. The attractive value is used to draw people, ideas and investment INTO rural areas, vs. exporting resources out. It differs from traditional views of economic development in that it prioritizes bringing people into an area before jobs – people, especially creative and entrepreneurial people (creative new economy) will then choose to live in rural areas because of their attractive value and in doing so, they will create new economies. These new economies can be linked to amenities (so industries like tourism, recreation, arts and culture) but they can also be unrelated – for example, someone could choose to run their oil company in Calgary while living in an amenity rich rural area. The key to success for this type of approach is balance – natural and cultural amenities need to be promoted and developed so that people in urban areas know about them and maybe attracted to visit or relocate. But they also need to be protected over the long term so that their value remains constant or better yet, appreciates. I order to do this, areas need to collaborate with multiple stakeholders – and they need to engage in long term planning.

Planning and collaboration are often lacking in rural areas. By and large, most rural areas do no have a planner on staff and if they do, they are often hired at the community vs. regional level. Rural communities are not always engaged in collaboration with regional stakeholders either – by and large, they function at a local level – community by community. Why is this problematic for ABRD? There are thousands of rural communities across Canada – and most have very limited financial and human resources to pursue ABRD on their own. Besides, most natural amenities are not located in communities – they are in peripheral regions and transcend municipal boundaries. The proper promotion and protection of these amenities must be done by multiple stakeholders – local and regional governments, not profit associations and the business community. Each of these stakeholders plays an important role in ARBR – governments in service provision, economic development and planning, not for profits in protection and promotion activities and the business community has to be able to create economy from the amenities.

In many ways ABRD is a new paradigm for rural development. It creates an umbrella, and a unified approach to enhance the quality of life in rural areas by utilizing the amenities available. As a tool, it can bring rural audiences together, support grassroots efforts, and align resources to address issues of depopulation, loss of service provision and economic well being.

If you are interested in learning more about ABRD – there are two events coming up on the calendar that you may want to note – first is a webinar on ABRD hosted by the BC Rural and Community Development Ministry on March 31, 10 - 11:30 am. For more information on how to register keep posted here as I will add that as soon as it is ready. The next is a gathering of minds in one of BC’s amenity rich destinations – 108 Mile House in the Cariboo – at the Hills Health Ranch on April 19-21st. The conference is the Rural Tourism Conference co hosted by TRU, VIU and UNBC (collaboration!). Registration is open and for more information go to www.ruraltourismconference.com

Capacity building in the industry

2011-02-11T06:21:00.000-08:00

This week I was asked to lead a workshop on “Understanding your visitors” at the Tourism Vancouver Island Professional Development series. TVI organized full day workshops as a way to build capacity in the industry. From what I can see, they were a great success. One was held in Port Alberni on March 8th and another in Cobble Hill on March 10th.

The line up included an update on TVI marketing opportunities, the workshop on understanding your visitors, followed by a session by "How your business keeps score by Meyers Norris Penny, a session on "Networking - how to" by Nick West, and a closing session on social networking by Jay Somerville from Webacom Media on "Social Networking for your Business".

As the majority of the tourism industry is comprised of small and medium sized businesses, many of whom enter the industry from other occupations – there is a strong need for professional development events like these ones. People need opportunities to keep abreast of what is going on, to learn new things and most of all, to connect with one another. Without these investments in human capital, our industry cannot remain innovative and responsive and we will not have the capacity to collaborate on the many initiatives that we need to.

The event gave me a chance to speak about a topic I am quite passionate about - the need to understand our visitor markets. I am often amazed at how much risky and costly decision making is made on sheer assumptions about who is visiting, what they want, etc. We don't have an ongoing system to provide accurate local data on our visitors, so I tried to get across to folks that they can develop systems to produce their own, or better yet, they can collaborate together to produce information across regions. If you want to know more about the key messages, feel free to download the "how to understand your visitors handbook" on the TRIP site (under resources - for free).

Kudos to TVI for these efforts and for other regional groups in the industry, consider adding more professional development opportunities to your list of industry services – planting these seeds is sure to be appreciated and will pay dividends in the long term.

Photo: team discussing how to use data from visitors at the Cowichan event

Reminder about the upcoming rural tourism conference in BC

2011-01-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

Thompson Rivers University, Vancouver Island University and the University of Northern BC are pleased to extend this reminder of the Call for Submissions for the Rural Tourism Conference 2011 - April 19-21st in 108 Mile House (Hills Health Ranch) in BC. We would particularly like to encourage operators and leaders in rural communities who can speak to their own initiatives to submit a session. Delegates are keen to hear about who is doing what out there to develop tourism in rural communities.

Presentation options include: posters, oral presentations, experiential workshops or panel discussions (see attachment for details). Potential audience members include those working in: community economic development, tourism marketing/management, government, non profit and academia.

NOTE: - We have also added a sponsorship package to the site for those of you who want to partner with the organizers. And, for rural delegates - we have provided an application form for a subsidy to attend the conference.

Conference Theme: BROADENING OUR HORIZONS: AMENITIES, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COLLABORATION

Location: Hills Health Ranch, 108 Mile House, British Columbia

Date: April 19-21, 2011

Conference Website: www.ruraltourismconference.com

Deadline for workshop abstract submissions is January 30, 2011.

Feel free to share this announcement widely with colleagues.

Collaborative cultural tourism - the Cedar Yellowpoint Artisan Association

2010-12-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

Connecting visitors to products in rural areas can be challenging at the best of times. When it comes to arts and culture, the challenge can be even more difficult as rural areas are perhaps more known for natural tourism opportunities. But arts and culture DOES exist in rural areas, and operators out there are devising innovative ways to promote themselves and work together to connect to visitors.

I was fortunate to blend all of my worlds together this November by taking part in the Cedar Yellowpoint Artisans Christmas Tour on Nov 18 - 21. While the work side of me focuses on rural communities, sustainability and tourism, the leisure side of me is focused on arts, horses and farm life. This year, I decided to open the Broody Rooster Guesthouse and Gallery at my farm, where I display artwork, teach courses and sell gifts for six months of the year when I am at VIU, and the other six months it will be a weekly vacation rental. In order to gain profile, I applied to be a part of the Cedar Yellowpoint Artisans Association Christmas Tour, and was fortunate to get in.

While the weekend did have snow and some wicked weather, I would have to say for me - it was a resounding success. Having the opportunity to open my doors to the public, meet with customers, talk art and horses and get new ideas was great. Business was great, I sold 5 paintings, had lots of interest in the spring workshops and classes and received commissions.

I am thankful for this opportunity and recognize the value of collaborative marketing like this event for other regions of BC where artisans may not have access to this sort of an opportunity. I have decided to write a case study on this initiative using data collected from visitors at this years tour - it will be profiled in a chapter called "Cultural tourism in the rural context" in an upcoming Tourism Essentials manual (this spring - and I will be sure to post how to access it).

Thanks to the Artisans Association, in particular Justine and Grant at Yellowpoint Cranberries - for all your support, ideas and efforts.

Fresh Outlook on Sustainability

2010-11-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

On November 15-18th, the Fresh Outlook Foundation hosting a conference on "Building Sustainable Communities" in Kelowna, BC. I had the good fortune to attend and participate in a panel with Andrew Moore (T'Sou-ke Centre for Sustainable Living) and moderated by Robert Fine (Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission). Dan Wilson, from the Whistler Centre for Sustainability was also scheduled to be on the panel but unfortunately could not make it due to illness.

Our panel was on Building a Green Economy and I spoke to some of the insights gained with Lea Thuot and our team on the Fostering Innovation in Sustainable Tourism project. Small and medium sized enterprises in tourism are already doing some incredible things to make their operations sustainable. In line with the diffusion of innovation theory (Rogers), our team suggests that by identifying these early adopters and profiling their work, we can all learn more about how to move further towards sustainability.

This conference was extremely well organized by the organization and is worth the expenditure for audiences such as community leaders and NFP associations. They offered well structured debates (on the AB Tar sands), panels, workshops and presentations mixed with plenty of space for networking. Add this one to your list for next year and check out the great work of this organization in the meantime.

Call for submissions for the rural tourism conference is open!

2010-11-08T15:23:00.000-08:00

Well, after a few teleconferences and some great discussions with colleagues from Thompson Rivers University and the University of Northern BC, we are happy to announce that the call for submissions for the upcoming rural tourism conference is now open.

We will use the conference website - www.ruraltourismconference.com for all our updates and the details on the call are all located on the site as well.

We are hoping for a strong turnout of diverse folks that are involved in tourism development in BC's rural areas and beyond. There are opportunities for presentations, panels, workshops or other innovative formats.

Share widely with your other colleagues and we will keep you posted on registration details as we move forward.

Learning and sharing at the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation conference

2010-10-19T15:11:00.001-07:00

Last week, after the Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference, I quickly jumped in a plane to travel to the Canadian Rural Revitalization Conference held in Brandon Manitoba from the 13-16th. Both national conferences that are of interest to me in the same week - not easy!

This was a great gathering of folks ranging from community economic development agents to policy makers to academics. All of them share the future and vitality of rural areas in common.

The sessions were great - and built on the theme of "On the Bright Side". We too often pitch rural areas with doom and gloom, ideas of crisis or conflict. I liked the theme and it allowed us to focus a bit more on solutions and things that are working for rural Canada. The keynotes encouraged us to question our assumptions and to think about new models and review the evidence for some of the methods we are currently using in rural areas.

I made two presentations at the conference - the first was titled "Gaining a rural lens through rural immersion experiences" (with colleague Dan McDonald). In this presentation, we advocated for more place-based pedagogy and for introducing rural realities to university students in all disciplines to prepare them for professional practice. Based on our experience conducting immersion tours since 2005 across rural BC and AB, we highlighted the benefits to students and also the lessons learned for those who want to apply it elsewhere. To view the presentation, CLICK HERE

The second presentation I gave was sharing the results of a recent project that I did with Kelly Whitney-Squire (Acadia) for the Canadian Rural and Cooperatives Secretariat. The title was "Amenity-based rural development: Moving forward with a typology and common language". In this presentation, I highlighted some of the core concepts to amenity based rural development and introduced the typology of Canada's rural amenities that was done in the study. To view this presentation and the typology, CLICK HERE

Conferences can be great venues to meet folks, share ideas and get your creative ideas flowing. I came back from these with all of them. At this morning's conference call on the upcoming rural tourism conference for BC - we came up with ideas to make the April conference even better - so keep tuned for more as we are just getting the call ready to go out.

New ways of engaging residents in tourism planning

2010-10-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

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

Rural Tourism Conference slated for April - mark your calendars!

2010-10-06T13:46:00.001-07:00

Well, the Rural Tourism Conference is slated to continue so mark your calendars for April 19-21st, 2011 and plan to travel to 108 Mile House to the conference venue at Hills Health Ranch. The steering committee has met a few times and will be posting more details on the conference theme soon but in the meantime plan to attend.

How is this conference different from other tourism conferences and why should you attend? This conference focuses on sharing knowledge and useful applications that are intended for those working in tourism within a rural context. The emphasis is on education and network creation in a rural learning environment where operators, community leaders, educators and students are all in attendance and equal participants. If you are interested in attending a gathering of the minds with people who understand your reality and who are coming up with solutions that may work to advance tourism in rural areas - this conference is worth the trip. Expect a couple of days of talks, workshops, hands on sessions and socializing. Leave with new insights, innovative ideas and a network of folks you can call upon after the conference is done.

The conference is being co-hosted by three academic partners, all from the Tourism Research Innovation Project - Thompson Rivers University, University of Northern BC and Vancouver Island University. We will have our students involved in the planning and will be inviting participation from other organizations to play a role as we move forward.

I plan to organize a traveling conference prior to the conference where operators and students will travel together to various venues in the region learning about topics that enhance the competitiveness of small and medium sized businesses. The funding application will go in soon but my intent is to provide a subsidy for operators to enable them to participate. More on this as I get more details but if you are keen and available from April 13 to the 20th (last three days at the conference), let me know.

More to come - stay tuned and I will post the website with more details as soon as we have them - for now though, mark your calendar as this one is sure to sell out.

Rural BC Profile - Worth a read

2010-09-17T09:44:00.001-07:00

I just spent the morning reviewing a new report by Marianne Sorensen from Tandem Social Research Consulting titled "Rural British Columbia Profile: A Fifteen-year Census Analysis (1991-2006). The report is well worth a read to become more familiar with the trends on overall quality of life and disparities in rural areas. (report obtained on the link above - see bottom of the page under publications).

The report provides insights on the current status and historical trends in rural BC. Throughout the report, I was reminded of the complexity of the situation in rural areas of the province due to the range of factors that are influencing change and due to the fact that not all rural areas are the same. I have made this point numerous times in the past because I find that many times rural areas are spoken of as one entity - when in reality, and as the report highlights well - there are oftentimes greater differences between rural areas than between rural and urban areas.

I wanted to highlight this resource today and will reference the report throughout other blogs - but today I wanted to link the report to the provision of higher education throughout BC. If capacity building is one of the central assumptions in the revitalization of rural areas - we need to ask hard questions about the role of higher education institutions in this province.

Rural development and access to higher education
The findings in the report show that rural BC residents are less likely to attain a University degree and possible explanations include that youth may have less aspirations to attend Universities and that there are less Universities located in rural areas. Perhaps because I spend a lot of time in the academic world, I see this issue as a priority. Our Universities and Colleges, for the most part are situated in or close to our urban centers which decreases access for rural youth. In my experience, access is not just limited by increased costs associated to relocation but includes more social and psychological issues as well. Many of my rural students have expressed that they were intimidated by urban centers or universities, that they felt social pressure when they chose to leave their community and for others - that they felt marginalized when they returned to a rural area with their education.

This area, as suggested in the study, is ripe for more research. If getting young people to relocate and settle in rural areas is central to rural development we need to understand more about those already located within rural areas and also youth in urban centers. For example - what are the aspirations of rural youth and how does education fit into those aspirations? What inhibitors, if any, exist and what could be done to limit or remove them to further enable rural youth to participate in higher education? What are the perceptions of urban youth about rural areas? What factors are they most influenced by with respect to their choice of location upon graduation? Do rural areas have these? How can rural areas use their amenities to attract youth to relocate? These are questions I see on the "demand" side of the equation for re population of rural areas.The only communities that survive in the future will be those where people vote with their feet - and these people need to reflect all ends of the age spectrum.

The report hints at questions around the supply side of higher education in rural areas of BC as well. Many questions come to mind to understand if our current system is limiting choice and opportunity for rural youth. Higher education is directly linked to economic indicators such as income attainment. It is one form of capacity building that could provide long term solutions to the obvious leakage of population from our rural areas. I question whether or not higher education institutions view the issue of rural education provision as one of their mandates. If higher education was seen as a more central component in the rural development puzzle, should we not see more collective and systematic efforts to address these disparities? For some reason, we always get hung up on the bricks and mortar approach to education provision - or the location of facilities in rural areas. This is one of the issues, yes - but I think we need to perhaps think beyond this traditional approach to education services and incorporate more outreach type models into our system. Learning is indeed place-based - place matters not only in terms of where we learn, but in what we learn about. We need to ask ourselves are there ways we could provide higher education IN rural areas in ways that meet the needs of rural learners? Are there models working elsewhere that we can pilot? Are there other agencies that could be partners in this endeavor that share the goal of rural development? These questions need to also recognize that the idea of "on-line learning", while useful for many - is not the solution for meeting the needs of rural residents at this time due to infrastructure issues with the Internet. More innovative ideas need to come to the forefront to address this issue.

I am not naive about the higher costs associated to providing education in rural areas - our public institutions are no longer "public" but are driven on a semi-private model where "bums in seats" or enrollment management is critical to their survival. Likely, the ability of our current higher education institutions to respond to the issue of rural development will require stronger connections between provincial government ministries that share the goal of rural revitalization. Expanded networks and cross cutting approaches to develop a strategy that addresses the rural/urban disparities may be needed.

A final note on this topic - when my position was created (to work with rural communities in BC to incorporate amenity based industries in their diversification efforts), capacity building was built into my work plan. To date, I have attempted to bring young people out into rural areas using outreach methods, I have worked with colleagues to bring education and resource sessions to rural operators (conferences, manuals, workshops) and I have worked with colleagues to try and embed "rural" as a concept in our urban university classrooms. I plan to expand these types of strategies and invite ideas and partners from elsewhere to expand opportunities for rural residents to learn about sustainable amenity development in ways that work for them. And, I will continue to find ways to filter knowledge about the rural realities in BC into decision making circles to agitate for innovative ways to move forward.

Increasing domestic travel - kudos to new marketing campaigns

2010-08-23T13:48:00.001-07:00

I have often called for stronger marketing campaigns to increase domestic tourism for a number of reasons:

1. Rural areas often rely on rubber tire markets for tourism as they have limited other travel infrastructure. They are often in need of marketing efforts that encourage urbanites to travel closer to home to experience what is in their own backyard.

2. The ecological footprint associated to travel is linked to distance from origin (with higher impacts coming from air travel) - therefore traveling in one's back yard can be seen as a green"er" travel choice.

3. Many Canadians (or British Columbians to be more local) are unaware of the rich natural and cultural amenities within our own region. Tourism marketing has often branded very stereotypical images of Canada and its subregions which can dilute the breadth and diversity of experiences that are available.

Year after year however, I see that the dominant view in tourism tends to be to attract international travelers (especially high yield markets) to inject "new" money into the economy. While this is important, this ideology has perhaps skewed the systems and programs in the tourism industry at the expense of those who rely on more domestic travel markets. I have long heard from operators in rural areas "I don't care if my visitor is from Vancouver or Frankfurt - if they stay, pay and play - I am able to stay in business". And of course, if they stay in business - the overall travel experience is better for all, the local community is able to benefit and so on...

I have been quite pleased this summer to see the ramped up efforts in BC and at the Canadian level with marketing campaigns aimed at getting people to travel within their own vicinity. The innovative "Locals Know" campaign by the Canadian Tourism Commission has caught my attention numerous times. They have been engaging Canadians to contribute images, stories and their own experiences and the photos on their site help to showcase unique places and people across the country. More recently as well, BC has ramped up their efforts to get people traveling by car into more remote and unique areas of the province by showcasing driving routes. As someone who has traveled most highways in BC, I am pleased to see that these driving routes give people good reason to explore their own backyard, linking experiences and enticing them off the beaten track.

Hopefully these efforts work to motivate travel within our borders, engaging our residents to be more knowledgeable about what is here and then share that with others. Just about every survey that asks how people find out about places indicates the power of "word of mouth". This powerful tool can only be used when people have experienced something first hand. I hope that this effort at domestic marketing pays off for rural operators and that is produces a whole new generation of ambassadors for travel within Canada.

Back in (or out) of the saddle

2010-08-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
I should have explained the absence from this blog for the past couple of months prior, but I was away on summer vacation. One of the advantages of my position is being able to take time off in the summer to enjoy the great amenities in the province. For me, this time was largely spent in the saddle, literally, as I am an avid equestrian. So back at work and into a new saddle.

Time in the saddle this summer brought me to many different destinations in the province and I couldn't help but think more about the potential role of equestrian tourism in BC. More and more people are travelling with their pets, and some of these are traveling with their horses. We've seen all sorts of modifications of tourism venues and services to provide for traveling pets, but I must admit - these are lagging behind for horses.

Traveling with horses can be a stress inducing experience as it usually involves trucks and horse trailers and live, precious cargo. It is important to have places to pull over and stop regularly to allow horses legs to rest or to provide water. Some like to take horses out of the trailer as well to allow them to stretch out their legs, especially on long hauls. Waiting in long ferry line ups or the hot sun is a real concern as trailers can soon become like an oven. And of course, deciding where to stay overnight with horses can be a challenge as few places allow this currently.

At the same time, there are a number of equestrians in this province who travel regularly with their horses either for competition or to access trails. Based on my conversations with many and my own experience, there is the potential to expand this travel by improving basic infrastructure, services and awareness among the equestrian community.

This summer I came upon a couple of notable venues that are worth mentioning. Last week I stayed at the Hills Health Ranch in 108 Mile House with my horses. They have worked with the Backcountry Horsemen of BC to construct and provide campsites for horses. The sites have small corrals, large parking areas for rigs, water, manure pits and maps to access some of the nicest trails I have ridden on in BC. They have housed this close to the main Ranch facilities so a $20 camping fee allows access to the showers, pool, restaurants and other amenities at the resort. We had a competitive trail ride on Saturday with about 30 riders from around the province attending (sport tourism) and all of us indicated we would be back. Check it out and if you are a resort, consider building on their concept as it was extremely popular.

The other venue closer to home that I visit regularly is Twincreeks Bed Bale and Breakfast in Duncan. A friend, Deborah Flinn provides overnight facilities for visitors, access to the trails and customized natural horsemanship lessons for visitors. She even puts on wine rides where you ride from winery to winery on horseback! Other friends, Doug and Mary Carr at Takala Ranch in Ladysmith have built a great little cabin and corrals for visitors to stay, ride and take part in Ranch activities.

When I speak of equestrian tourism to others, I often see a bit of confusion about what it is or the potential in BC. I honestly believe that we have the potential to position ourselves as an equestrian tourism destination based on our landscape and access to nearby markets with high horse ownership levels. Equestrian tourism is more than having visitors take a short trail ride on someone else's horse at a Ranch vacation. It needs to expand in scope to include a range of services and supports for those who travel regularly with their horses. We need more research to understand the size and scope of the market and to learn more about their travel needs in order to do this. And, we can learn from others that are leading the way (see horse travel in the USA for an example of how coordinated their services for horse travel are).

I sit on the joint trails access committee with Horse Council BC and am Vice President of the BC Competitive Trail Riders Association... Along with others, I hope we can further the conversations to allow folks to understand the full scope of potential with equestrian tourism and to harness it in the near future.

Connecting with others who "get rural"

2010-05-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Today I participated in a conference call for the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Rural Research Network (CRRN). The CRRN is "is a new means to support information sharing and networking among stakeholders with an interest in rural research". The blog connects partners from across Canada working on topics related to the well being of rural communities - and I'd encourage people to check out their site and subscribe for their updates.

Sometimes as an academic who works on rural development topics, I find myself isolated and unable to fully tap into others who "get it". What I mean by that is that in order to study and contribute to rural development, one really needs to understand the complexities and realities of life in the rural context. I find that most academic institutions, programs and faculties use an urbancentric (or urban biased) approach to education and research. Our textbooks contain content with urban examples, urban processes and urban assumptions. Our campuses are located in urban settings which require rural youth to travel to obtain their education and strip rural areas of much needed human capital (for those campuses that are located in rural areas, they often have to rationalize their existence for public investment). I also note, that faculty are by and large not using "place based" teaching to help students understand rural areas.

These practices are not fully preparing students for engagement with rural areas. I remember years ago, I had a student that called after graduation and said "Nicole - this community doesn't have a Chamber of Commerce, a Planner, an Economic Development officer or a tourism marketing organization - so non of the stuff I learned about tourism development really fits here!". This was a good wake up call for me about the information that goes in - directly impacts their ability to create change when students are out in the field. Now, I use a rural lens when teaching, I encourage those from rural areas to comment on how approaches would work in a rural area, and most importantly - I take University students out into rural areas for "rural immersion" experiences for 3-4 weeks every year so they can develop a rural lens.

When I started to study rural tourism development in BC about a decade ago, I found that the word rural rarely appeared on the radar of academic institutions or within government agencies. For those that did recognize the word (and indeed this still needs clarity now and again) they often assumed that rural means agriculture or farming. While most of agriculture is rural, rural is much more than agriculture!

But things look up - there is a growing cluster of expertise in the academic world that has chosen to study a variety of topics in the rural context. The CRRN is one example that holds promise to connect researchers. The TRIP project that I lead in BC certainly connected a number of us in this region. I noticed a promising organized approach in Alberta called the Alberta Rural Development Network (having a conference next week!). And, next week I am attending a two day dialogue on rural policy in Victoria hosted by the BC Rural Secretariat. All of these initiatives are positive and demonstrate growing recognition of systems and stakeholders that are aligning to create more positive change for the people in rural Canada.

Preserving and promoting heritage assets for rural tourism

2010-04-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was contacted by someone from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC to bring to my attention a special issue of the Forum Journal (Winter 2010) that focused on Heritage-Based Rural Development.

BC has an active Heritage Branch in the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts and I have had the good fortune to work with many of their staff in the past. Efforts to bring together those in heritage preservation and tourism have been made in recent years as there is a growing recognition of the synergies that can happen when working together. Sometimes when blending people from different worlds – it is a good idea to focus first on common goals. I would like to propose in this blog, that those working on heritage tourism think a bit broader about how heritage can support rural development in general – not just through tourism. By following the suggestions and examples in the articles discussed above, the protection and promotion of heritage assets leads to the goals of many rural areas. For example heritage assets make communities more attractive to visitors, residents and businesses which can keep people in the community. It also invests in foundations of authenticity which can create places where people experience a “sense of place” (which is becoming difficult as all our cities begin to look alike).

So how do the journal articles suggest this happens – well I don't want to take away from your enjoyment in reading the articles – but here are a few highlights I gleaned. Based on two pilot projects (regional based) along the Mississippi River in Arkansas and in central Kentucky – James Lindberg’s article provides six principles for heritage based development including:

1. Use a regional approach
2. Protect historic authenticity
3. Nurture grassroots involvement and leadership
4. Forge strong partnerships
5. Be flexible, and
6. Make a long term commitment

Using these as guiding principles – they also propose six strategies for moving forward. I thought these were particularly useful for rural development:

1. Educate about the value of rural heritage
2. Conserve heritage assets
3. Encourage local entrepreneurship and the use of historic structures
4. Develop heritage tourism potential
5. Brand and market your regional identity
6. Advocate for public policies that support heritage-based rural development

So without spoiling your read, go and review the articles (they are short) as they point out many tips under each strategy. I couldn’t help but think about the many examples of heritage resources in BC that I have visited over the years that are in dire need of conservation before they can be of any use for tourism. Many rural residents are aware of these assets and value the sites, places and people that have established roots to the area. The state of many sites however is unfortunate – old buildings crumbling or being demolished for new developments. Once they are gone, and once the people that are connected to these places are gone – these heritage resources will be much more difficult, if not impossible to revitalize.

Canadians often say that Canada doesn’t have its own culture (which I adamantly disagree with). Perhaps it is time we learn from others – even within our own country (i.e. Quebec efforts around heritage preservation are excellent) about what our heritage amenities are and then prioritize them as key ingredients for rural development. We know they are there, and we should know by now the roadblocks that are preventing them from being restored and utilized – so now all we need are creative ideas on how to get there (which starts with being a priority). With so much emphasis on “tourism product development” going on, heritage resources must be incorporated into these discussions in ways that balance the mandates of protection and promotion.

I like to expose myself to the thinking and practices south of the 49th whenever I can. There is a collective understanding about rural tourism development in the USA that Canada can, and should, learn from. Universities have supported extension activity in tourism across the States for quite some time and clusters of active regions have demonstrated many promising practices. Luckily, I will get the opportunity for more interaction with folks by attending the Rural Tourism Conference in Mississippi October 25-27th. For others who want to attend a good conference on rural tourism, keep your eyes open for the next National Extension Tourism Conference as well.

Staycations benefit rural areas and the environment

2010-04-19T18:24:00.001-07:00

Folks have probably heard about a new type of getaway called the "staycation". A staycation is a vacation one takes close to home, to enjoy the adventures in their own backyard.

Why are staycations growing in popularity? There are many reasons for this trend including:

1. We have a "been there, done that" generation that has travelled far more than any other generation before it. It is no longer unique to travel to Europe, Southeast Asia or Africa because so many others have done this. In tourism we call this phenomenon "mass follows class" which means that while a few intrepid tourists find unique places, they soon share their experiences leading to the flow of mass travellers after them. Tourism is an activity with incredible "social bragging rights", and these rights go up when others are less likely to have gone where you have travelled. So how does this lead to a staycation? Staycations are somewhat less common than they used to be and people are now more prone to explore what is in their own backyard.
2. Concerns about the carbon footprint of travel are also making people rethink international travel. While all travel produces carbon, air travel is becoming more scrutinized for its contribution to global warming. And beyond air travel, people are looking to invest in travel experiences that benefit places and people.
3. The experience of travel to and from destinations is becoming a hassle for many. Increased security measures, confusion about regulations, required passports, screening practices and add on taxes are common complaints of air travelers. These hassles are felt more so by people who have to travel for their work and leads many to want to avoid travel when they have leisure time.
4. The pace of society in both work and leisure time has created a need for people to "slow down". Many have tried to create space to be more slow by packing less into their schedule - including travel experiences.

As people look to stay closer to home for their vacations, rural areas that are developing tourism stand to benefit. In order to benefit however, rural areas need to become more visible to urbanites. This is not an easy task as many Canadians are becoming increasingly disconnected to the rural landscape and the amenities, communities and people within. At your next social gathering when someone asks you where you are going on your summer vacation - suggest some rural areas in your province and see if they know where you are talking about. I have done this often when I tell folks that I'd like to get to the Chilcotin this summer... I can see their blank stares that indicate they have no clue where I am talking about.

For those working in rural tourism - you may want to ask yourself if your area could be attractive to urbanites who want to staycation this year. What do you have that could help them slow down, stay close to home and explore, reduce their carbon footprint and experience reality in their own life? Chances are, there are many things that would suit staycationers. Now how can you raise awareness that your rural area is worth exploring? Work with other small communities in your region and think about targeting some promotions to nearby urban markets. Assemble some packages that leave room for lots of exploration and flexibility while making it easy for them to decide. And start a buzz about staycations within the industry to encourage organizations to work together to market BC to British Columbians, spur the rubber tire market and revitalize rural tourism efforts. The spin offs? Rural areas will see increased visitation, added exposure may lead some people to relocate to rural areas as residents or to start a new business and BC residents will become better ambassadors for the province because they will know about its amenities (and will pass it on to other visitors).

And for you - plan a staycation to a part of rural BC this year to experience something unique.

Historical week for BC tourism

2010-04-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

This week was an historic one for rural BC and for the role of tourism in its diversification. The first BC rural conference was held at the South Thompson Inn just outside of Kamloops as part of the REDTREE project by Thompson Rivers University. I have been to many conferences over the years and am joining others in saying that this is one of the best ever held in BC. Why was it so great?

The opportunities for learning were unlike any program I have seen assembled around tourism in BC - there were sessions on everything from sustainability, mountain bike trails, signage, product development and capacity building to Web tools, amenity migration and geocaching.

The delivery was innovative - there were lots of workshops, activities, plenaries and plenty of time for networking.

The venue was spectacular - the South Thompson Inn setting provided an intimate gathering spot and everyone remained on site to create space for networking and developing ideas. The staff was great and the food was fantastic (and local).

The delegate list was diverse - the session had lots of rural operators, council members, aboriginal leaders, policy makers from federal and provincial agencies, field agents, academics, consultants, students and marketing associations. This provided a rich set of players to share ideas, realities and voices to the complex array of stakeholders involved in tourism development. And, no one audience was privileged in their links to tourism in the province. They came from all corners of BC and from outside the province including Alberta, Quebec, California, Sweden and Brazil!

For me, the event was very special as it marked the realization of a vision that I shared with my colleagues in TRIP since 2006 when we learned that rural operators and leaders wanted a venue to get together to share and learn together. Watching people from all over the province shake hands, sit down together and learn from the wealth of knowledge around the venue was fantastic. I had the opportunity to reconnect with people we met on the road with our students, and I had the chance to meet new people like Anna Pollock and Joanne Steele whose work I have admired.

One of the goals of TRIP was to develop a cluster of expertise and network around rural tourism in BC and it was so evident that we can collectively check that one off our list. Our partners were well represented in the event, and some of my closest colleagues and students who engaged in TRIP extension tours were all around and involved. This showed the follow through and commitment of the partnership to seeing our ideas through and in fact, we are all leaving inspired to do more... (keep posted for new ideas for a TRIP phase 2!).

Congratulations to Rob Hood and his great team at TRU including Sydney Johnsen, Cynthia Schaap and all the great students. The organization was super and kept people engaged throughout. We truly had a great "experience". In particular though, when I talked about doing things using a rural lens, the team did many things to make the conference work for rural BC residents including:

They invited them to the event
They tailored the topics to suit their needs
They created a travel subsidy to make it accessible
They recognized that their time away from the community was valuable and ensured an action packed learning program
They kept it in a rural setting
They benefited a rural operator
They used workshops to allow for engagement and learning
They kept the speakers relevant to rural issues and realities
They focused on the big picture facing rural BC
They made room for socializing amongst delegates by having adventures, socials, bus outings, and plenty of networking time
And probably many more.

We are talking about the logistics for the next gathering and are committed to continue the opportunity. Keep posted, tell your contacts and register early because based on the success of this inaugural event - it will sell out super quick!

PS - the adventure studies program offered a social opportunity on Wednesday night and my team was called the "Roper's" due to Miriam Schilling's abilities with a lariat in one of the activities. Our team photo includes Gavin McLelland (being caught), Miriam Schilling, myself, Victoria Simpson,Kimberly May, and Sara Weaver (Simone Carlysle-Smith was missing for a moment).

Get on the Train!

2010-03-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a workshop hosted by the Island Corridor Foundation titled "Get on the Train". The event was designed to review a recent baseline investigation on the rail based tourism opportunities in the region and to explore additional opportunities for product development, service integration and business opportunities.

I was asked to participate in the afternoon session as one of the dragons in the "Dragon's Den" activity along with Don Barrie (Tourism Cowichan), Neil Malbon (Alerni Valley Tourism), Mark Drysdale (Tourism Nanaimo) and Heather Maycock (Tourism Vancouver Island). Together, we asked questions and provided constructive criticism for new tourism/rail related business ventures that were designed by the delegates.

The afternoon went extremely well and I wanted to write a short blog post to promote both the work of the Foundation, but also for the structure of the day. I am a big fan of "knowledge mobilization" which means moving knowledge to people in ways that work for them, and in time for them to act upon it. We live in a world of too much information and are constantly inundated with even more. Sometimes we fall into a rut of trying to seek more, and then limiting the ways that we share it. Most conferences and workshops have speakers and more speakers and offer little opportunity for people to get engaged in the topic area, share their ideas or most importantly, learn something new.

The Dragon's Den activity was an innovative approach to engage people, let them meet others, explore ideas, and allow learning to take place. As teams presented their ideas, delegates all learned about possibilities in the region and from the feedback provided from the Dragon's, they also learned about what will and will not work to develop the rail tourism product in the region.

Congratulations to the winning team that developed ideas around "Accessibility Tours" partnering with local businesses and rural areas to provide people with mobility impairments the opportunity to experience the region. And congratulations to The Island Corridor Foundation on the event.

Fish, tourism and education: Quatse Salmon Stewardship Center

2010-03-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the 6th BC Rural Summit in Port Hardy - one of my favorite areas of BC. The Rural Summit gathers people from rural communities across the province to share ideas and network. If you haven't been to one, think about attending next year.

I was particularly impressed with the wine and cheese on the first night of the conference which took place at the Quatse Salmon Stewardship Center. The Center opened on September 20, 2009 and includes an interpretive gallery, labs, classroom and hatchery production facilities. It is located just out of Port Hardy in a beautiful setting which also has a campground facility.

I have been to many hatcheries throughout the province but have never seen one quite like this. The Center was designed with education in mind and to me, it illustrates how tourism can be linked in with other industries like fishing, but also to education. The outcome is that visitors are provided with a unique learning experience that introduces them to the natural and cultural heritage of an area. At the same time, numerous other wins take place - residents can take pride in their efforts to protect and promote their natural amenities and they can also take advantage of a new community facility.

This Quatse Salmon Stewardship Center was well designed to maximize interaction with the surroundings and to facilitate learning. Outside, there are well marked trails to navigate visitors around, and it is easy to locate the facilities on site. Inside, the layout of the center allows for growth and expansion, interactive exhibits on fish, and at the same time - it leaves space for community events such as the wine and cheese. There is a large meeting room area and kitchen which will enable community groups to book the facility and bring people in on multiple occasions. We spoke with Chris Stone, a Fisheries Technician with the Center who indicated that Phase two will expand on the exhibits and include a small movie theatre that provides visuals of fish throughout their life cycle as well.

I was very impressed with the facility and the efforts of all the partners that brought the idea into reality. It is worth a visit and for other communities that are thinking about how to link tourism and education to your natural heritage, take some notes from the work being done here. Best of success.

Tourism in Port Alice? Fit and future potential

2010-03-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

Last week I had the pleasure to take six great students up to Port Alice to do a participatory rural appraisal of tourism potential. The week went extremely well for the team largely due to the efforts of the Village staff and the enthusiasm of people in the community to share their perspectives.

A Participatory rural appraisal is a relatively new research approach which essentially brings a team (with differing perspectives) into a community for a week or longer to engage in dialogue on topics of interest to the community. The invite comes from the community and they largely drive the questions that they are seeking to know more about - in this case for Port Alice - it was to get residents to learn about the impacts of tourism and to explore its fit and future potential for the area.

First in the community, we did a tour to get familiar with the sites that could work as attractions or support for tourism. These were later visited again to learn about them in more depth, and they included natural and cultural sites of significance. We hosted two public meetings - which were both well attended. The first one was used for me to give an overview on the realities of tourism development for rural communities. I covered the impacts, both good and bad, that can result from tourism and gave them an idea of the ingredients for success. The meeting was well publicized and we had about 40 people turn out to share their ideas, hopes, fears and questions about tourism in Port Alice. Later in the week, we reported back to the community about what we heard and found during the week and we will share all the insights in a report this week as well (rapid report back is also a feature of the PRA approach). The students actively engaged in discussion with about 32 people outside of the meetings - sharing their ideas and learning from residents.

So what did we find in a nutshell? Port Alice is at a very early stage of tourism development - so early in fact, that my assessment tools had to be adjusted to give them proper feedback. They scored relatively low on their current "system" but it in no way was an indication of their potential for tourism. I believe it is only a matter of time until people begin to notice Port Alice and it is best that the community plans for this instead of just let's it happen. They agreed - the residents expressed strong support for tourism (based on about 72 people - and we actively searched for nay sayers!). They have an abundance of natural assets that could support adventure tourism - and I believe they have some competitive advantage over other island communities in terms of their access to ocean, fresh water, rivers and a variety of terrestrial settings. Wildlife viewing and photography opportunities are abundant, and the town has a very unique heritage that, if told, could keep visitors around in the community as well. The setting is extremely picturesque, on the water in a sheltered inlet which could support access to a variety of water based pursuits (kayaking, boating).

But, Port Alice also has a few barriers to overcome. They are not used to tourism and in fact, have not supported its growth for sometime (so we understand). Their neighboring communities are further along and will be able to attract and support visitors experiences better than Port Alice right now. It will take some investments in basic visitor experiences and infrastructure to get ready for more visitors, and they will have to fine tune the image that they want to put out about themselves to the public. Working with their neighbors is essential and there I have some faith as the North Island has a collaborative marketing initiative underway with a good funding base and some great people (with experience) to assist them.

For me, this PRA was exciting as we were able to work with a community at such an early stage of development. I was happy to help get them off to a good start by getting them to talk about tourism, its realities and steps to move forward. I look forward to continuing that support and to watching the residents pull together to diversify through tourism in the upcoming years.

The report will be released this week and available through Keir Gervais, Director of Operations for Port Alice, and we will post it on the trip website as well at www.trip-project.ca (under resources, then reports). Thank you to all the people in Port Alice for sharing your ideas and participating with us in this discussion about tourism in your community - we wish you the best. Thanks to my great team of students, Wendy Scott, Kelsey Milne, Taz Hartwick, Gareth Davies, Maddy Koch and Becky Jones - you were amazing!

Getting folks around the table

2010-02-17T19:07:00.000-08:00

Last week I was invited to attend some community input meetings being held as part of the Tourism Foundations program for the Tourism Cowichan region. When Geoff Millar invited me, I was pleasantly surprised that the communities had requested to go at this as a region - particularly because some of the communities are quite different in size and engagement with tourism already.

The sessions were facilitated by Jennifer Houiellebecq of the Tourism Planning Group. I have been to many of these types of meetings and am always impressed to see people from public/private sectors and all areas of tourism sit in the same room together. It is one of the critical components to overall success in tourism - if folks can't get around the table, and stay around the table to discuss their vision for tourism and strategies to get there - they are unlikely to meet with success.

So - for those out there who are either trying to get tourism going in a rural area, or trying to get it on track - you may want to take note. But here are some critical points to remember when it comes to engaging stakeholders in tourism planning work:

Never assume a meeting is a group - just because people come to one meeting, that does not mean that they are a cohesive group, nor does it mean they share a common goal or that they will be committed to moving ideas generated along. Multiple gatherings where the same people return time and time again are evidence that you have a group of people involved and interested in the activity. Mutual work being done in between is even stronger evidence.

Who is not around the table may be more important than who is - I have been to many meetings where the guest list is hand picked local dignitaries and public positions who engage in great discussions about tourism, but who may not be the champions required to move things forward. Business must be around the table and if possible, leading the charge - and public leaders need to recognize that tourism is an industry driven, community supported and planned activity. Trust is critical to success - and therefore time needs to be built into the process to ensure that this evolves with those at the table - otherwise well intentioned initiatives can be doomed for failure. Memories about attempted collaboration can have a long shelf life in rural communities, particularly if the people involved remain in leadership positions - so err on the side of inclusion and a slower process in favor of strong results.

So go forth and rally your stakeholders to the table, invite widely, make sure meetings are accessible for different people (i.e. time of day/date/seasons are different for businesses who are not paid for participation) take time to build a process that works for everyone, keep the meetings productive, monitor how they are working for people (do people keep coming? do certain groups fall off?)and be willing to modify as you move along to keep the spirit of trust and momentum going.

Best of success!

Using amenities for rural economic development

2010-02-02T18:19:00.001-08:00

The natural and cultural assets of an area are key determinants to human settlement. In Canada’s rural areas, these assets have contributed to settlement patterns and a legacy of rich heritage. For many of Canada’s rural regions, these assets were utilized to develop economies based on the extraction of natural resources. As time has evolved, numerous external pressures and new global realities have reshaped the relationship that rural residents have with these resources. Now, many rural areas are rethinking how they can utilize their rich natural and cultural heritage to keep their communities alive. The same assets are now being viewed as amenities that have the potential to reshape economic development strategies by bringing people (visitors and residents) into rural areas instead of simply exporting natural resources out.

Awareness of the influence of amenities on rural population patterns has been growing. Residents of urban areas are seeking out the amenities of rural areas for outdoor recreation and tourism or as key attributes in resettlement for either part time (second home ownership) or full time residence. Booth (1999) found in studies in the western US that high population densities are oriented to amenities such as ski areas, national parks, and to universities and colleges. Clark and colleagues( 2002) found evidence that cultural amenities are key contributors to settlement in urban areas and are key to economic vitality. Overall, studies have shown that there is a correlation between amenity rich areas and higher levels of employment, population and income growth (Henderson & McDaniel, 2005; Hunter et al, 2005; Nzaku & Bukenya, 2005).

While there is still a lot to learn about how communities and regions can use their amenities in economic development, there appears to be enough consensus that they can be strong contributors and should be factored into discussions. For starters, here are some questions worth considering:

1. Are you in an amenity rich location? If so, what are they? Natural (weather, topography, settings) or man made (culture, heritage sites, etc). Is your perception of your own amenities consistent with what outside audiences know about your area?
2. Are you incorporating these amenities into your economic development or tourism development strategies? Are they listed as assets that are central to your economic strategies? Are they identified, understood and promoted to attract entrepreneurs, firms, residents or visitors?
3. Are you seeking to attract people as residents? Remember - attracting people attracts jobs and concentrations of people create demand for services. Note that natural amenities have been associated to higher economic activity (jobs) for some industries more than others. For example, recreation and tourism based industry growth fits amenity rich locations whereas manufacturing is not as good a fit (due to higher land costs and adverse effects of some manufacturing activity where emissions or environmental issues are evident).

That ought to keep you thinking about amenities for awhile. Recognize that using amenities as an economic development strategy has both pros and cons, much of which we are still learning about. I will write about this in a future blog as communities who have used their amenities well to diversify are teaching us a lot about what others can do to maximize the positive and minimize the negative outcomes.

Further resources:
Booth, D. E. (1999). Spatial patterns in the economic development of the mountain west. Growth & Change, 30(3), 384.
Clark, T. N., Lloyd, R., Wong, K. K., & Jain, P. (2002). Amenities drive urban growth. Journal of Urban Affairs, 24(5), 493-515.
Henderson, J. R., & McDaniel, K. (2005). Natural amenities and rural employment growth: A sector analysis. Review of Regional Studies, 35(1), 80-96.
Hunter, L. M., Boardman, J. D., & Saint Onge, J. M. (2005). The association between natural amenities, rural population growth, and long-term residents' economic well-being. Rural Sociology, 70(4), 452-469.
Nzaku, K., & Bukenya, J. O. (2005). Examining the relationship between quality of life amenities and economic development in the southeast USA. Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, 17(2), 89-103.

Attracting and supporting lifestyle entrepreneurs

2010-01-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

Over the years of extension work in rural BC, our research teams have met numerous tourism business owners who don't necessarily fit the mold of stereotypical "profit motivated" entrepreneurs. These "lifestyle entrepreneurs" are motivated to enter into business for non-economic reasons and for the lifestyle benefits that emerge. Lifestyle entrepreneurs are particularly attracted to tourism businesses because there are ample opportunities to blur the distinction between "producing and consuming experiences". For example, it is not uncommon to find entrepreneurs that love kayaking so much (consuming it) that they decide to transfer their skill set to produce it for others - thus starting a business to "finance their leisure pursuits".

Academics have been trying to get more familiar with lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism for the past decade. Some of their insights are useful to share with those who are wanting to support or attract lifestyle entrepreneurs into their area. Gareth Shaw and Allan Williams (2004) found that the small scale entrepreneur in tourism is different than in other economic sectors and needs to be better understood. Tourism attracts lifestyle entrepreneurs for three reasons: 1) it is relatively easy to enter into business in tourism as it does not require professional licensing, formalized education or approval, 2) depending on the sector, low levels of capital are required to enter, and 3) skill sets applicable to entry are largely transferable from other industries. Add to this today's fast paced society and people's desire to achieve balance - and lifestyle entrepreneurship becomes an attractive avenue for personal fulfillment. Irena Ateljevic and Stephen Doorne (2000) have studied lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism in New Zealand extensively. They have found that many of them are motivated by a concious rejection of economic and business growth models. While this might seem to be financial suicide, they found that these entrepreneurs were more often the instigators of niche market opportunities in tourism and were often instrumental in introducing innovation to the wider industry. These ideas often have the value added outcome that they stimulate wider regional economic development opportunities.

While I couldn't find stats on the number of lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism in BC or Canada, my guess is that in rural areas, they are a significant portion of businesses (in a Cornwall study, one third of tourism entrepreneurs were lifestyle motivated). I arrive at this based on the percentage of entrepreneurs that we have encountered over the years, mixed with the observation that rural areas afford individuals the amenities that are likely to contribute to overall lifestyle motivations. It is my observation that we still make the assumption that all businesses have dominant profit motives and are seeking mechanisms to grown and expand their businesses. In making this assumption, we are likely going to miss out on opportunities to a) support the lifestyle entrepreneurs that are already operating in rural areas and b) attract more lifestyle entrepreneurs to rural areas. Both of these are critical to rural tourism development as our already limited product base in rural areas is projected to decline due to the exit of entrepreneurs who plan to retire (baby boomers are shown to dominate) and regions need to find ways to stimulate the addition of small businesses in order to develop experiences for visitors. Indeed - Richard Florida argues that the only communities that will survive are those that are able to attract creative people to locate in them - lifestyle entrepreneurs fit that mold.

So how do regions attract lifestyle entrepreneurs? What questions do we need to be asking ourselves to understand their motives better? My simple answer is - I don't know yet - but the best way for us to find out is to ask them. Some of my research on innovators in sustainability has already shown that these non economic motives are dominant among early adopters in tourism. The lifestyle entrepreneurs I have talked with are more than willing to share what their motives and business support needs are - and these are not necessarily the things that we would expect. Some want to close shop for a couple of months of the year, some want to limit exposure during the season, and others are hiring people who share their passion. These are not typically the business practices that tourism development experts are encouraging or expecting. So it may seem that we have a disconnect if our economic development ideas are based on a limited type of entrepreneur that is neither present or attracted to rural areas. Another important consideration for rural areas is to note that lifestyle entrepreneurs often decide to locate in an area after repeated travel to a destination (for leisure pursuits largely). This phenomenon has been dubbed "travel stimulated entrepreneurial migration" (Snepenger et al, 1995 as cited in Shaw and Williams).

Simply put, lifestyle entrepreneurs are an important asset for rural regions and we have a lot of work to do to understand what they need to settle, set up shop and serve visitors. Let's start the dialogue and listen.

Ateljevic, I and Doorne, S. (2000). Staying within the fence: Lifestyle entrepreneurship in tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol 8, No. 5, p:378.

Shaw, G. and Williams, A. (2004). From lifestyle consumption to lifestyle production: Changing patterns of tourism entrepreneurship. Small Firms in Tourism: International Perspectives, Elsevier Ltd.

Tourism routes can enhance product development

2010-01-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

Last week I commented on the importance of thinking beyond communities to thinking about regional tourism development. One of the ways that others around the world have done this is to develop tourism routes that create unique experiences for visitors (Australia, South Africa, Spain, France). Simply put - route tourism is "an initiative to bring together a variety of activities and attractions under a unified theme and thus stimulate entrepreneurial opportunity through the development of ancillary products and services" (Greffe, 1994). Routes link bundles of experiences for visitors and make it easier for them to make their way through the abundance of marketing information to a travel decision that satisfies their overall needs. One of my favorite quotes on routes is that a" route can be experienced without necessarily ever arriving at a destination, and in turn, a destination can be experienced without following a route" (Murray and Graham, 1997).

Routes have emerged around the world primarily to link products in rural areas where awareness of products is enhanced by creating greater access for visitors who otherwise may not put in the effort to travel to an area. While the impacts of route tourism are still being studied, there is some evidence that routes promote partnership among tourism suppliers resulting in expanded market opportunities. Some have shown that visitors will stay longer and spend more in a region - something many rural areas are striving for.

This week I want to summarize some points from an article called "Route tourism: a roadmap for successful destinations and local economic development" written by Marlien Lourens. Marlien provides some good tips for those who were considering working on tourism routes based on evidence from South Africa and Spain case studies.

Step 1: The route must be grounded in solid market research that identifies key target markets and their needs - this must be done on an ongoing basis to be responsive to trends and shifts in markets.
Step 2: An audit should be done on the tourism products in the area including all natural and cultural assets. It may be valuable to determine criteria to be included as part of the route to ensure consistency of quality in the travel experience.
Step 3: Scrutinize the assets to determine the unique selling features of the area and then develop a macro level strategic plan to consolidate tourism planning for the area.
Step 4: Determine the size of the membership base for suppliers on the route - the buy in of these members is critical to the success of the route for they are the ultimate delivery agents of the experience. It is important to ensure the product mix is diverse and does not over represent any of the sectors (i.e. accommodations) as visitors will expect that all aspects of their experience will be available.
Step 5: Members should establish a clear brand identity for the route and then market this according to the targets identified.
Step 6: Members should decide upon what sort of governance and operational structure they need to ensure that the route is maintained.
Step 7: Members should think long term about the finances required to make the route a success in the minds of visitors. The author suggests that many routes start small and can take 20-30 years to mature and deliver substantial economic benefits and therefore realistic goals should be set about return on investment.

It might be worth considering the potential role of tourism routes to BC's product base as there are currently few well recognized routes available to visitors. While there are a few circle routes listed on the Tourism BC website and drivers see occasional signage on these routes when driving BC highways - there are questions about the level up uptake and ownership of these routes among BC operators or among residents. Are these routes based on ongoing market research or random clusters of natural assets? Do people know about these routes? Are they uniquely positioned in the marketplace? Do operators know which routes they are on and do they tie into these to help position their products? These are all questions we need to ask to understand the impact of these routes or to develop new ones that tie together suppliers in ways that satisfy visitors needs.

The full article citation is: Lourens, M. (2007). Route tourism: a roadmap for successful destinations and local economic development. Development Southern Africa Vol 24, No. 3, September.
Reference to Greffe, X, 1994. Is rural tourism a lever for economic and social development? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2:23-40.

Think regional

2010-01-11T20:00:00.000-08:00

During my recent leave from work (fall 09), I missed the opportunity to attend the Reversing the Tide: Strategies for Rural Revitalization" conference in Prince George. One of my first to do's getting back was to catch up on the reports from the conference - and I was pleased with the topics and materials that came forth. I would recommend taking a look at the Communities in transition site for more material in particular, I will comment on some of the insights in a paper by Mark Drabenstott titled:
"Summary paper: Revitalizing rural BC: Some lessons from rural America"

In his paper, Mark raises numerous points that those involved in tourism development in rural BC should consider. The key point I wanted to highlight is one that I have been making in presentations and boardrooms for some time now - we need to move beyond community tourism thinking in BC to develop regional thinking. Mark makes the case better than I will in the paper, and provides strategies for this to take place, but I wanted to make some comments to reinforce some of his suggestions based on my experiences in the field.

First - Rural areas need to think regionally because visitors do. Simply put, visitors from key markets are usually not familiar with the small communities in our province. And, when they plan a trip, they are unlikely to travel to just one small community. More realistically, they will decide what region or route they will travel to experience a range of amenities that satisfy their travel needs. Depending on their form of travel, they will likely encounter many other communities on route.
In this scenario, our current form of tourism development (community based investments) may be causing some marketing fatigue and confusion. Additionally, the tradition of community rivals in rural areas often transcends hockey games. We make it a regular practice to stop along communities on route when we are travelling for research and asking residents what we can expect in the community we are going to. We write down verbatim the comments that are made and these inevitably are of interst to the study community because they indicate that communities are pitching themselves against one another in the tourism game instead of collaborating.

Mark makes the points about the need to collaborate very well in his paper. He suggests, and I agree once again, that these regions need to be self determined and not follow traditional jurisdicational boundaries if these are not appropriate. I see this in many areas of BC where unique tourism products exist and small groups are working together to leverage their ideas for the betterment of all (Gold Countries Community Society, Alaska HWY, Yellowpoint Cedar area...) but they often have to battle against jurisdictional lines that impede their success and require significant acumen in governance issues. So when I suggest more regional thinking, I am not necessarily suggesting that our current tourism regions take on the task of regional tourism development. For, as you can see by the map itself, these regional lines do not necessarily represent the type of unique competitiveness that Mark is recommending. In fact, for those interested in regional tourism development - it might be a good exercise to consider your regional map completely void of lines and work instead on what the competitive assets are that can be bundled together to create experiences (tourism products) that are unique to the market.

I was reminded many times throughout the article about the good work being done by all the leaders, operators and associations in the Northeast of BC. They were part of a Regional roundtable in 2007-08 that illustrated many of Marks points. As the evaluator of this initiative, I had the opportunity to travel up north many times and observe the process that the group went through. Although the project met up with some operational issues in the end, I think it is fair to say that collectively the points about working together as a region were made. At one of the first meetings - Mayors and First Nations leaders from communities along the Alaska HWY (one of BC's unique products) got together in a room - perhaps for the first time. It took sometime for people to understand that they were expanding their scope of stewardship to extend beyond political domains. But using exercises like storytelling and the sharing of knowledge, the region made headway with regionalizing tourism. The project also exemplified the challenges that Mark cautions about - government agencies are not often supportive of the efforts to think regionally as it requires new alliances and support systems. Or his quote "it requires reaching across long established jurisdictional boundaries which have often been more like battle lines than invitations to collaboration" (p.11). Also, the entire effort is slower and more process oriented - it isn't about quick decisions about which capital projects to fund in a community - it requires a shift to think what the region needs to pursue opportunities that give them a competitive edge.

BC has used a dominant community based tourism development paradigm for a long time. Our funding programs have endorsed the idea that communities can direct their destiny by getting their tourism house in order. While this is important at one point in the continuum, I have long believed that we will not achieve our full potential until we think the way our markets do about our products and combine our limited assets to leverage our strengths.

So - next time you are working on community tourism initiatives, ask yourself how engaged your community is in defining what the regional visitor experience is like. It's time - let's add this language to our discussions and receive the same benefits Mark highlights for rural regions in the US.

BC's first rural tourism conference coming up!

2010-01-06T18:28:00.001-08:00

Over the years as we have travelled from region to region in BC with our students, we have met over 700 community leaders and business operators that shared their experiences in tourism development with the TRIP team. As early as 2007, the Advisory committee for the project agreed that it would be a good idea to host a conference on rural tourism to help bring people together to learn from one another and develop networks thoughout the province. Indeed, when we arrived in a new community, the first question we were asked was "so what are they doing in X community". There are few opportunities for rural leaders and operators to connect with others and learn new strategies that they can bring back to their community. Indeed, this was one of the reasons we took knowledge on the road with TRIP - and we were often met with people that commented that it was nice for them to not have to travel to the "city" and spend their valuable time and money to gather new ideas.

The idea of a rural conference for a region is not unique - indeed Alberta has been hosting a very successful conference for a decade now (see Growing Rural Tourism Conference). The conference is unlike the typical "industry conferences" where the focus is often on updates from government, agencies and associations and instead it focusses on capacity building for small operators and decision makers in rural areas.

Rob Hood from Thompson Rivers University, one of my colleagues in TRIP, was successful in an application to Western Economic Development last year to build on the success of TRIP and focus on assisting communities in the Pine Beetle affected area of the province. One of the aspects of the province was to host our desired BC Rural Tourism Conference and I am happy to announce that folks should mark their calendars for April 6-8th and plan to travel the the North Shuswap region of BC. More information on the conference can be found on the web. . The call for submissions for workshops, sessions, etc is open right now so consider putting in a proposal to the conference committee to share ideas with all the others that will be there.

We hope the conference brings together many of the people we have met along the way to hear updates on your successes and for us to share with you what we have learned about rural tourism in BC throughout the last few years.

Mark your calendars!

Keeping up with technology

2010-01-05T21:13:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone and welcome to the first post of this new blog. I am not usually an early adopter, particularly when it comes to technology (still don't own a cell phone). But, after attending a session on the value of blogs to share knowledge and ideas at the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences in Ottawa in May 2009, I became convinced that blogging could play a role in sharing ideas, insights and innovation with those developing tourism in rural and remote areas of British Columbia (and beyond). So, here it begins...

What I intend to do with the site are a couple of things:

1. Take hard to digest research information from academic, industry and government sources and translate them, pull out the key points and discuss what I think they mean for rural areas;
2. Provide questions around important policy debates, industry issues and other events to help ignite inquiry, debate and dialogue that helps with decision making;
3. Share innovative ideas from businesses and communities that are doing things that others should know about;
4. Explain and instruct on some strategies that will help improve business success in rural areas, or help inform sustainable planning and development decisions at the community and regional level.

It is a tall order and it will take time but I encourage others to follow, contribute and provide me ideas as it evolves. Ask questions and I can investigate the answers, tell me what you or your community is doing, or ask my thoughts on an issue that is facing the industry.

I look forward to helping infuse the industry with this insight into 2010 and beyond.