KELOWNA, B.C. — The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) and Thompson Rivers University (TRU) have joined forces to launch a pioneering research initiative aimed at enhancing sustainability within the region’s tourism industry. This innovative project will explore the use of maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to capture and analyze the distribution of tourism’s benefits and impacts across the Thompson Okanagan.
Researchers from TRU’s Master of Science in Environmental Science program are calling on hotel, restaurant and winery owners and employees to participate in a study. The information gathered will contribute to an Environmental Science Master’s thesis and help develop a GIS-based tool to assess and alert tourism stakeholders where the balance among tourism’s sustainability components, including economic growth, social development and reduction of environmental impacts, are at risk.
“Our goal is to build more robust tools that not only reveal the current state of sustainability in our tourism industry, but also empower us to implement targeted improvements for the future,” says Ellen Walker-Matthews, CEO of TOTA. “By integrating stakeholder perceptions with geographic and statistical data through GIS, we can create a clearer picture of where our industry stands and how we can continue to improve.”
The survey, available at totabc.org, invites participants to share their views on tourism sustainability in their community, including their experiences with GIS tools such as Google and Apple Maps, and their opinions on the potential of these tools to support sustainable tourism. The results will map industry stakeholders’ perceptions and attitudes regarding both sustainability and the use of GIS tools to achieve it.
This project is funded in part by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport.
