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Does agritourism change consumer behaviour? Support of local food suppiers
Does agritourism change consumer behaviour? Support of local food suppiers
Working with Alberta's Ministry of Tourism and local agricultural societies our educational outreach project explored the impact of recreationist and tourist visits to farms. During the annual Open Farms weekend, visitors learned through educational programs on local farm land about the joys and challenges of local agriculture production. They tasted products for sale by farmers and local food retailers. Learn how these experiences affected agritourists' local food purchase decisions 6 months later by reading this slide deck. Our Summary Report provides additional details about Alberta Agritourists, including additional outcomes of their farm visits including increased appreciation of agriculture and rural destination loyalty.
Edmonton's WinterCity Strategy - lessons for year-round tourism
Edmonton's WinterCity Strategy - lessons for year-round tourism
Learn best practices from the City of Edmonton's WinterCity Strategy. Our project documented best practices for encouraging winter visitation - fostering greater sustainability through year-round visitation and vibrant community-building. Read our report here.
What encourages long-term knowledge and stewardship of pollinators?
What encourages long-term knowledge and stewardship of pollinators?
Read about Post Doctoral Fellow's work with Miquelon Provincial Park interpreters in this Summary Report and journal article. Jill worked with our lab to compare the efficacy of interpreted guided walks featuring bee petting vs. bee box-building activities at the park. It turns out the interactive nature of petting a bee is more meaningful, transformative and memorable - and helps visitors remember how to help pollinators, after the visitor returns home.
(Un)desginated Trail Use in Kananaksis Country
(Un)desginated Trail Use in Kananaksis Country
August 15-Nov. 15, 2023 we surveyed 602 visitors to Kananaskis Country, Alberta, to determine who they are and how they use the area's trails. The project documented the use of undesignated (non-official) trails located in Kananaskis' many protected areas. Partners in this project were Alberta Parks, the region's land management agency and Yellowstone to Yukon. Read our Summary report.
Festival experiences and sustainability: Using UN SDGs to longterm viability of festivals
Festival experiences and sustainability: Using UN SDGs to longterm viability of festivals
Read our case study of Ice on Whyte, a long established festival in Edmonton that has enhanced the lives of local recreationists, but also attracts visitors to the city. We employed an experience economy lens and festival life-cycle framework to document the festival's successes (and failures) over a decade. Our book chapter documents our analysis, which also uses UN-SDGs to recommend future action.
Interpretation in Alberta's provincial parks: What does it achieve?
Interpretation in Alberta's provincial parks: What does it achieve?
In collaboration with Dr. Glen Hvenegaard (UAlberta Augustana Campus) and Phd Student CJ Blye this 5-year project (SSHRC Insight Program) examined the impact of environmental interpretation programs in 10+ provincial parks by comparing survey responses from interpretation program attendees and non-attendees. Paper 1 outlines preliminary results; but many other papers are on the way.
We also compared policymakers' and front-line park staff perspectives of the role and goals of the interpretation program (see paper here); differences in perspectives can lead to inefficiencies and failed program design, resourcing and delivery.
Summary presentations to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and Ministry of the Environment decision-makers and park agency front-line staff were made throughout this collaborative multi-year study with Alberta Park. We produced three short videos that out;ine our findings directed at different audiences: Benefits for visitors; Support for park interpreters; and, protected area decision-makers.
Dogs off/on-leash on Kananaskis Country Trails
Dogs off/on-leash on Kananaskis Country Trails
August 15-November 15, 2023 visitor survey (n=390) documented how often visitors adhere to protected area regulations to keep their dogs on-leash or why they sometimes let dogs off-leash. Attitudes, social norms, beliefs about impacts, and other factors related to leashing dogs when visiting Rocky Mountain trails were documented. Learn more in this Summary.
Educating visitors to Elk Island National Park: Advancing Human-Wildlife Coexistence
Educating visitors to Elk Island National Park: Advancing Human-Wildlife Coexistence
Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Jill Bueddefeld worked with our lab to help Elk Island National Park improve visitors' awareness of safe viewing distances for wildlife watching. Park visitors watched a video staring EINP interpreters, we then measured outcomes arising from the video and other education interventions. Read about our project here.
Wary-species and human coexistence on Canmore Alberta's trails.
Wary-species and human coexistence on Canmore Alberta's trails.
Research led by Michelle Muprphy (PhD Canadidate), in collaboration with Cloe Nicol (MSc), Elizabeth Halpenny (PhD) and Colleen Cassidy St. Clair (PhD) examines visitors' awareness of their impact on wary species such as cougars, lynx, and bears, and wolves, as well as their attitudes about trail use regulations and effectiveness of wildlife management corridors. Learn more by listening to this presentation, reading this Summary Report, and clicking through these slides.
The role of World Heritage designation in rural destination development and attracting tourists.
The role of World Heritage designation in rural destination development and attracting tourists.
Our research lab has examined the impact of World Heritage destinations for several years. The WH conservation brand can attract tourists (see this poster as an example), but its impact often fades over time. Alberta has several WH sites -- these are Provincial Historical Sites, Provincial Parks, and National Parks. We examined the impact of the WH brand on driving visitation to these parks (see this article as an example), but also how aware visitors are of this brand -- affecting sustainable tourism development. A similar project was conducted by Dr. Lisa King in Australia, which is documented in this article I co-authored with Lisa.
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