ESTC 2011 Presentation by Justin Ellis, O2 Planning + Design
-
Upload
the-international-ecotourism-society-ties -
Category
Travel
-
view
511 -
download
0
description
Transcript of ESTC 2011 Presentation by Justin Ellis, O2 Planning + Design
This presentation was presented at the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference 2011 (ESTC 2011), held in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA, from September 19th-21st. Organized by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), the
ESTC is a unique annual conference providing practical solutions to advance sustainability goals for the tourism industry.
Learn more about the ESTC: http://www.ecotourismconference.org ESTC on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ESTC_Tourism
ESTC on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ESTC.Tourism
The International Ecotourism Society | web www.ecotourism.org email [email protected] | tel +1 202 506 5033
ESTCSEPTEMBER 21, 2011
ALBERTA’S RECREATION & TOURISM RESOURCE DATA SYSTEM:
INFORMING COLLABORATIVE LAND USE PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING IN SUPPORT OF TOURISM
Justin EllisSenior Planner
Parks, Recreation & Tourism
SESSION OBJECTIVES
• To emphasize the importance of tourism destination planning– land use planning
• To introduce some land use planning tools that support tourism destination planning and management
• To encourage planners, operators and advocates to ensure tourism resources are identified
ALBERTA’S RECREATION & TOURISM RESOURCE DATA SYSTEM
• Context
• Purpose
• Inventories & Tools
• Applications
• Learnings & Encouragements
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
ALBERTA’S RECREATION & TOURISM RESOURCE DATA SYSTEM
• Tourism needs to establish itself as a land based industry
• Land use planning, decision making and tourism competitiveness
• Ecotourism et al. is a resource based industry– Depend on the “recreation and tourism
resources” (features, scenery, settings, perceived & actual environmental quality)
• Understanding the supply of resources is critical to comprehensive land use planning & destination competitiveness
• Alberta Recreation and Tourism Data System
CONTEXT
ALBERTA’S RECREATION & TOURISM RESOURCE DATA SYSTEM
• Acquire spatially explicit data on the supply of recreation & tourism “opportunities”– The “Resource”
• Establish consistent & pragmatic provincial procedures
• Enable evaluation and comparison of opportunities across all scales
PURPOSE
ALBERTA’S RECREATION & TOURISM RESOURCE DATA SYSTEM
• overview
Significant Recreation & Tourism Areas
Scenic Resource Assessm
ent
Recreation / Tourism
Opportunity Spectrum
Recreation & Tourism Features Inventory
CONCEPT
ALBERTA RECREATION & TOURISM FEATURES INVENTORY
PURPOSE OF THE RECREATION & TOURISM FEATURES INVENTORY
• Obtain geographical data as to where rec/tourism features exist
• Central GIS based inventory system
• Collaborate & raise awareness with land managers & local governments
• Furnish base data to be consumed by other inventories and models
RTFI
Scenic
RTOS
STReAM
DEFINITION OF A RECREATION / TOURISM FEATURE
Recreation / Tourism Feature:A biophysical, amenity, cultural or historical feature which supports or has the potential to support one or more recreation / tourism activities
DATABASE DESIGN
DATABASE DESIGN
For each feature the inventory identifies it’s:
• Scarcity
• Sensitivity
• Uniqueness
• Usage Intensity
• Attraction Capability
• Accessibility
• SIGNIFICNACE
ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION
• Initial Population
• GoA field staff workshops conducted
• County/MD workshops conducted
• Tourism industry was not included in initial population
RESULTS
NORTH SASKATCHEWAN REGION
RESULTS
NORTH SASKATCHEWAN REGION
SCENIC RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OF THE NSR
PURPOSE OF THE SCENIC RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
• Understand and incorporate public preferences
• Map the scenic resource
value of lands in the region
• Create a systematic, repeatable and objective assessment methodology
ENGAGING THE PUBLIC
• Developed and delivered visual preference survey to understand perceptions related to: – Inherent scenic quality– Scenic integrity
• Online Survey
• Stratified random sample of 305 Albertans obtained– Region– Age– Gender
• Participants rated photos on a seven-point Likert scale
VISUAL PREFERENCE SURVEY
RESULTS
• Landscapes rated high were characterized by:– Rugged terrain– A variety of vegetation– Rivers and/or lakes
• Landscapes rated low were generally flat, monotonous agricultural landscapes
• Overall, no landscape received a negative visual preference rating
• Interventions were generally perceived to detract from the scenic quality of the landscape
VISUAL PREFERENCE SURVEY
MODELLING FRAMEWORK
• Conceptual Modelling Process
SCENIC RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
SCENIC QUALITY
SCENIC RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
SCENIC INTEGRITY
SCENIC RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
EFFECTIVE SCENIC QUALITY
SCENIC RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
VISUAL SENSITIVITY
SCENIC RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
VISUAL VALUE
SCENIC CORRIDORS
ALBERTA RECREATION & TOURISM OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM
PURPOSE OF THE ALBERTA RECREATION & TOURISM OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM
• Map and understand the supply of recreation / tourism settings
• Establish a provincially consistent, multi-scale and modular GIS modeling methodology
• Enable scenario assessments and the evaluation of land use decisions
A RECREATION AND TOURISM OPPORTUNITY DEFINED
A Recreation / Tourism Opportunity
Activity + Setting = Experience Benefits
Many activities
Biophysical attributes,
social conditions, managerial conditions
Many dimensions
Multiple senses
IndividualCommunityEconomic
Environmental
Managers ManageRecreationists
ConsumeSociety Gains
Adapted from the New Zealand Department of Conservation, 2009
ALBERTA’S RECREATION AND TOURISM OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM DEFINING THE SPECTRUM OF SETTINGS IN ALBERTA
RECREATION & TOURISM OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM
Adapted from US BLM, 1998, and Government BC, 1998
Backcountry Mid-country Front-country Develope
d
Setting I Setting II Setting III Setting IV Setting V Setting VI
Classifications Backcountry Mid-
country Frontcountry Developed
Settings Setting I Setting II Setting III Setting IV Setting V Setting VI
Com
ponen
ts / C
riter
ia
Remoteness
Accessibility
Isolation/ Insulation
Naturalness
Degree of Human Disturbance,
Modification, and Development
Presence of Motorized
Conveyances
Social Conditions
Managerial Presence
Solitude/Self-Reliance
Complete Spectrum
Highly accessible; very close to access points
Moderately accessible; closer to access points
Very low accessibility; far from access points
Small, fragmented patches; isolation difficult
Moderately sized contiguous patches; isolation possible
Large contiguous patches; isolation highly possible
Human-dominated
High disturbance, low naturalness
Moderate disturbance; moderately natural
Low disturbance, highly natural
No disturbance; highly natural
Commonplace
Motorized conveyances permitted, with some restrictions
Motorized conveyances prohibited
Unavoidable
High presence
Moderate presence
Low presence
No presence
Interaction likely
Interaction highly likely
Moderate chance of interaction
Low chance of interaction
Interaction highly unlikely
AAllbbeerrttaa RR//TTOOSS
RTOS CRITERIA
• Combination of components/criteria indicate a type of setting
• Mapping is a matter of identifying which combinations of components/criteria are present in an area
• Many possible combinations of setting criteria
MAPPING THE SETTING
RESULTS
Lower Peace
Lower Athabasca
Upper Peace
Upper Athabasca
North Saskatchewan
Red Deer
South Saskatchewan
Alberta
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%
I II III IV V VI
RESULTS
NORTH SASKATCHEWAN
APPLICATION
• R/TOS model can illustrate changes to setting over time
• Multi-decade forestry scenario– Cut blocks
created– Cut blocks
regrow– Access roads
MODELLING CHANGES OVER TIME – FORESTRY NEAR BIG HORN FLUZ
APPLICATION
• Decade 5
MODELLING CHANGES OVER TIME – FORESTRY NEAR BIG HORN FLUZ
setting pct chg
I 8.5% 0.0%
II 29.0% -2.5%
III 33.3% 4.5%
IV 25.1% -2.5%
V 4.2% 0.5%
VI 0.0% 0.0%
ALBERTA SIGNIFICANT TOURISM / RECREATION AREAS MODEL
PURPOSE OF THE ALBERTA SIGNIFICANT TOURISM & RECREATION AREAS MODEL
• To spatially identify the lands that are most important to the recreation and tourism industry
• Provincially consistent procedures
SUPPLY SIDE APPROACH
RECREATION/TOURISM DEMAND AND PARTICIPATION
Tourism resources, their characteristics and their surroundings are evaluated for their potential to facilitate tourism opportunities.
MODEL MUST REFLECT THE SUPPLY VARIABLES THAT AFFECT THE CHOICE OF DESIRABLE DESTINATIONS
• Attractiveness can be influenced by:– Aesthetic quality of
surroundings– Scarcity of the settings– Rare, unique, sensitive,
elements / features
• Accessibility of locations
THEORY
• Detractors are “any elements in the setting that are perceived by the recreationist to diminish the quality of the recreation or tourism experience (Miller and McCool, 2003).
• Users cope with detractors by:– Alternate site selection– Time-shifting visits– Changing the detractors or
effects– Adjusting expectations– Choosing not to participate
• Ability for visitors to cope was reflected in the model’s criteria weightings– Feature – is a must– Setting – is critical– Scenery – coping will occur– Access – can be developed
SETTING DETRACTORS AND COPING
METHODS
• Fifteen characteristics:– Natural RTFI Features
• Scarcity• Sensitivity• Usage Intensity• Uniqueness• Point density• Line density
– Built RTFI Features• Scarcity• Sensitivity• Usage Intensity• Uniqueness• Point density• Line density
– Recreation/Tourism Opportunity Spectrum
– Scenic Value– Accessibility
SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA
METHODS
• Index values from input layers weighted by relative importance to recreation / tourism significance– Density of features– Quality of features– Quality of setting
• Summation of values provides final Significance Score
CALCULATING SIGNIFICANCE
METHODS
• From the map of significance score, areas of high significance can be identified
• Two methods:– Absolute: Values above a
threshold are considered significant
– Relative: Values significantly higher than the local area score are considered significant
• Areas are processed to remove small islands, linear features
IDENTIFYING SIGNIFICANT AREAS
ALBERTA’S NORTH SASKATCHEWAN REGION SIGNIFICANCE SCORE
SIGNIFICANT AREAS
RESULTS
• Can identify the location and distribution of RTSA’s– Majority of the Significant Areas
are found in Boreal settings
• Understand the administrative / jurisdictional responsibilities for the land– Number of SRTAs in the Green
Zone
• Evaluate the extent of RTSA”s that are currently protected within Parks or other conservation regime’s– Less significant overlap between
SRTAs, PPAs.
EVALUATING SIGNIFICANT AREAS
RESULTS
INDIVIDUAL AREAS
• As part of STReAM, the 46 Significant Areas were identified and isolated for further analysis
• Individual area reports developed which include:– Major characteristics and
features– R/TOS, scenic statistics– Overlapping administrative /
land use management areas (FMAs, Green Zone, etc.)
– Historical features found within areas
– Inventory of all features in the Significant Area
“STREAM” CONCLUSIONS
• Different applications of STReAM are possible:– Different times of the year– Different users– Different scales / study areas– Scenario analysis– Cumulative effect
management
• Related to demands– When data is available
NEXT STEPS
PROJECT LEARNINGS & ENCOURAGEMENTS
The AB Rec / Tourism Data system can be used to:
• Plan to meet recreation and tourism target market demands,
• Inform the relationship between rec / tourism and other land uses
• Spatially predict influences of land use decisions on rec / tourism opportunities– At all scales and on all lands,– Significance and intensity of
influence,– Location of changes.
• Inform establishment of clear rec / tourism management objectives through land use planning and decision-making,
PROJECT LEARNINGS & ENCOURAGEMENTS
• Design management strategies to improve compatibility between competing land uses
• Inform and communicate rec / tourism opportunities to the public
• As an industry, it is critical to make your values known – spatially
• Critical to ensure the connection between land use and tourism competitiveness is understood
• Organize – big and small