Anishinabe Experience, Golden Lake, Ontario
Adventure Travel and Ecotourism Best Practices
Tour 2000, The Economic Planning Group of Canada on behalf of
The Canadian Tourism Commission, July, 2000
Ensure that financial resources will remain in
your area and region.
We have extended our programming for the winter.
However, I can’t feel comfortable offering our Tee Pee accommodations
in the winter, knowing my guests will be too cold, so arrangements
have been made with a local B&B for accommodations. Programming
continues, and financial resources stay within our region.
Pyhän Tunturila, Päivi Suutari, Finland
“Food is one of the important components
of our tourism product. We get ideas from around the world, but
we prepare the meals by using local resources. For the upcoming
summer, we have an agreement with a local farmer to deliver us
turnips, dill, parsley, etc. The moose and reindeer meat come
from our municipality. The fish comes from a nearby lake or from
another local supplier.”
But this operator points out that it takes effort to set up this
system:
“The cooperation has not been smooth all
the time and the food circle hasn’t worked efficiently.
We ourselves have had to be active and contact the farmers to
make the cooperation work."
Frontiers North, Manitoba and Nunavut, Canada
We take our clients on community tours and encourage them to
buy local arts and crafts.
Polar Sea Adventures, Nunavut
We often include ‘community days’
in our packages [which allow clients the opportunity to get to
know the community, make purchases and use services].
Orkney Island Holidays
Quoted from Greening Scottish Tourism Case Studies, Tourism and
Environment Forum
Orkney Island Holidays endeavors to offer a unique
experience for visitors through small friendly groups, expert
guiding, excellent accommodation, exciting days and relaxed evenings.
Through their day trips, the Hollinrakes offer a diverse natural
and cultural experience with a conservation edge.
The business networks with other businesses on
the island such as tour operators and boat businesses. Marketing
opportunities are shared between these businesses whenever practical.
The Hollinrakes source food from local producers and shops as
much as possible. Both fish and local produce are used in the
dishes prepared for guests during their stay.
Bluewater Adventures
“in recognition of our role as an ‘ecotourism’
company, we buy all food and fuel locally, promote the local area
with our visitors and provide them a list of local accommodation
to lengthen their trip locally outside the protected area. Last
year we started organizing a one-day add-on local trip to visit
the local museum, and enjoy a native Haida dinner hosted in a
local home. We seek to hire resource people locally and are starting
to have success.”
Kari Kaakkurivaara, shopkeeper, Finland
Seventy percent of the souvenirs we sell are made
in Rautajoki. But we cannot really buy all our food locally. Berries
and fish we can buy from a local refinery and reindeer we purchase
from Savukoski. We don’t yet have a good local product in
reindeer meat – one of the major problems being the difficulty
in operating according to the requirements of the health laws.
Uncommon Journeys, Yukon Territory, Canada
(provides dogsled trips and training)
Most of our business activities take place on
the land rather than in the community, however, one thing we are
able to do for the community is to provide free dog care seminars
for local school classes. We also sponsor women who have been
victims of family violence to attend Canada Outward Bound programs.
[skills and confidence building]
Nunavut, Canada
The Unikkaarvik Centre (Iqaluit) and the Nattinnak Centre (Pond
Inlet), along with other centres within the Territory, are visitor/interpretive
centres constructed with government funding to provide tourist
services and to promote local tourism businesses. Both these centres
have developed numerous visitor programs but during the winter
season they also provide a broad range of programs for community
residents:
- Programs for elders (particularly those with mobility
problems)
- Cultural programs for school classes
- After school clubs
- Special events for residents
- Inuit Art experience for visitors and residents
- Sewing classes for community women
This is to name only some of the ways in which
residents benefit from these facilities.
Nutti Sami Siida, Sweden
The guides and the staff members must be proud
of telling about our [the Sami] way of living and represent what
our product is promising. The guide has a very important part
in our arrangements – they are the ones who can make our
inheritance lifelike by showing how we are working with the reindeer,
cooking traditional foods, and wearing Sami clothing. But above
all, they can in a real and genuine way tell about how the Sami
are living and have been living because they have strong connections
to the traditions themselves.
Uncommon Journeys, Yukon Territory, Canada [dog
team trips, dog handling training]
We purchase all of our dog food locally. This
is a considerable additional expense since we pay about 20 % more
than we would by bringing dog food in from the ‘south’.
The Yukon businesses try to give us the best discount they can
afford and when we are really in need they ‘treat us royally’.
The return on investment is not always in strict
financial terms...but when we have urgent needs we ended up with
vehicle loans, building supplies and other kinds of support.
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