Planning for Growth? Re-thinking the Rural Tourism Opportunity1

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Mair/Canadian Society of Extension 2001 2 tics of change in rural areas are as important as the economic shifts that seem to generally characterize their function. Considerations of tourism and travel to rural areas, then, are also complicated. The context within which rural tourism has developed is a useful starting point for this discussion. Travel to rural areas has grown for two inter-related reasons: on the ‘demand’ side, people are becoming increasingly interested in rural areas and heritage tourism; on the ‘supply’ side, governments have been taking initiatives to encourage its development. While the question of travel to rural areas is an interesting one (see Weiler and Hall 1992), for the purposes of this paper, the focus is mostly upon the role of government in its development. In Ontario, the election of the Harris Conservative government and its ‘Common Sense Revolution’ intensified a process of scaling back the role of government in rural community growth and development. The idea of planning rural communities was generally to be undertaken from the perspective of amalgamated rural municipal governments who were in charge of much of their own funding and development. This shift was not unique to Ontario and was, as Healey argues, deeply influenced by the neoliberal strategy of promoting entrepreneurial rather than regulatory styles of governance (1997; see also Harvey 1989). As municipal governments in rural communities are pushed to devise their own strategies for generating funds for providing services, tourism is given increasing credence. This is the case in many places in the world. In a 1994 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, it was suggested that tourism had a vital role to play in the future of rural development: For many years a number of rural areas have been beset by population loss and declining services. These problems are now exacerbated by changes that have brought job losses and falling income to the farm sector. In contrast to this downturn, tourism has blossomed into a prosperous, fast-growing activity, and has indeed turned out to be a significant factor for economic growth in the countries in which it has developed. It was therefore important to determine whether tourism’s growth potential could be harnessed as a strategy for rural development, in particular by drawing upon resurgent interest in the countryside, its traditional way of life, and landscapes and the architectural heritage....[Tourism] has proved to be a powerful engine for economic growth - - transferring capital, income and employment from industrial, urban and developed areas to non-industrial regions. (1994: 5-7) The relationship between tourism and economic development is growing both in importance as a development strategy and a focus for research (see Aronsson 2000; Blank 1989; Bouquet and Winter 1987; Britton 1991; Butler et al. 1998; Hall and Jenkins, 1998; Ilbery 1998; Keane 1992; Luloff et al. 1993; Mitchell 1998 & 2000; Ramaswany and Kluentzel 1998). The next section narrows the discussion to the experiences of four rural communities in Southwestern Ontario 2 . II. Tourism Development and Problems in Rural Communities 3 Increasing attention is being given to the impact of tourism development on the members of rural communities (Bourke and Luloff 1995; Perdue, Long and Allen 1987 & 1990; Pizam 1978; Smith and Krannich 1998). Research undertaken in four rural communities in 1999 supports these findings. Interviews were completed with over 100 respondents from four rural communities. These four communities were selected based upon their position along an adapted version of Butler’s destination life-cycle model (1980). Care was taken to identify and interview members of the business community (tourism and non-tourism businesses), concerned residents, service club representatives and other community volunteers, and local politicians. Overall, when asked about the benefits that tourism brought to their community, respondents were most inclined to discuss economic factors. Employment, economic growth, spin-offs such as support services, and business development were commonly given as evidence that tourism helps boost the rural economy. When pressed to consider some non-economic benefits, respondents usually identified examples of community pride, cultural interaction and education, incentives to keep the community neat and tidy, and the ability to maintain support for diverse businesses and services. The overarching purpose of this research was to have respondents identify issues and concerns related to tourism development in their community. Major concerns and issues resulting from the development of tourism included traffic congestion, noise, the lack of access to amenities, the lack of privacy, a feeling of a loss of balance, threats to rural tranquility, and a fear of losing control of the tourism industry. Conflicts around tourism-related activities also appear to occur more often in communities where tourism growth has intensified. These conflicts and anger appear to have been most often manifested in petitions and town hall meetings, but they have also been played out in public, face-to-face confrontations and in open hostility, anti-tourist signage, and other forms of vandalism. Analysis of the four areas suggests that tourism communities place immediate attention on the substantive issues which 2 In the interest of space, this paper will not discuss the methodological underpinnings of this research. For details, see Reid, D.G., J. Taylor and H. Mair. (2000a) Rural tourism development: research report. School of Rural Planning and Development, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario. 3 A similar version of this section was presented at the 6 th Annual World Leisure and Recreation Congress, Bilbao, Spain, July, 2000. Issues in Rural Extension
Mair/Canadian Society of Extension 2001 3 are causing tensions and community conflict. Most of the participants in this study suggested that if they could address the substantive issues including traffic, parking, consistent business hours and the nature of the tourism product (i.e., mass tourism or high-end), then they would have dealt sufficiently with the major irritants. Respondents in each of the study communities expressed that the creation of a tourism plan would be a major step toward solving their problems. Through our analysis of the decision-making processes in each of the communities, however, it became clear that there was no identifiable and widely trusted process for making the decisions necessary to begin to create this tourism plan. Tourism development in each of the study communities has moved forward incrementally, and in a direction that has generally been unplanned and unsupported by residents in any meaningful way. Tourism development that occurs at the whim of local businesses has the potential to sow the seeds of its own destruction (Mitchell, 1998). Tensions will develop within the community as some members benefit from tourism and others are left out; poorly planned traffic routes will exacerbate congestion and frustration; there will be a drop in the provision of local services (or an increase in their cost); and the invasiveness that unchecked tourism growth can bring to a small community will be increasingly resented. These community tensions can begin to affect the health (and appeal) of the community. Regardless of whether respondents saw tourism development as good for the community, a necessary evil, or an approach to development that must be avoided, nearly all respondents suggested that planning for tourism development was an essential and often neglected activity. Responses indicated that undertaking a planning or visioning exercise was believed to be necessary for addressing tourism development problems and may bridge the divides between those who were in support of unfettered tourism development, those who accepted limited development and those who wanted none. Even business owners and those who stood to gain most directly from intense tourism development suggested that there should be controls or guidelines put in place both to ensure consistency and quality in the development of tourism, but also to prevent overdevelopment which could taint the community’s appeal. Indeed, when asked about potential mechanisms for addressing concerns, conflicts and considerations of future directions, respondents overwhelmingly suggested the need to create a plan. Not working from a community-based approach, however, can lead to dissatisfied residents whose attitudes will affect the image and tone of community life and thus risk reducing the appeal of the area. It is clear that what is needed in the first instance is a process which will allow the various groups in the community to confront collectively the irritants which arise as a result of tourism development. The next section introduces on-going research in three other rural communities which is attempting to develop such a process. III. Alternative Approaches to Rural Tourism Planning Given the issues uncovered in the first stage of the research, many questions arise both for planners and researchers of rural tourism. If the community is an integral part of the tourism product, how might planners create a more integrative and holistic approach to tourism planning? Some researchers might consider this to be the foundation for sustainable tourism (Hunter, 1997; see also Bramwell and Sharman 1999). Can there be sustainable rural tourism? How can it be planned for, monitored and controlled? An especially useful approach to answering these questions is influenced by the work of Hunter (1997). He argues that sustainable tourism is most effectively used as an “adaptive paradigm” insofar as it can take different forms in different places, depending on how one arrives at a balance between the perceived needs of the community in question, and the demands of the tourists visiting them. Hunter sees sustainable tourism as a continuum (1997: 859-863) wherein a community could have a ‘tourism imperative’ in that they would decide which resources would need to be sacrificed in order to generate income. The other end of the continuum, ‘neotenuous tourism’ or an ecology first perspective, would actively discourage tourism in an effort to protect those natural areas that the community wants to protect. This neotenuous position could be extended beyond ecology concerns to include the preservation of rural community life and culture. It is important to note that each step along this continuum involves a degree of control and preservation, but the mix is decided by the community in question and may change over time. A community that decides to attract an initially large number of tourists to generate income, for instance, may move along the continuum provided that controls (as determined by the community) are in place to safeguard total destruction until there could be an increased level of protection or control. Changes in the nature of tourism indicate that tourists may well be accepting of the need for these protective measures, and may be willing to take an active role in encouraging these measures (Hunter, 1997; Aramberri, 2001). The question remains, of course, of how this might take place. On-going research with members of three different rural communities in Southwestern Ontario suggests that an essential starting point is the creation of a community visioning session which helps to build the trust between community members as all take an equal role in dreaming about the future of their community. Importantly, the focus of this session is deliberately not on tourism per se but on the community itself. Participants follow the model of a search conference, as set out by Emery and Purser (1996) and spend time drawing images of their community, discussing their drawings and then making collective decisions about what in their Issues in Rural Extension
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Planning for Growth? Re-thinking the Rural Tourism Opportunity1

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