How is tourism development in rural areas different?

So how is development

of tourism in a rural

context different?

Canadian Association of Geographers Special Session: Rural tourism and recreation in Canada, May 28, 2009, Ottawa

Nicole L. Vaugeois

BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and

Sustainable Rural DevelopmentNicole.vaugeois@viu.ca

Phone 250-753-3245 Local 2772

Vancouver Island University

Looking ahead

▫ Why a rural lens is needed to advance tourism development;

▫ Context of BC▫ Methodology▫ Insights Realities for community leaders and operators

▫ Strategies to improve support programs▫ Research priorities

Proportion of the Canadian population

living in urban regions since 1901

What makes rural different?

• Geography shapes our culture –rural culture has evolved with tensions and realities that are different from our dominant urban population.

Conditions impacting rural BC

DisconnectUrbancentrism

Technology

Limited contact

Urbancentrism

• Policy and programs

• Education offerings

• Communication

Bell cell coverage

northern BC

And southern BC

And access to

internet

Limited contact

• Knowledge and exposure to rural realities is limited

▫ Policy makers

▫ Urban dwellers

Poverty

Poverty in rural Canada?

• Indicators from recent Federal study:

“Compared to their urban residents, rural residents tend to have lower education levels, lower levels of

literacy, lower incomes, fewer job opportunities, fewer higher paying job opportunities, more

seasonal employment, more housing that is in need of repairs, relatively poorer health, and

relatively poorer access to health care services.”

Rural Poverty Discussion Paper

http://www.rural.gc.ca/researchreports/pov/poverty-pauvrete_e.phtml

Migration

Shifting base of human capital

• Young people moving away

• Few leaders –

▫ travel required to participate in decision making

▫ Burnout

• Seniors in

▫ Retirement focus

▫ Tax and service implications

• Amenity migration

▫ Values and interests?

Methods of inquiry

How did arrive at our conclusions?

Over the gate… of course!

Grounded theory

• 5 years of field research through each region of BC

• Mixed methods – in depth interviews, observation, journaling, mapping, review of secondary data, focus groups, rapid rural assessments and regional comparison

• Multiple lens

Tourism Research Innovation

Project (TRIP) (3 year project)

www.trip-project.caPARTNERS

•Vancouver Island University•Thompson Rivers University•College of New Caledonia•University of Northern BC•College of the Rockies•Tourism BC •Ministry of Tourism Culture and the Arts

•BC Parks

•Ministry of Economic Development

•Canadian Rural Secretariat

•LINK BC

Funded in part through the Social

Sciences and Humanities Research

Council

Insights on how the rural

context matters when trying to

advance tourism development

Developing tourism in

rural areas IS different

Some opportunities are more present and some unique barriers exist…

Engagement with government

Community capacity

Marketing realities

Business capacity

Product development

Engagement with “outsiders”

Local support

Improving support programs

Embed a rural lens in

government

• BC Rural Team

• Rural Secretariat

• Field time

▫ Meetings

▫ Reality checks

• Use of rural residents to give input and assess policy and program drafts

Research priorities

Topics AND approaches

• What models are and are not working? Why and where? Are successes in one area transferable?

• Need more micro level base line data (supply and demand)

• Role of regional tourism development – a model that can address “community based models”

• More community-based, participative and long term research approaches where local knowledge is utilized

Beyond conducting research,

academics can:

• Challenge assumptions• Build knowledge of rural areas and develop a

rural lens• Ensure our programs and content reflect rural

realities• Expose our students to these realities• Research topics where rural is a key variable• Conduct collaborative research with those in

rural areas• Share our knowledge with rural audiences

Made in BC approach

BCRIC in Tourism and

Sustainable Rural Development

• Fill knowledge gaps that will enable rural communities to develop sustainable tourism▫ Understand realities (trends, product development, capacities etc)▫ Visitor data

• Collect research to support informed decision making at the community and regional level

• Develop resources that translate research to practice (how to manuals, workshops, etc).

• Evaluate development models to improve accountability and document best practices

• Liaise with policy makers to ensure knowledge is linked to policy and program development

Drivers will be:

Threefold:

1. A research agenda developed with guidance from an advisory committee (audience is rural communities)

2. Communities and regions seeking knowledge

3. Academic questions about rural tourism

Thank you

Nicole Vaugeois

Nicole.vaugeois@viu.ca

www.trip-project.ca