Red River Gorge

Red River Gorge in the Daniel Boone National Forest has started to suffer damage to it's natural environment and resources due to abuse and negligance of those who visit the gorge. In order to find a solution to stop the destruction, the USDA Forest Service decided in 2004 to begin a plan using the Limits of Acceptable Change. Utilizing the LAC method, the Forest Service wants the public who visit the gorge to be the main developers of the plan to save Red River Gorge.

A series of workshops were set up to introduce the public to the LAC method and then start formulating the plan that needed to be in place. Much data was gathered including reasons why people visit the gorge and the main concerns people have about things needing to be changed in order to better protect the gorge and its natural environment. The gorge area has many caves and petroglyphs, and due to abuse, some of these have already been ruined permanently. Some of the things people wanted to see changed or improved in the process of setting the Limits of Acceptable Change include better education of preservation and individual responsibility, improving and managing trails to keep people from wandering, and assigning responsibility to those who do cause damage or misuse.

Hong Kong's Committment to Asian Tourism

Browsing through Jodie's Geography I found a blog titled Social and Economic Impacts of Tourism and Recreation in Southeast and East Asia. In early 2003, tourism and recreation in Asia was hit hard by the outbreak of SARS. At the time, Asia-Pacific was the fastest growing region in the world in international tourist arrivals, partly because of the vast and diverse tourism product available in the region. In July 2003 Hong Kong, a leader in Asian tourism destinations, made a Declaration on the Revitalization of the Asian Tourism Industry. This declaration was a committment by Hong Kong to do several things for the Asian tourism industry:

1. Reassure travellers from all over the world of their safety in Asia and the
Pacific, and invite them to resume their holidays and business trips to
the region,
2. Enhance and strengthen international coordination and monitoring
systems through effective liaison and networking between Governments
and appropriate international organizations to promote effective crisis
management plans, adopting best practices and sharing of information
thereby ensuring the long-term sustainability of the sector,
3. Promote inter-governmental cooperation in addressing the issues of
travel advisories and facilitation of travel,
4. Work towards greater public-private sector cooperation and
coordination at all levels of tourism planning and management,
particularly in the design and implementation of tourism recovery plans,
5. Recognize the need to prepare tourism professionals in various aspects
of crisis management and recovery plans,
6. Foster greater inter-governmental cooperation to promote the growth of
intra-regional tourism to serve as a key driver for Asian tourism,
economic and social development, and
7. Work towards the creation of a strong alliance between Governments,
the private sector, international agencies, local communities and the
media with the view to disseminating accurate and timely information on
security and safety conditions at tourist destinations.

'Auss'ome Eco-Tourism

Eco-Tourism Australia was born in 1991 as a non-profit organization, "To be leaders in assisting ecotourism and other committed tourism operations to become environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and socially and culturally responsible." The organization is made up of ecotourism accommodations, tour and attraction operators, tourism planners, protected area managers, academics and students, tourism, environmental, interpretation and training consultants, local and regional tourism associations and travelers.

Their focus is about growing and promoting eco-tourism and other involved tourism operations to become more sustainable. Some of the steps they have in place to work towards their mission are to develop and incorporate standards for sustainability, marketing the ideas of sustainability to increase awareness, improve finanacial viability for companies that use sustainable practices, and increasing professionalism of those in the industry.

They have two programs in place, one for certifying the product, and another for certifying guides. The Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program provides assurance to businesses and travelers alike that an accredited product is backed by a committment to practice ecological sustainability, natural area management and the provision of quality ecotourism experiences. This program is now being used as the International Eco-Tourism Standard. The second program, The EcoGuide Certification Program, is an industry driven certification program for nature and ecotour guides that is designed to enhance Guides competencies, and assess a Guide's skills, knowledge, personal attributes and actions.

Gambling on Asia

Here in the US casinos are popping up all over the place. It used to be Vegas and Atlantic City, but now there casinos everywhere...most of these are either "Indian Casinos" or "Riverboat Casinos." Native Americans have decided to build profitable casinos on their land and cities near water have built "Riverboats" that rarely leave the dock. Within the last couple years Asia has decided to join the casino and gambling phenomenon...why have local people travel to the US when they can stay closer to home and have the same experience.

In April 2005 Singapore decided to add Vegas style casinos, with the hopes of creating jobs, increasing tourism, and ultimately increasing tourism revenues to the area. If they are successful the economic impacts will be great, with an expected $18 billion in tourist spending, triple what it is without the casinos. The casinos in Singapore are expected to open in 2009, and as well to increased tourist spending, 100,000 jobs are expected to be created. On the downside, some people are afraid of the potential social problems that the casinos will cause, such as gambling addictions in local residents. One proposal is to charge locals a daily membership fee in order to deter them from frequent visits, and monitor them to watch for signs of addiction. Singapore hopes the casinos will energize their economy through tourism by making them a more exciting Asian destination.

Africa Online

While doing research on Africa, I was pleasantly surprised with the information I found online. Although I travel often, Africa was one place I had never put much thought into visiting or taken the time to learn about. For most people when you mention Africa you think of the great Sahara and Kalahari Deserts and dry, hot weather. What you don’t think of are the great wetlands and rainforest areas along the equator in central Africa, the lakes such as Lake Albert and Lake Victoria in eastern Africa, and the varying landscapes and eco-systems of southern Africa. The online resources are endless and include both popular guides such as Lonely Planet and Excite.com’s Travel Guide, as well as sites of the individual countries and individuals that are sharing their experiences. I discovered that South Africa has numerous wineries and tours are available to visit many of these. I also found out that the people of Uganda are warm and welcoming and say they are Africa’s Friendliest Country. Online resources are a great source of discovery about new places. I plan to continue my discoveries about Africa and perhaps add it to my list of future travel destinations.

Demand for Middle East Tourism

The Middle East does not typically come to mind as a place in high demand for international tourism however Qatar is trying to break away from that stereotype. In September 2005 Qatar became the first Middle Eastern country to host World Tourism Day. Part of the celebration will include Qatar’s first National Tourism Conference as well as other events. Several weeks after hosting World Tourism Day, Qatar was awarded in the 12th Annual World Travel Awards for the Middle East’s leading Tourist and Convention Bureau. “'The prominence of Qatar as a quality destination, for leisure, business, education, sports…is becoming ever more apparent.” However, according to Nader Habibi of Global Insight it is possible that the supply for tourism in Qatar as well as other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, and Oman) may soon outweigh the demand, and that all countries in the region should work together to maximize the potential of the region.
Just this month, Qatar was again being discussed in the news. They will be host to the 15th Asian Games this year, and are again discussing the plans that lie ahead for the continued building of tourism in the country.

New York - An Attraction?

So what city would you pick as the top tourist attraction the US? If you said New York, you were right on the money according to Michael Verikios at Travel Daily News. And I would have to agree with him. New York has everything; museums, restaurants, sporting events, musicals, operas, and culture. There is history in New York, from Central Park, to SoHo, to the top of the Empire State Building. You could spend a week and not ever touch on all there is to do and see in New York. There is Little Italy and Chinatown, uptown and downtown, bridges and tunnels. Try the subway if you want to experience some true New York culture…street musicians, vagabonds, businessmen, families, it’s all there underground. New York, in my opinion, is an ultimate tourist and traveler destination. You can make the experience as authentic as you’d like…or you can buy souvenir t-shirts on the corner for $5.00 each. Although if you think about it, when it comes to New York, even that could be authentic because it is a part of what New York is.

If you would like to read Mr. Verikios’ article, it can be found here.

Travelers have more fun!

My husband and I travel often, many of our recent trips have been cruises. Cruising has it's goods and bads...Good, you get to visit many places during your 7-14 day adventure...Bad, you are visiting many places so you do not always get to experience everything you might like to see in any given port of call. Our goal is to make the most of the time we have. Shore excursions are for tourists, or the unadventurous. In the weeks before our travels we plan out how to see things the way the locals would...by bus, train, foot, or any other locally used means of transportation. Our most recent experience, why pay $5 per person for a cramped "bus" ride in St. Thomas when you can ride with the locals on the "$1 Bus." Same bus, different price, more memorable experience. On the "tourist bus" you'd never hear about a local's opinion of corrupt government affairs while at the same time pulling up alongside a truck of minimum security inmates returning from work duty, to have the passenger beside you hand $20 to one of the inmates, telling you he'd get it back in a couple months...it was his neighbor! On your next trip, try to be a traveler, not a tourist...you'll have more fun!