Volunteer Tourism

1. Volunteer Tourism • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cz1POqVHio • Desire to give back to the community, to learn about the culture, or to just change their daily life pattern for a short period of time • Example building a school in Africa, Habitat for Humanity in a disaster area

2. Spa Tourism • Focuses on overall health and well-being of the traveler • Nutrition programs, massages, facials • Might cater organic meals, encourage golf and tennis

3. Culinary Tourism • Very broad topic, enjoying the cultural cuisine, attending a seminar on growing and using herbs, taking a cooking course, visiting a sugar bush, touring vineyards

4. Ecotourism • Want to better understand the biosphere, how the varying parts of our world that work together to produce either positive or damaging results • Vacation that helps them understand the relationship between this relationship, to become involved in nature-related experience and/or to see a sight that scientists have identified before it disappears • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvDSTtp0ij4

5. Agricultural Tourism • Visitor gets a chance to enjoy the chance to work on a family farm, learning more about the production of a specific product

6. Medical Tourism • Travelers choose a destination to gain access to specific medical practice unavailable at home • Ex. Cancer treatment or surgery when wait is too long at home or that hasn’t been approved in Canada yet

7. Extreme Tourism • Adrenalin rush, paying to put their lives at risk • Examples: Storm chasing, swimming with sharks, ice diving

8. Why has the tourism industry grown?

9. Reason for Tourism growth • Advancements made in how we transport people (trains, cruises, planes) • Better marketing, promotions, and media coverage • Computers and Internet • Better educational systems • More disposable income • More stressful lifestyle • Declining cost of travel • Common currencies • Political Stability • Easing of government restrictions

10. Political Stability • Terrorist attack on World Trade Center had a huge negative impact on tourism • Sparked fear of terrorists which made people not want to travel • Coupled with larger restrictions on border crossings and customs • Other effects: SARS outbreak, weakened world economy • Syria tourism: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2406612/Syria-violence-affects-Lebanon-tourism-government-advises-Britons-avoid-country.html

11. Canada is  about Tourism • Canada has earned a reputation as being safe and peaceful country • We did feel the backlash from the terrorist attack on 9-11 but we have recovered and remain a country that inspires traveler confidence

12. More definitions • Trip: any travel that takes a person 80km from their place of residence for any reason other than a commute to work or school, travel in an ambulance or to a hospital or clinic; or a trip that is longer than one year • Foreign tourists: persons visiting a country other than that in which they live, for a period of at least 24 hours • Domestic tourists: people travelling in the country in which they life, staying for at least 24 hours and travelling at least 80km from their home

13. You are a tourist if… • You are travelling for pleasure, for family reasons, to learn more about the world in general, or for health or religious purpose • You are travelling for business reasons other than direct remuneration by the country you are visiting • You are visiting the country as part of a sea cruise or travel package

14. You are NOT a tourist if… • You are actively going to take up an occupation at your destination • You are establishing residency in the country • You are attending an educational institution and establishing a residence • You are staying for less than 24 hours

15. Excursionists • Excursionists/same day visitors: travelling 80km from home for recreation or entertainment without staying overnight (NOT tourists) • Is not commuting to work or school, or operating as part of a crew on a train, airplane, truck, bus or ship

16. Why do Canadians like to travel away from Canada? • Cold winters – so we want warm sunny climates to visit in the winter • Relatives who live outside the country – so go to visit • Foreign countries promote their attractions more effectively than Canada does • Canadians are not aware of the travel treasures within their borders

17. Travel Deficit • Every time a Canadian leaves the country, their tourism dollars are lost to Canada • Travel deficit: loss in tourism revenues (difference between amount of money spent by visitors travelling to Canada and the money spent by Canadians travelling abroad – referred to as our “International Travel Account”)

18. Revenue production • Much of the revenue produced by tourism goes back into the local economy • Multiplier effect shows the beneficial effect this revenue has on nearly everyone in the community • Example: Tourists stay at the Ramada Hotel, they pay the hotel for their room. Ramada takes these “tourist dollars” and uses them to pay salaries, supplies, mortgage payments and electricity

19. Leakage • Occurs when the community cannot support the influx of tourists and must import workers and goods in order to sustain the industry • Example: Banff • Banff does not have enough residents to support the amount of tourists who visit each summer, so they have to hire workers from outside the community. Banff also has to buy supplies from larger cities like Calgary • Ex. A student who works in Banff, uses salary to pay living expenses for summer but also pays student fees for his university in Vancouver • When leakage occurs, the community that hosts the tourist does not get the full benefit of the revenue generated • Really bad for small islands who don’t have a lot of resources to support tourists

20. Look through this document and find: • How much “leakage” occurred in Alberta’s National Parks? • http://www.tpr.alberta.ca/tourism/research/docs/skiec.pdf