Tag Archives: Tourist

Aug6

World Conference!

Posted on by
Standard
Nature. Image by Moyan Brenn. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Commons Licensing.

Nature. Image by Moyan Brenn. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Commons Licensing.

Ecotourism is considered an alternative form of tourism for travelers. These destinations provide an educational component, capture a larger portion of  revenue locally, and strive to minimize the impact generated by the tourists/tourism. Often the main focus is on the natural environment and indigenous peoples and/or cultures.

To learn more about ecotourism you can visit  the International Ecotourism Society.

If you are interested in attended the 2013 World Conference this September, click here for details.

Jul1

Tourist Defined

Posted on by
Standard
Two Tourists. Image by Garry Knight. Retrieved from Flickr and used under Creative Commons licensing.

Two Tourists by Garry Knight. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licensing.

A “tourist” is defined, in it’s simplest form, as a person or group who engages in an activity or practice of touring, especially for pleasure. Tourists tend to go to a particular site to see something specific (dictionary.com).

Although dictionary.com is accurate, we know  that identifying a tourist can be an intense, complex and highly customize-able process.

Stay connected this month at RCompass to learn more!

Jun11

Electronic Media: Urban v. Nature-Based Tourists

Posted on by
Standard
Pretty view from the bus! Image by TheGirlsNY. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Commons Licensing.

Pretty view from the bus! Image by TheGirlsNY. Retrieved from FlickR. Used under Creative Commons Licensing.

I wanted to pass along research recently released by the University of Minnesota-Tourism Center. It compares the use of electronic media among urban and nature‐based tourists. The research found that almost half of the nature-based travelers used the advice of friends/family to plan a trip oppose to on-line sites and travel reviews. However, during the trip they tended to accessed websites and Facebook to share their experiences.  Non-nature (urban) based tourists showed a slightly higher reaction to social media that ultimately responded in a change in travel plans.

Click here for an additional snapshot of the research finding from Compare uses of electronic media, among urban nature‐based tourists by Andrew Oftedal, M.S., Arielle Courtney,Graduate Research Assistant,&Ingrid Schneider, Ph.D

So what does this mean? It could be used to evaluate social media in the tourism industry based on the data collected and intended audience. In addition, this information can be tracked over a given period of time (longitudinal study) to identify shifts in technology trends such as  types of media/devices used.