Resources

RESOURCES


RESOURCES: PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS

Author : Cynthia Messer, Ingrid Schneider & Okechukwu Ukaga
School/Work Place : University of Minnesota, USA
Contact : cmesser@umn.edu
Year : 2007

Communities have a variety of interest levels in tourism overall, including sustainable tourism (WTO, 2002). While we have witnessed increased awareness and discussions about sustainability and sustainable tourism, there is often a lack of shared definitions of means and ends among stakeholders, ambiguities in what is meant by sustainable tourism, and constant debate over specific policy and practice options for achieving it (McCool et al, 2001).

Thus, to enhance understanding and application of sustainable tourism principles and practices, a program based on best practices across the U.S. was developed. The program enhances and facilitates progress in sustainable tourism by addressing environmental, economic or social issues as identified by the community. A case study of program application and evaluation is presented for discussion and replication.

The Tourism Resource Team (TRT) program provides technical assistance to community tourism organizations that have encountered an obstacle to realize their sustainable tourism goals. The University based TRT program is grounded in three principles: 1) active citizenship of local citizens in designing and implementing projects, 2) addressing issues according to sustainable development principles; and 3) a vibrant relationship between citizens and their University. The program’s process includes an invitation to communities to submit a proposal, objective evaluation of the proposal, and, if/when selected, ongoing interaction for more than one year related to the sustainable tourism obstacle.

Upon selection, the community creates a broad reaching community tourism team, provides a packet of information to the TRT and prepares for a 2-3 day visit. Based on the community’s needs, an expert TRT team participates in 2-3 days of site visits and meetings, and prepares a presentation with recommendations to discuss with the community. A final report is crafted within
one month of the visit and presented to the community. Program evaluations are conducted immediately, as well as 6 and 12 months following the visit. These immediate, short and long-term evaluations provide various feedback mechanisms and insight for the program and community.

To date, three iterations of the program have ensued leaving a list of lessons learned and successes from which to build. Issues of concern to the communities are similar to those encountered elsewhere (Nickerson and Kerr, 2000) and include: gateway community tensions with federal and state land owners, seasonality, and integrated community relations. Lessons learned and affirmed from the cases include the necessity for full community participation, need to educate about sustainable tourism, and the delicacy of community relations.

All program implementations met with success and measurable outcomes. Along with an immediate increased understanding of sustainable tourism, community leaders and citizens expressed recognition of the consequences of mass tourism development and development that occurs without public involvement. Longer-term community benefits identified include opportunities for organization, a sense of collaboration, and increased understanding of sustainable tourism. Lessons learned include insight on team formations, community culture, and resource allocation.

The TRT program has proven a valuable tool to address community-driven sustainable tourism issues. The program expands local understanding of sustainable tourism, encourages community participation in using sustainable practices to address local issues, and generates outcomes and long-term impacts for communities. The model can easily be replicated.


List of Articles
No. Subject Views Datesort
9 Think Tank XI Broad Street Regeneration Initiative: Practical Sustai... file 16474 Dec 19, 2013

Professors of tourism management teach principles of sustainable tourism to students in the classroom. Practitioners teach by implementing sustainable tourism principles in community. The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council (Tourism Council) i...

Author: Robert Billington, Natalie Carter, Caitlin Amos & Myles Ellison 

Year: 2011 

8 Think Tank XIII Using Tourism to Build Social Capital in Communities: ... file 13295 Nov 06, 2013

Despite considerable discussion about how tourism could or should contribute to sustainable destination development, there is little evidence that the practice of tourism planning or development has altered in any significant way in the last...

Author: Gianna Moscardo, Andrea Schurmann, Elena Konovalov & Nancy G. McGehee 

Year: 2013 

7 OPA award Using Tourism to Build Social Capital in Communities: ... file 8664 Nov 06, 2013

Despite considerable discussion about how tourism could or should contribute to sustainable destination development, there is little evidence that the practice of tourism planning or development has altered in any significant way in the last...

Author: Gianna Moscardo, Andrea Schurmann, Elena Konovalov & Nancy G. McGehee 

Year: 2013 

6 Think Tank XIII The Politics of Community-Based Tourism Planning in th... file 3371 Nov 06, 2013

The management of protected areas has to deal with a wide range of challenges, amongst these, a growing array of social, political and economic expectations. In this regard, protected areas are increasingly expected to particularly serve as ...

Author: Anna Hübner & Truong Si Hong Chau 

Year: 2013 

5 Think Tank XIII The Paradox of poverty amidst the plenty of nature: co... file 6476 Nov 06, 2013

Rural communities in South Africa have not been active stakeholders in tourism development. Community awareness and involvement in the preservation of natural and cultural heritage through sustainable tourism development in selected areas ad...

Author: Felicité A. Fairer-Wessels 

Year: 2013 

4 Think Tank XIII Linking tourism with Sustainable Development in Post-R... file 2986 Nov 06, 2013

This paper examines relationships between tourism and sustainable development via a case study that took place in Egypt from September 2011 to March 2012. The study, hosted by the Planeterra Foundation and G Adventures travel and conducted t...

Author: Laura Carroll 

Year: 2013 

3 Think Tank XIII Building community capacity by developing regional bus... file 5119 Nov 06, 2013

Tourism is often proposed as a strategy for community development, especially in rural or remote regions where traditional industries, such as agriculture, are experiencing an economic downturn and there are limited alternative opportunities...

Author: Anna Blackman 

Year: 2013 

» Think Tank VII Tourism Resource Teams: Innovation with and for touris... file 12110 Oct 13, 2013

Communities have a variety of interest levels in tourism overall, including sustainable tourism (WTO, 2002). While we have witnessed increased awareness and discussions about sustainability and sustainable tourism, there is often a lack of s...

Author: Cynthia Messer, Ingrid Schneider & Okechukwu Ukaga 

Year: 2007 

1 Think Tank VI The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: CSR, Film and Tourism.... file 7741 Oct 13, 2013

This paper reports on an element of an ongoing research project undertaken since 1999 in relation to the effects of film-induced tourism on a small community based in North Yorkshire, England, namely Goathland.  Goathland is better known to ...

Author: Sue Beeton 

Year: 2006 

OPA: 2006 Runner Up 

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