White House blogs benefits of tourism on public lands

 Tourism Planning, USA  No Responses »
Jul 312012
 

Last week, the White House blog highlighted the benefits of tourism on public lands. The blog cited the annual visitor survey of the US Department of Agriculture which showed that

“Forest Service lands attracted 166 million visitors in 2011, and, as a result, visitor spending in nearby communities sustained more than 200,000 full- and part-time jobs.  The survey also reveals that these jobs produced labor income of more than $7.6 billion, while forest and grassland visitor spending contributed more than $13 billion to the gross domestic product.’

Other highlights:

*Recent Department of Interior study showed that recreation in national parks, refuges, and other public lands alone led to nearly $47 billion in economic contribution and 388,000 jobs in 2010.”

*An Outdoor Industry Association report showed that 140 mn Americans spent a combined US$646 bn on  on hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, and other outdoor recreation on public and private lands supporting more than 6 million American jobs.

Impressive numbers.

Links

The USDA report summary

For the DOI study

 For the Outdoor Recreation Economy study

Bookmark and Share
Link to this post!

Rwanda Tourism to Launch Congo Nile Trail

 East Africa, Tourism Planning, Tourism Product Development  No Responses »
Oct 312011
 

UPDATE: According to Wolfgang Thome, one of the most active travel industry bloggers in East Africa, the Trail will now be launched on November 25th. He said in a recent blog posting that tour operators have begun to market the trail.

With the launch of the Congo Nile Trail on November 4th, Rwandan tourism is further diversifying and sharing its cultural and natural heritage with the world.

Location of Congo Nile Trail in Rwanda

Congo Nile Trail Location

The Trail begins on the shores of Lake Kivu along the western edge of Rwanda across from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and extends south for 227 kms from Rubavu to Rusizi via the Karongi and Nyamasheke Districts. The trail offers stunning scenery, coffee and tea experiences, and visits to towns and villages along the Lake.

Congo Nile Trail - Rubavu to Rusizi Route Map

Congo Nile Trail - Rubavu to Rusizi Route Map

The Trail can be walked in 10 days or completed by bicycle in five days and by 4×4 car in three days. Along the way, the Congo Nile trail includes eight base camps, two main paths and four secondary trails, which all make this a breathtaking “bucket list” once-in-a-lifetime hiking experience.

For a more detailed map, click here Congo Nile Trail Map.

Contact: Philibert Ndandali, Senior Promotion Officer,  Rwanda Development Board (RDB). Cell: +44 788 684804 (Rwanda)  or + 44 7572 091962 (UK) during the World Travel Market (Nov 7-11). Email: philibert.ndandali@rdb.rw

Bookmark and Share
Link to this post!

Travelers’ Philanthropy – A Strategy for Sustainable Tourism Development

 Sustainable Tourism Resources, Tourism Planning, Tourism Policy  No Responses »
Oct 282011
 

Travelers’ Philanthropy — literally travelers giving back to a destination — can be a strategy for sustainable tourism development if established and managed carefully.

The Washington, DC-based NGO, Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), has made this strategy a cornerstone of their mission. Each year CREST conducts a diverse and fascinating Traveler’s Philanthropy Conference that brings together a broad cross-section of stakeholders from the public sector, business world and civil society to discuss and report on best practices of leveraging traveler support for destinations, particularly in emerging markets. This year’s conference was in Costa Rica and produced a comprehensive set of workshop proceedings and reports on best practices.

A couple of presentations that particularly caught my attention were CREST Director Martha Honey’s presentation “Origins, Growth and Different Models” of Travelers’ Philanthropy and Program Director David Krantz’s “Readiness Checklist.”

Dr. Honey defines Travelers’ Philanthropy as  ”tourism businesses and travelers making concrete contributions of time, talent, or treasure. to local projects that is beyond what is generated through normal tourism business transactions.” She describes how tapping travelers’ generosity and care for the places they visit can be leveraged to the benefit of the destination and, at the same time, it can benefit the suppliers — the various businesses that provide tourism services to visitors. To read her full presentation, click here.

 

Krantz offers us a straightforward, no nonsense list of seven steps for the preparation of Travelers’ Philanthropy programs:

1) Know the area

2) Demonstrate good leadership

3) Invest in short corporate social responsibility projects

4) Assess the area

5) Scan potential projects

6) Develop agreements

7) Design a program

For more details and to download his full presentation, click here.

The full conference proceedings can be viewed and/or downloaded from the CREST website for the Conference.

Bookmark and Share
Link to this post!

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism establishes Green Tourism Department

 Egypt, Tourism Planning, Tourism Strategy  No Responses »
Oct 172011
 

Egypt’s Ahram News just reported that the Ministry of Tourism is planning to emphasize and promote green tourism, particularly around Sharm el Sheikh. “Music” to this author’s ears – 23 years ago I was finishing the second edition of Lonely Planet’s Egypt and Sudan guide and had just gone scuba diving at Sharm and other [...]

New Tourism Destination on the Horizon – Libya?

 North Africa, Tourism Planning  No Responses »
Oct 112011
 

Libya with 2000 kms of beautiful undeveloped coastline and some of the greatest archaeological ruins on the Mediterranean, it is not surprising that the UNWTO, Euromonitor,  Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Hilton and Jones Lang LaSalle  are all optimistic about tourism in the country. The National (of the United Arab Emirates) reported today that Libya ”has long [...]

Sharjah UAE Tourism Market Positioning Pays Off

 Middle East, Tourism Planning, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Sep 282011
 
Sharjah UAE Tourism Market Positioning Pays Off

The Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates has been increasingly and successfully positioning itself as a diverse family destination. According to Director General Mohamed A. Al Noman, Sharjah is a complete holiday destination for all sorts and categories of international tourists.   “Sharjah attracts both the East and the West and European travellers as well as [...]

Destination Planning Course Launched for George Washington University

 Sustainable Tourism Resources, Tourism Education, Tourism Planning  No Responses »
Sep 082011
 

Since 2003, I have been teaching Destination Planning with Lauren Bohatka for the Accelerated Master of Tourism Administration Program at George Washington University. This week we welcome 28 graduate students to the launch of the seventh cohort of the course. Many of the students are already professionals in tourism and/or related areas. It looks like we [...]