My presentation was called "Equestrian tourism in British Columbia: Its evolution, current state and potential" (download here). In the presentation, I cover material that has been formed over the last couple of years with some of my undergraduate students (thanks to Alyssa, Juan, Jacquie and Alessandra). In short, equestrian tourism is a potential niche market for BC. Much travel activity is already occuring but it is not recognized as a unique niche and strategic efforts are not being made to capitalize on the potential of the industry in a meaningful way. With a growing number of equestrians located near urban areas who are looking for things to do (and money to do it usually), this group may be worth looking at - particularly for regions that have amenities already in place (i.e. trails, event facilities).
In order to move this niche forward in BC, we have much to do to establish a common language and understanding about what exactly equestrian tourism is. To this end, my students and I propose a definition and a typology to help that along. It seemed to get a great response from colleagues at the Symposium, and I look forward to hearing how the group developed further clarity in the week.
