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The practice of raising stingless bees in artificial nests for honey, wax, and resin – a process known as meliponicultura – was well developed at the time of the Spanish colonization of the America...

Tourism may constitute an important livelihood option and conservation incentive for communities located near protected areas (PAs). Gateway communities can benefit significantly from the development of tourism through increased employment, financial gains, infrastructure creation, cultural revitalization, and environmental protection. Yet, tourism is not a panacea for PA communities and the development of a local tourism industry often fails to deliver significant economic, social, cultural, and environmental benefits. Clearly defined frameworks for maximizing the benefits from tourism development for PA communities are needed so that tourism can more directly support community development and conservation efforts. This paper presents a framework for appraising and building community capacity for tourism development in aboriginal protected area gateway communities. The framework was developed through the analysis of qualitative results from five different research projects around seven capital assets (i.e., natural, physical and built, financial, political and institutional, social, cultural, and human capitals). Preliminary results from application and testing of the framework are also explored. The framework presented herein has significant potential for broader application in non-aboriginal, international, and non-protected area communities.

Arctic tourism has seen major shifts in the last decade as global events and local developments have affected this industry. This article presents findings of a case study examining tourism changes in Nunavik (northern range of Quebec, Canada). Key informant interviews conducted with tourism operators and managers from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, and Montreal, Quebec, provide an understanding of the changes being experienced by the industry and help to characterize factors that contribute to resilience. Recent events in Nunavik affecting tourism include the controlled caribou sports hunt in 2010–11 and the transformation of Cruise North Expeditions in 2010 from a regionally owned Inuit enterprise to a joint venture between Cruise North and Adventure Canada. These situations provide a picture of a tourism industry in transition, reacting and adapting to change. Tourism diversification strategies include the Aqpik Jam Festival, sled-dog races and the development of specialized cultural tours like Inuit Odyssey, a co...

Global environmental change is altering natural and built systems in many regions of the world and such changes play a significant role in an emerging travel trend that has been labelled ‘last chance tourism’ (LCT). In LCT, tourism demand is based on the desire to see these vulnerable places and features before they disappear or are essentially and irrevocably changed. The paradox in this new form of travel lies in the fact that the tourists often travel long distances and, thus, are disproportionately responsible per capita for increased greenhouse gas emissions and various other stressors that have the potential to alter further the very attractions being visited. The emergence of LCT requires careful ethical consideration and adds a new twist to the debate about ‘loving a destination to death’. In this case, the relationship is indirect and intangible, and is complicated by spatial and temporal lags, as well as the complex system of biophysical interactions at the heart of climate change. LCT presents ...

With a substantial amount of natural (e.g., islands, estuaries, shoals) and cultural (e.g., pictographs, lighthouses, shipwrecks) heritage, the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area (LSNMCA), located in Northwestern Ontario, is a protected area steeped in history. Apart from a few exceptions, this region of Ontario has lacked the opportunity to capitalize on potential tourism and recreational opportunities. An historic overview of the region highlights past tourism achievements, such as brook trout fishing in the Nipigon River, and the Rossport Fish Derby, and indicates new tourism opportunities in Northwestern Ontario (e.g., sailing regattas and kayak symposia). The significance of tourism in a region largely dependent upon mining and forestry is also highlighted. The article then reviews the potential role of the LSNMCA in regional tourism development by utilizing Kelleher's levels of stakeholder engagement framework. Although stakeholder involvement in the LSNMCA, according to Kelleher's model, requires further work, the establishment of this protected area (the very first of its kind in Canada) appears to be engaging stakeholders in regional tourism development.

The declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations in 2007 highlights the rights of all Indigenous Peoples to remain distinct while also promoting their full and effective pa...

Many Canadian, resource-based communities are facing an economic crisis and often turn to tourism for economic diversification and some recent trends in the growth of tourism employment in Canada's rural areas suggest that such choices are well founded. Despite positive growth indicators, rural tourism is criticized for several reasons, including issues with employment, ownership and lack of understanding of the industry. Although much has been written on the development of community-based tourism and its potential to address such concerns, much of the discussion remains at theoretical levels, with few examinations of practical frameworks for rural communities in crisis, such as the current experience in North-western Ontario, Canada. Enquiries into tourism's contribution to rural community economic development identified two gaps concerning how rural tourism can be a viable industry in resource-dependent communities and how to embed the industry within a community seeking alternatives from a def...

Individuals visiting natural areas, such as national parks, or engaging in certain outdoor recreation activities like birdwatching, are often assumed to be ecotourists and also concomitantly assumed to be highly specialised by virtue of their behaviour. In this study, tourists visiting the Churchill Wildlife Management Area in Canada to view polar bears are examined using a comprehensive index of specialisation and compared to selected demographic variables and indicators of environmental concern. The results suggest that these visitors reflect a wide range of levels of specialisation, and that the majority of visitors are novices who might not share the same degree of concern for the environment or the same motives for visiting as their more specialised counterparts. Concerns for management of natural areas for wildlife viewing are raised based on these findings.

Ecotourists have largely been defined in the literature a priori based on their geographic location (e.g., visitors to designated natural areas) and/or exhibited behaviors (e.g., engagement in nature viewing such as bird watching or camping). However, such definitions fail to consider whether these individuals do indeed embrace the psychological makeup that would qualify them as "real" ecotourists based on ecotourist ideal types. This study derives a profile of wildlife tourists based on their psychographic characteristics as suggested by conceptual definitions of ecotourists and wildlife tourism in particular. Essentially, the question underlying the study was to determine if all wildlife tourists do, in fact, share those characteristics typically assumed in the literature to be inherent to ecotourism.