Get Inspired – Grassroots Rural Tourism is THE future and the future is here now
I just came from speaking at the Rural Tourism Conference in BC. Canada, organized and sponsored by Thompson Rivers University and the REDTREE Project one of THE best conferences I have attended in recent years simply because virtually everyone participating was a doer and willing to share what they had learned from their actions. I gave a new version of a presentation titled: Beyond Recovery: Transformation as it applies to rural communities and then lead a two hour workshop on Sustainability: Changing the Dream in which I was able to share some of the magnificent work being done on community education called Awakening the Dreamer: Changing the Dream by The Pachamama Alliance.
The normal participants – representatives from multiple government departments, trade associations and even the large NGOs were surprisingly absent. The agenda (see here) was packed with presentations, 9 interactive workshops and 12 “toolkit” sessions that provided hard core, practical advice and insights on how to develop trails, signage, agri-tourism opportunities, farm tours, geo-caching, cultural tourism, and effective use of web 2.0 etc.
Rural tourism is hot – not just because it
offers an attractive alternative to mass, urban based tourism but because a).
it exemplifies all the characteristics that many urban dwellers are starting to
value: scale, pace, authenticity, responsibility, one-of-a kind; craft,
meaning; and b). is grassroots – emerging from people willing to take
responsibility for their communities. Leadership is being shared. No one is
waiting on policies and plans but just doing it!
This conference introduced delegates to the important work being done by
Nicole Vaugeois, the Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable
Rural Development at the University of Victoria; Sydney Johnson and Rob Hood of the RED Tree Project and T.R.I.P . I met lots of intersting people doing great work including Joanne Steele of Rural Tourism
Marketing who has been working effectively with small communities in the U.S and publishes an excellent blog on effective marketing for small rural destinations. She has many years experience working on the Net and could be a powerful resource for communities throughout Canada. Donna Dixson, now CEO of Flair Innovations gave an inspiring presentation on her work with Tourism Abbotsford on creating a series of Circle Farm Tours in the region
Unfortunately another pioneer I have met
and am following avidly - Dan Taylor - couldn’t make the event but his work in
developing a “rural creative economy” in Prince Edward County, Ontario has to
be profiled. Dan’s is a good source of ideas and in the video his team produced
you can see the rural renaissance unfolding before your ideas below or on You Tube here.
As the primary focus of my work is now addressing the question: what would an alternative to mass, industrialized tourism look like in a low carbon future, I found plenty of material at this event. Rural tourism communities are different and should stay different – they are still in touch with their environment and their small size means that social issues are dealt with on a personal rather than industrial way. By building communities of purpose, they are able to create the conditions within which innovation can emerge and flourish.
The variety of initiatives, the ingenuity of their protagonists and the tenacity with which they overcome the familiar obstacles that occur when centralized bureaucracies dismiss ideas simply because they are new or didn’t originate internally, or aren’t in the budget was truly inspiring.
Watch these guys at Thompson Rivers University - their enthusiasm, competence, passion and imagination will be infectious and the entire province will be the beneficiaries.
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Get Inspired – Grassroots Rural Tourism is THE future and the future is here now
I just came from speaking at the Rural Tourism Conference in BC. Canada, organized and sponsored by Thompson Rivers University and the REDTREE Project one of THE best conferences I have attended in recent years simply because virtually everyone participating was a doer and willing to share what they had learned from their actions. I gave a new version of a presentation titled: Beyond Recovery: Transformation as it applies to rural communities and then lead a two hour workshop on Sustainability: Changing the Dream in which I was able to share some of the magnificent work being done on community education called Awakening the Dreamer: Changing the Dream by The Pachamama Alliance.
The normal participants – representatives from multiple government departments, trade associations and even the large NGOs were surprisingly absent. The agenda (see here) was packed with presentations, 9 interactive workshops and 12 “toolkit” sessions that provided hard core, practical advice and insights on how to develop trails, signage, agri-tourism opportunities, farm tours, geo-caching, cultural tourism, and effective use of web 2.0 etc.
Rural tourism is hot – not just because it
offers an attractive alternative to mass, urban based tourism but because a).
it exemplifies all the characteristics that many urban dwellers are starting to
value: scale, pace, authenticity, responsibility, one-of-a kind; craft,
meaning; and b). is grassroots – emerging from people willing to take
responsibility for their communities. Leadership is being shared. No one is
waiting on policies and plans but just doing it!
This conference introduced delegates to the important work being done by
Nicole Vaugeois, the Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable
Rural Development at the University of Victoria; Sydney Johnson and Rob Hood of the RED Tree Project and T.R.I.P . I met lots of intersting people doing great work including Joanne Steele of Rural Tourism
Marketing who has been working effectively with small communities in the U.S and publishes an excellent blog on effective marketing for small rural destinations. She has many years experience working on the Net and could be a powerful resource for communities throughout Canada. Donna Dixson, now CEO of Flair Innovations gave an inspiring presentation on her work with Tourism Abbotsford on creating a series of Circle Farm Tours in the region
Unfortunately another pioneer I have met
and am following avidly - Dan Taylor - couldn’t make the event but his work in
developing a “rural creative economy” in Prince Edward County, Ontario has to
be profiled. Dan’s is a good source of ideas and in the video his team produced
you can see the rural renaissance unfolding before your ideas below or on You Tube here.
As the primary focus of my work is now addressing the question: what would an alternative to mass, industrialized tourism look like in a low carbon future, I found plenty of material at this event. Rural tourism communities are different and should stay different – they are still in touch with their environment and their small size means that social issues are dealt with on a personal rather than industrial way. By building communities of purpose, they are able to create the conditions within which innovation can emerge and flourish.
The variety of initiatives, the ingenuity of their protagonists and the tenacity with which they overcome the familiar obstacles that occur when centralized bureaucracies dismiss ideas simply because they are new or didn’t originate internally, or aren’t in the budget was truly inspiring.
Watch these guys at Thompson Rivers University - their enthusiasm, competence, passion and imagination will be infectious and the entire province will be the beneficiaries.
