Module 10 -
Case Study: Sustainable Rural Tourism in Northern BC
University
of Northern British Columbia
Objectives:
·
Students will understand the
global context of rural tourism.
·
Students will understand the
linkages between the rural tourism globally and the national and regional
contexts in Canada and British Columbia.
·
Students will have an awareness
of the sustainable workings of rural tourism operators in British Columbia.
·
Students will be able to identify
the innovations that make British Columbia rural tourism operators sustainable.
·
Students will be able to
extrapolate the knowledge from this module to sustainable rural tourism in
their nation/region.
Background:
The concept of sustainability is especially important for tourism in Canada’s rural areas since tourism products often rely on the sensitive natural and cultural resources found there. Many rural communities are hardest hit by economic shifts, and tourism development has become a common diversification strategy to assist in rural community survival. Despite often being deemed a “non-extractive” industry, tourism is still a resource dependent industry. It relies on natural surroundings, communities and the steady supply of products to create experiences for visitors (Ewert & Shultis, 1997; Nistoreanu, 2007). Advocates for the industry have pushed forward tourism agendas citing the benefits of economic growth without the same environmental impacts of resource extraction or manufacturing industries (Gartner, 2004). However, as the industry grew, it became apparent that tourism could in fact be unsustainable. Tourism, at its worst, can have a tendency to concentrate high volumes of people in sensitive eco-systems, place a population boom on communities without the infrastructure or development plans to handle it, and displace cultures in desirable destinations (Ewert & Shultis, 1997). Additionally, the industry is forever battling the indisputable fact that it is inherently linked to substantial “luxury” fossil fuel consumption.
The shifting economic base in rural areas is particularly pronounced in British Columbia where dominant resource-based industries like fishing, forestry and agriculture have undergone dramatic changes in the last two decades. These industries have shaped rural life in British Columbia and the transition to diversify has not been an easy one. Many rural residents want to learn from their previous reliance on a single industry. As business operators and community leaders explore the potential of tourism, many want to ensure that it is developed in a sustainable manner.
When assisting rural areas in the development of sustainable tourism strategies, questions arise about the relevance of the current literature on the situation found in small and medium sized rural businesses. Whilst cases of sustainable tourism practices are emerging in the literature, many profile the efforts of large businesses operating in urban contexts and usually in the hospitality sector. What would be helpful to rural businesses is to understand what sorts of strategies are being used by others of a more comparable nature in their pursuit of sustainability.
Required Readings (4
numbered readings):
Global Context:
**If your library has them – read portions of the
following two books to assist with your background knowledge:
a. Roberts, L., & Hall, D. (2001). Rural tourism and recreation: Principles to
practice. Wallingford, UK: CABI.
b.
Hall,
D. R., Roberts, L., & Mitchell, M. (2003). New directions in rural tourism. Aldershot,
UK: Ashgate.
Canadian Context:
British Columbia Context:
4. Read the Northern BC examples from the “Made in BC” Innovation in Sustainable Tourism report – available at: http://web.viu.ca/sustainabletourism/Innovation%20manual%20Final%20%20June%2022.pdf
Alternatively, or in addition, watch the accompanying
video available at: http://web.viu.ca/sustainabletourism/
Other Useful Resources:
·
Rural Tourism Bibliography
(2008) - http://www.trip-project.ca/uploaded/reports-presentations/rural-tourism-bibliography-2008.pdf
·
BC Rural Summit - http://www.bcruralnetwork.ca/taxonomy/term/21
·
TRIP project - http://www.trip-project.ca/
·
REDTREE project - http://redtree.tru.ca/
·
BC Rural Tourism Conference
2010 (speaker presentations) - http://redtree.tru.ca/Conferences/speakers.htm
·
Fostering Innovation in
Sustainable Tourism project - http://web.viu.ca/sustainabletourism/
·
BC Regional Innovation Chair
in Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development - http://web.viu.ca/vaugeois/Chair.htm
·
Canada’s Rural Partnership - http://www.rural.gc.ca/RURAL/
·
Forthcoming Journal of Rural and Community Development (http://www.jrcd.ca/): Special issue on Rural Tourism and
Recreation in Canada
Discussion
Questions
1. How is rural tourism different from urban tourism?
2. How do policy and perspectives in Canada provide the ability for rural
tourism to be sustainable?
3.
With a rural lens, how have
tourism operators in Northern British Columbia made practical innovations in
order to address sustainability issues?
4. From all the operators profiled in British Columbia, what linkages can
you make to rural tourism in your own country or region?
Vocabulary
The
rural lens
Sustainable
tourism
Innovation
Faculty contact for
Questions or Clarification
Dr.
Pat Maher, UNBC, (maherp@unbc.ca)