Sustainable Tourism A Business Opportunity

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Presentation to Tourism Industry Association of
Canada
Gary Clarke, Chair - Don Ross, President
Frontenac Arch Biosphere

• Sustainable Tourism A Business Opportunity
• What are Biosphere Reserves and how do they
  relate to Sustainable Tourism?
• The National Model for Sustainable Tourism
• Why has this Model succeeded
• Where From Here
• Ontario
• Canada
• Internationally
• November, 2008

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• Biosphere Reserve Functions
• Conservation
• To contribute to the conservation of landscapes,
• ecosystems, species, and genetic variation
• Development
• To foster economic and human development which is
  
• socially, culturally and ecologically sustainable
  
• Sustainable Community Development
• Logistics
• To provide support for research, monitoring,
  education and
• information exchange related to local, national
  and global
• issues of conservation and development.

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Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve Ontario, Canada
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Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve Ontario, Canada
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Areas with abundant nature and rich culture are
now enjoying the fastest growth amongst the
worlds tourism destinations.
Jonathan Tourtellot, Director National
Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations
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The Tourism Industry Association of Canada and
Parks Canada Definition of Sustainable Tourism
Sustainable tourism actively fosters appreciation
and stewardship of the natural, cultural and
historic resources and special places by local
residents, the tourism industry, governments and
visitors. It is tourism which is viable over the
long term because it results in a net benefit for
the social, economic, natural and cultural
environments of the area in which it takes place.
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• NATIONAL MODEL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
• through support by
• Parks Canada,
• Tourism Industry Association of Canada,
• Community Futures Development Corporations,
• A.T. TRANSAT,
• Ontario Ministry of Tourism,
• regional municipalities,
• Partnerships of FABR

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• NATIONAL MODEL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
• strategy
• Enlist support and funding
• Develop an advisory team
• Develop community engagement strategy
• Develop, deliver step by step workshop series
• Test the network Parties for the Biosphere
• Explore Charters
• Establish on-going sustainable tourism network
• Integrate sustainable tourism into sustainable
  community
• development

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• SUSTAINABLE TOURISM WORKSHOP SERIES
• Economic Strategies of Sustainable Tourism
• Planning Strategies for Sustainable Community
  Development
• Make It! Show It! Sell It! Marketing Strategies
  for Artisans
• Romancing the Brand Our Sense of Place
• Romancing the Brand Three Perfect Days
• TRANSAT Green Accreditation Workshops
• Audubon Golf Courses
• Green Accommodations
• Green Buildings
• Your Woodlot Your Opportunities
• Local Flavours
• EcoSchools
• Sustainable Community Indicators
• Trends in Sustainable Tourism

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Workshops series throughout FABR
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Parties for the Biosphere
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• Where does the
• Frontenac Arch Biosphere
• go from here?
• Biosphere Geotourism Charter National
  Geographic Society
• Sustainable Tourism Charter Participate in
  Canadian Discussion Who will own and administer
  a National Charter and Accreditation Process?
• Biosphere Trails Council trails mapping
• Local Flavours Initiative expansion
• Community Atlas Project Biosphere
  encyclopaedia
• Engagement of Cultural Community eg. HandMade in
  America Dr. Richard Florida concepts

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• Where do we go from here? -continued
• Biosphere Education Network continue development
• Conservation Collaborative Network for Natural
  Cultural Heritage Protection
• Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association
  Participate in Sustainable Community Initiatives
• Integrated Community Sustainability Planning
• North-South / East-West International Cooperation
  with Mexico to Brazil / Canada Europe, China
  through UNESCO MAB Program

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Sustainability is what Biosphere Reserves are all
about
Its all about ensuring the long term viability
of the tourism industry.
Costas Christ, Chairman World Travel and Tourism
Council
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EOVCP
Its all about ensuring the long term viability
of the tourism industry.
Costas Christ, Chairman World Travel and Tourism
Council
Saving the Eastern Ontario Look
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• EOVCP PROJECT OBJECTIVES
• Identify the Eastern Ontario Look - the visual
  and landscape characteristics that define the
  district
• Identify the challenges and opportunities to
  preserve these characteristics into the future
• Make the information widely available
• ______________________________________
• Planners are well placed to undertake this work

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• VISUAL CHARACTER THEMES
• Natural Areas
• Waterways
• Agricultural Landscapes
• Special Places
• Military Places
• Main Streets
• Scenic Routes
• Architecture

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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project
Character Statement Rolling, heavily forested
landscape with numerous lakes, swamps, bogs, rock
ridges and barrens. Small pockets of productive
land allow for small-scale farming and hobby
farming. Abandoned fields and vacant dairy barns,
stone houses, old farmhouses and other relict
landscape features are common.
Natural Area Frontenac Arch Shield Farms
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project
Character Statement Fort Henry is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site and a National Historic Site that
is a living monument to the important military
role that Kingston and the St. Lawrence played in
the evolution of Canada.
Historic Military Precinct Old Fort Henry
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project

Character Statement A varied landscape featuring
urban development at north and south ends
extensive agrarian lands throughout historic
towns, villages and hamlets undisturbed Canadian
Shield wilderness and modest cottage development.
Scenic Route The Rideau Canal Heritage Route
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project
Distinctive Buildings and Structures Victorian
mansions in Belleville, Kingston, Brockville and
Perth are evident. More humble pioneer log homes,
French Canadian style houses or red brick houses
are also found. Gilnockie is a typical limestone
house of Eastern Ontario.
Perth
Residential
Merrickville
Rockcliffe
Brockville
Kars
LOriginal
Manotick
Cumberland
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project
Distinctive Buildings and Structures Upper Canada
Village typifies rural buildings and structures
of Eastern Ontario. Elsewhere, old stone mills,
such as those in Carleton Place, Smith Falls and
Manotick, show the history of water power in our
area. Rural fairgrounds, old general stores and
farm houses reflect the agricultural past and
present.
Aberdeen Pavilion
Rural Industrial and Agriculture
Kars
Almonte
Delta Mill
Bedford Mill
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project
Distinctive Buildings and Structures The Rideau
Canal is uniquely associated with Eastern Ontario
including the various Lockmaster houses, such as
Upper Nicholsons. Other notable bridges include
the stone bridge in Pakenham, the Minto Bridges
near Rideau Falls and the Alexandria Bridge.
Pakenham
Transportation Facility
Rideau Canal South
Lyndhurst Bridge
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WHY DOES VISUAL CHARACTER MATTER? Visual
Character as an Indicatorcommunity identity
Importance of Awareness a heritage balance
sheet Value of Planning and Seeing The Big
Picture Planning for Land Use in combination
with Landscape and Visual Character
Dont it always seem to go, you dont know what
youve got til its gone Joni Mitchell Big
Yellow Taxi
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project

• The degradation of visual character on main
  streets
• The impact of competing developments outside
  the traditional core
• The loss of small owner-operator businesses with
  residential upstairs
• The transfer of main street functions to a less
  attractive, large format commercial areas

Traditional Main Street

The Degradation of Visual Character
Arterial Main Street
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project
Hamlets and Villages, not located on larger road
networks or water bodies, have lost their raison
detre. On the other hand, thev remain places of
character and offer affordable accommodation to
people in the rural area. They may someday be
re-discovered.
Hamlets Villages Left Behind
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project

Strip malls and big box centres on the edge of
towns and villages can be harmful to the vitality
of our main streets. Also, they are automobile
oriented and tend to create less attractive
environments as compared to our mainstreets.
Therefore the location and design of big-box
stores needs special care.
The Big-box Challenge

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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project
The dominance of numerous estate lot developments
in parts of Eastern Ontario is changing the
fabric of these areas. A few of them dispersed
around the countryside may have a marginal impact
however masses of them are generally
unsustainable, are car-oriented and involve
greater carbon inputs
iUsins to v
The Estate Lot Challenge
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Eastern Ontario Visual Character Project
Many lakes are experiencing tremendous
development pressures. Are we prepared to deal
with these issues? Should we allow this? How
can we mitigate the visual (among other) impacts?
The Appropriateness of Waterfront Development
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• Strengths and Opportunities
• Invest in tourism
• Develop geo-tourism branding
• Expand and invest in our trails, scenic routes
  and waterways
• Strengthen conservation of built natural
  heritage
• Embrace sympathetic modern infill along main
  streets
• Put marginal farmland to better use than estate
  lot development
• New development should follow original village
  patterns
• Eastern Ontario communities should be connected
  by a
• district-wide transit system

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• Strengths and Opportunities continued
•  
• Recognize protect natural areas and
  agriculture landscapes
• Preserve Class 1 agricultural land in order
  to meet expected
• increases in demand for food and energy
  products
• Eastern Ontario seems to be a good candidate to
  be a model
• sustainable region
• Sufficient quality woodlands for a sustainable
  forest products
• industry
• Provide incentives to reforest under-utilized
  land and to
• encourage alternate forms of agriculture

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• Concluding Questions
• How much visual deterioration are we willing to
  tolerate without responding? Do we care?
• Why do we only build estate lot subdivisions in
  the countryside and the urban fringe?
• What is stopping us from establishing new
  villages?
• Why are many of our new hockey arenas and
  community buildings visually offensive?
• Is sustainability achievable in Eastern Ontario?
  What kind? At what level? Why arent we bringing
  together our colleges, universities and
  municipalities to pursue this?
• What steps are being taken to protect significant
  natural and built heritage features and
  landscapes?

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• The Frontenac Arch Region
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• Our Project has identified the Frontenac Arch
  Region as
• A unique Agricultural Landscape (shield farms)
• A unique Natural Area
• And as a region that contains
• Two Significant and world-class Waterways
• Scenic Routes
• Special Places and
• Vibrant Main Streets
• The Frontenac Arch is a special landscape that
  deserves not to be lost. We need to protect and
  invest in it.
• -----------------
• There are just a handful of places on Earth
  with both UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve and
  World Heritage Site designations

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