A free resource for nonprofit
organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations,
charities, schools, public sector agencies & other mission-based
agencies
by Jayne Cravens
More resources at coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same
web site)
Tourism for Community & Economic
Development
My work & favorite resources
Tourism is a major driver of economic growth and
sustainable development. Tourists that come in to see even just one site
or or to experience just one activity in a region spend money for
accommodation, food, local items, and transportation support (taxis,
gas, parking, mass transit), thereby affecting a range of businesses.
A tourist site does not have to be huge; it can be a small historic site,
a farm or ranch that represents a unique or desirable local practice, a
unique local food, unique textile or ceramic production, distinctive music
or other arts, a park that is a beautiful place to walk, bicycle ride or
take pictures, and on and on. It can be in an economically-rich area or an
area that is low on the economic development scale. It may attract
tourists from across the region, across the country - or from around the
world.
Meeting in Mexico in 2012, the G20 underscored the role of tourism in the
economy and committed to work on advancing travel facilitation as a means
to stimulate demand and spending, and thus promote job creation.
Sustainable tourism was further included in the Outcome Document of the
Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012.1,
2
But tourism also has other benefits: people who travel, and who encounter
travelers, learn about different cultures and regions. That knowledge can
lead to greater understanding about and respect for cultural and regional
differences. Travelers take that knowledge - through their stories and
photos and locally-produced items - back to their home communities,
educating and inspiring others.
And there's also the personal growth and education travelers receive -
that's one of the biggest attractions for travelers, one that those who
want to cater to such often forget. Not every traveler is a luxury
traveler and is from an upper economic class; many travelers are budget
travelers, either because of their economic limits or because of their
desire for a particular kind of experience. All too often, these travelers
are forgotten in discussions about the development of tourism.
The benefits of tourism are many, for both those traveling and those
living in or near destinations, but developing tourism in a region, ANY
region, is easier said than done. A series of very well-run workshops to
encourage local businesses to cater to bicycle tourists in small towns
throughout Oregon might still fail to inspire most participants.
Conversations with village leaders in Afghanistan to answer their
questions about eco tourism may confuse the issue even further. Those are
two scenarios I've experienced firsthand in my community
development work (and they were remarkably similar experiences!).
Misunderstandings and unrealistic expectations are two common factors that
contribute to tourism-for-development initiatives failing. Getting people
in any community to embrace what's necessary to make successful tourism
happen in their region is a challenge - but it is possible.
This section of my site is about my work and my favorite resources
regarding tourism for community & economic development, as well
as resources related to tourism as a way to develop individuals
personally, particularly for women. Some resources are focused on
travelers (which can be helpful to those wishing to cater to such
travelers), and some are focused on those that want to attract travelers.
Most of my own resources relate to women travelers and budget travelers.
Resources I've developed that relate to tourism development include:
- A
Broad Abroad Resources & Inspiration For Women Who Travel (or
Want to!). A series of tip sheets, essays and links to web sites
to encourage women to travel, and to support those who do.
- Packing
tips and health
& safety considerations especially for novice women
travelers. Sites wishing to cater to women travelers should view the
safety tips in particular to evaluate how well they accommodate women
travelers in terms of safety.
- Things for women to consider regarding accommodations
choices while traveling, including advice on on safety. Hotels
and guest houses wishing to cater to women travelers should view the
safety tips to evaluate how well they accommodate women travelers in
terms of safety.
- For
women who travel by motorcycle (or want to). Includes
information on packing and accommodations.
- transire
benefaciendo: "to travel along while doing good." Advice for
those wanting to make their travel more than sight-seeing and
shopping, whether in your own country or abroad.
- Using
the Internet to Share Your Adventure During Your Adventure,
advice on blogging, photo-sharing, tweeting, etc.
- Advice
for Hotels, Hostels & Campgrounds in Transitional &
Developing Countries: The Qualities of Great, Cheap Accommodations.
This resource is for those budget accommodation sites that want to
better cater to international travelers, especially women.
- Louisville,
Kentucky Needs a Travelers' Hostel: a proposal and business plan
outline for a traveler's hostel in Louisville, Kentucky, USA (it's a
dream of mine). Feel free to use this as a template for your own
proposal in your own community.
- Vetting Organizations in Other
Countries
A resource that helps people evaluate volunteer-placement
organizations that charge the volunteer for the placement
(voluntourism) . It's also a good resource for people and
organizations interested in partnering or supporting an organization
abroad but wanting to know it's a credible organization, that it's not
some sort of scam, or an 'organization' of just one person. If you are
an organization in a developing country that is aspiring to attract
international volunteers and partners, this page should be of interest
to you as well, as it shows what you need on your web site and in your
practices to be seen as credible.
- Hosting International
Volunteers
This resource provides tips for local organization in a developing
countries interested in gaining to international volunteers, including
engaging in voluntourism.
- The Canby,
Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Facebook page - part of my work
with my own community as a citizen volunteer.
I'll add links to my favorite resources to this page in the coming weeks and
months.
FOOTNOTES
1 G20
recognizes travel tourism as driver of economic growth
2
Tourism can contribute three pillars of sustainability
Also see:
Tourism4Dev Resources by
Others
I've compiled this page of links to resources by other organizations
regarding tourism for development.
Jayne A Broad Facebook
page 
This Facebook fan page is where I follow USA state parks, national parks,
national forests, and organizations focused on sustainable tourism,
getting children, women and under-represented groups outdoors, and related
international organizations and sites. My travel-related tweets from the
my jayne_a_broad twitter feed (see below) get posted here
automatically. It's about learning and sharing regarding tourism as a tool
for economic
and community development - and the importance of travel for our personal
and educational growth.
My @jayne_a_broad Twitter feed
This Twitter feed is focused on my own experiences traveling, camping,
riding my motorcycle or my bicycle, taking mass transit (buses and
trains), commuting by walking or bicycling, and various other
mostly-personal interests, including politics. If you are a woman
motorcyclist, a non-spandex-wearing bicycle commuter or girlie-bike rider,
an international adventure or budget traveler, a motorcycle traveler, a
mass transit advocate, a writer or researcher regarding any of these
subjects - or someone that wants to cater to such travelers - you might
enjoy following this Twitter feed (latest tweets can be seen at the top of
this page). This Twitter feed is more about the importance of travel for
our personal and
educational growth.
Basic Fund-Raising for Small NGOs
serving the developing world
This free document I developed. It provides very basic guidelines for small
NGOs in the developing world regarding fund-raising, and points to other
online resources. By small NGOs, I mean organizations that may have only
one paid staff member, or are run entirely by volunteers; and may not have
official recognition by the government. This includes small NGOs and
government offices that want to develop tourism in a region.
Questions to Ask for a
Major Report from the Developing World
Most people who write reports about their projects in the developing world
rely heavily on field staff to provide information. Often, however, field
staff aren't expert report writers, and struggle to provide meaningful,
timely information in a coherent written form. Many report writers get
around this by interviewing field staff about their work, so that needed
information is provided through answers to questions. This method can also
build the capacity of field staff to provide written information
themselves. This is a list
of questions I used to interview staff at an initiative in
Afghanistan that was focused on rural projects. I based these questions on
previous monthly and quarterly reports, suggestions from donors, the
initiatives stated objectives, and my own need for information that could
lead to stories in which the press might be interested.
Building Staff Capacities
to Communicate and to Present
Marketing and public relations is never just one person's responsibility
at an organization, regardless of everyone's job titles; everyone at an
organization will interact with other staff, partner organizations,
potential supporters and the general public at some point. Therefore,
everyone needs to be able to talk or to write clearly about his or her own
work and that of the organization overall. This new resource describes
various activities I undertook to improve the communication capacities of
Afghan government staff. This resource links to various slide
presentations and materials used for this endeavor in Afghanistan that can
be adapted by others in different countries and situations. Included is a
workshop on helping women in strict religious cultures to cultivate their
presentation and public speaking skills, a workshop and tip sheet to help
staff write better reports, and a slide presentation to help staff take
photos in the field that will serve a variety of communications and
reporting purposes.
Quick Links
Disclaimer: No guarantee of accuracy or suitability is made by the
poster/distributor. This material is provided as is, with no expressed
or implied warranty.
Permission is granted to copy, present and/or distribute a limited
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The art work and material on
this site was created and is copyrighted 1996-2018
by Jayne Cravens, all rights reserved
(unless noted otherwise, or the art comes from a link to another
web site).
