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Working Together For A Stronger Future

The northern bc tourism resiliency program is focused on providing local tourism operators and organizations with practical strategies and guidance for enduring the daily challenges and the major events that affect the tourism industry. the goal is to support the implementation of resiliency practices for the industry. .

Meet With Our Business Resiliency Specialist

Schedule calls with our business resiliency specialist, jennifer moore, who can assist you in navigating available programs and resources. .

Jennifer can provide you with guidance and get you connected to the resources and experts you need to navigate your challenges and plot your course to business success moving forward.

The Tourism Resiliency Program is designed to be flexible to meet the diverse range of challenges facing the tourism sector and your business.

Testimonials from Tourism Resilency Program Participants As a small tourism operator in Northern BC, and on the heels of the crunch of COVID-19, my husband and I spend many mornings over coffee discussing our options going forward with our business. How do we plan for budgeting, marketing, managing and expansion? What direction do we take? Upon our meeting with the program advisor with Northern BC Tourism, we were excited to learn of the prospects for support. From photography assets to business consulting, among other programs, there is the opportunity to have guidance, direction and support through Northern BC Tourism. We thank Northern BC Tourism for supporting tourism operators in Northern BC. The insightful emails I've received have been a wealth of knowledge and information. It keeps me motivated and informed. I also like the way someone reached out to me by telephone, and I was able to have a one-on-one conversation about my specific issues and connect with the program on a one-on-one basis.

Digital support, helping you navigate the online world, marketing support, crafting your digital strategy and efforts, photography support, capturing high-quality images , sustainability assessment, get your online assessment, visitor data analysis, know your customers, access and inclusion, free consultation, world travel & tourism council, complimentary hr support, people are essential for your tourism and hospitality business to thrive. go2hr recognizes that recruiting and retaining talent in this current environment is more challenging than ever. the ministry of tourism, arts, culture, and sports and destination bc recognize the challenges facing businesses and have partnered with go2hr to offer complimentary hr advisory services to assist business with workforce matters. think of this resource or initiative as “hr on speed dial” and an effective tool to realize your business recovery. northern bc has sarah best, a specialized consultant, as they know that there are unique regional challenges facing businesses., destination bc learning centre, find free resources and tools, featured articles, videos, guides and templates, 24/7. resources are available in a variety of formats covering digital marketing, experience development, social media marketing, travel trade and media, research, emergency preparedness, and accessible tourism.  learn at your own pace in a way that works for you, stories of resilience.

These stories profile tourism businesses in Northern BC who, in the face of adversity due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, have been able to adapt and are on the road to recovery and long-term resiliency. It is our hope in sharing these stories that you see yourself, your sector or your community, and find a shared connection that may inspire you or encourage you to participate in the tourism resiliency program.

Coldsnap Winter Music Festival Goes Virtual

Northern rockies lodge & northern rockies adventures, the trading house at saahlinda naay the haida gwaii museum, fukasaku restaurant, northern rockies fitness, last frontier heliskiing, salmon valley campground and crystal cabin, resources & tools, research resources, working  with trade.

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Connect  with us, get in touch,  if you have any questions about our programs or work, please reach out., quick links, northern bc tourism.

1274 5th Avenue

Prince George, BC V2L 3L2

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Northern BC Tourism Summit

Thompson Okanagan Tourism Resiliency Program

The Tourism Resiliency Program has closed and transitioned to the BC Tourism Sustainability Network . For information on introductory support and services, visit TourismSustainability.ca .

If you have any questions, feel free to email [email protected] .

As part of the province-wide BC Tourism Resiliency Network , the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Resiliency Program supports the long-term resiliency of Thompson Okanagan tourism companies through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Resiliency Program provides 1-1 support to connect tourism operators to continuous education, financial resources, mental health resources, human resources expertise, and industry connections.

Business supports include:

Ongoing support from TOTA Tourism Resiliency Advisor

Access to training and subject matter experts

Webinars about key issues

Industry updates on resources

Business coaching

TOTA’s core destination stewardship programs.

There is no cost to participate. Your advisor will provide ongoing customized one-on-one support.

After registration, you can schedule a Discovery Call with an advisor.

or register by phone: 1-877-431-8489 (ext 8)

BC Tourism Resiliency Network (BCTRN)

The BC Tourism Resiliency Network (BCTRN) is a long-term resiliency program providing B.C. tourism businesses with meaningful support to navigate challenges and adapt to frequent change.

The BCTRN was launched in April 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, by the five regional destination management organizations (RDMO) of the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat (BCRTS), including TOTA.

Learn more at TourismResiliency.ca

Thompson Okanagan Tourism Resiliency Program Supports

By registering for the Tourism Resiliency Program, participants can access the following services:

go2HR has offered complimentary seats for their virtual SuperHost® Customer Service Training courses. The online and self-paced courses help participants gain skills such as communication, conflict resolution, and teamwork, as well as knowledge to create exceptional customer service experiences, leading to greater customer satisfaction, increased revenue and business bottom line, and a happier, more productive workplace.

TOTA has several Tourism Resiliency Advisors within our team. Our diverse group of Program Advisors provide hands-on support to help tourism businesses access resources and opportunities to overcome the impact of the pandemic.

TOTA has signed a formal agreement with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Kelowna and Thoughtfull Workplace Wellness Strategies, which includes:

Personal wellbeing resources & services are available free of charge.

CMHA will deliver programming through an ongoing webinar series.

Participants of the Tourism Resiliency Program can access workplace psychological health and safety training and advising at a subsidized rate.

The Community Futures - TOTA Taskforce is proud to offer the “Thompson Okanagan Tourism Micro Loan Program,” in alignment with the Regional Relief & Recovery Fund (RRRF). To apply for a micro loan, tourism stakeholders must be referred to a Community Futures office by a Thompson Okanagan Tourism Resiliency Program Advisor. Advisors will also provide ongoing, one-on-one support to tourism businesses. There is no cost to participate.

Past Supports

These Tourism Resiliency Program supports are no longer available. If you want to be added to the waitlist in case these supports become available again, please email [email protected] .

The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) partnered with Okanagan College in Spring 2022 to offer the Tourism Leadership Essentials Program for Thompson Okanagan tourism professionals.

An initiative to collect and report on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on BC tourism businesses, as well as potential recovery measures.

The Ready to E-Market: Digital Support Services provides tourism businesses with one on one guidance in determining where you currently are digitally and where your business needs to be.

Tourism businesses can sign up for a FREE subscription to eLearningU to gain access to live and recorded webinars for Canadian tourism marketing, internet marketing, social media, branding, sales, packaging, and more.

Members will have access to the full webinar library of 350+ recordings, live webinars, and the Tourism Digital Marketing Certification Program .

TOTA is collaborating with Okanagan College to offer one-on-one training and mentoring sessions to tourism industry businesses with a focus on managing COVID-19 related challenges.

Education Resources

TOTA has compiled education, training, and other resources to support tourism businesses through streamlined communications.

The latest regional tourism news updates, research reports, and press releases from TOTA, industry, and partners.

View Latest News →

Subscribe for Updates →

A calendar of upcoming webinars and recent recordings to support the resiliency of Thompson Okanagan tourism companies. Webinars are also listed in the weekly Tourism News Summary newsletter.

Subscribe to the weekly Tourism News Summary newsletter for relevant information on regulations, resources, and guidelines to help Thompson Okanagan tourism operators to build a resilient business.

Marketing Resources

Tourism companies can display the Safe Travels stamp to reassure visitors that globally recognized health and hygiene protocols are in place, as outlined by the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Research Reports

An initiative to collect and reports on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on B.C. tourism businesses, as well as potential recovery measures.

An ongoing snapshot of how the tourism industry has been impacted as a result of COVID-19 and an overview of how things are changing through the stages of recovery.

A compilation of Thompson Okanagan and B.C. reports, including Measuring Canadian Travel Patterns, BC Hotel Performance Indication, and BC Resident Sentiment Towards Travel.

General Tourism Resiliency Supports

TOTA has compiled a list of supports and resources which are available to all tourism businesses in the Thompson Okanagan region:

We understand that these are extremely challenging times. Our team is working to communicate your needs to the Provincial Government, and our lines of communication are open for you at this time.

Feel to connect to connect with TOTA team members with any questions, to voice your concerns, or even just to talk about the challenges you are facing. You are not alone, and we will get through this together.

Please send us a note at [email protected] and a member of our team will respond at their earliest convenience.

Emergency Preparedness

Having an Emergency and Communication Plan in place is a responsible and important business practice. We encourage all of our tourism stakeholders to ensure they are always adequately prepared and have processes in place to communicate accurate information to guests and those that are entering the region to travel.

For more information on emergency preparedness, please visit our emergency preparedness section .

Tourism Destination Resilience

Learn more about our initiatives and solutions for destinations

It all starts with resilience...

With the support, experience and knowledge of our members, PATA has developed several tools and resources to build the capacity of destinations and guide them towards a more resilient and sustainable future. Our projects and initiatives were created to assist destinations to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, but most importantly to better prepare for challenges that will come.

Launched in 2021, the Tourism Destination Resilience (TDR) Programme was designed to provide a pathway for tourism destinations to build resilience and increase their adaptive capacity. 

At PATA we believe that resilience is essential for moving towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Without resilience, a destination would never be able to maintain its sustainability efforts. Years of progress on regenerating an ecosystem or eliminating poverty, for example, could be lost in one disaster or financial crisis. This is why we advocate that for a tourism destination to be sustainable, it must first be resilient .

With this in mind, PATA, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) came together to create the TDR Programme and empower Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) with the necessary tools and skills to future-proof their destinations. Watch the video to learn more:

Tools for Tourism Destination Resilience

The Tourism Destination Resilience Programme consists of 5 tools to enable destinations to withstand adversity and bounce forward from crises and challenges. These tools cover the three main steps of TDR:

• Risk Assessment – identifying risks in a destination
• Risk Management – managing risks and responding to crises
• Adaptive capacity – adapting to the inevitable changes that arise from crises and happen over time

1. Online learning: 10 TDR Modules

To help destinations build capacity around these three main steps, PATA has built a TDR course consisting of ten (10) online modules that cover all the necessary steps towards destinations’ resilience and long-term sustainability. 

These modules are open-sourced and available in six languages: English , Vietnamese , Thai , Bahasa Indonesia , Khmer and Mandarin Chinese . Learners can get a micro-certificate upon the completion of each module and a full course certificate after passing the final course quiz

Measuring destination resilience

Before starting the 10 Online TDR Modules, you might want to understand your destination's current performance in terms of risk exposure and resilience. To do so, there are two tools to help kickstart & navigate your journey towards resilience:

2. Risk Exposure Tool

The Risk Exposure Tool calculates and reports the current level of risk exposure of national-level tourism destinations based on existing PATA research and global tourism indexes.

3. Resilience Assessment Tool

The Resilience Assessment Tool allows destination managers and stakeholders to assess a destination’s level of resilience based on the perceived capacity to take preventative actions in preparation of a crisis, responses during a crisis and recovery after a crisis.

4. Resource Library

This resource library is a repository of reliable fact-based and actionable online resources and tools on the topics of resilience, crisis response, crisis communication, COVID-19 recovery, risk assessment, destination risk management, adaptive capacity and sustainability. 

The library encompasses reports, case studies, toolkits, indexes and criteria, handbooks and online courses to further assist destinations in their path towards resilience.

Aviation Kit

Building Resilience: Integrating Climate and Disaster Risk into Development

After the Tsunami: The Phuket Action Plan

Basics of Capacity Development for Disaster Risk Reduction

Building the Future of Quality Infrastructure

Circular Economy in Travel and Tourism

Building Urban Resilience: Principles, Tools, and Practice

5. capacity building.

The TDR Course, besides being an open-sourced online tool, is also a training tool for destinations at the national and subnational levels.

In December 2021, for instance, PATA concluded the first round of the TDR Training of Trainers (ToT) for National Tourism Authorities (NTAs) professionals and other national-level destinations managers and stakeholders.   The ToT aimed at enabling the NTAs to disseminate the knowledge and resources of the TDR Programme to subnational destinations to better withstand adversity and bounce forward from crises and disasters.

Following the national-level training, the TDR Programme also includes workshops for DMOs at subnational destinations . These workshops aim to assist destinations to prepare their risk assessments, risk management and adaptive capacity plans. 

The workshops are attended by members of the DMOs but also by other stakeholders in the destinations, such as representatives of the departments of environment, agriculture, health, waste and water management, police staff, municipality committee members, managers of tourism businesses and tourist attractions, among many others.

This diversity of stakeholders in the workshops is imperative for the thorough and holistic analysis of the destinations’ resilience needs.

If you want to know more about our training programme and tailored solutions for your destination, send us an email at [email protected] or drop us a message below. 

Outcomes of the TDR Programme

The high-level outcomes of the TDR Programme, for a destination, are:

• Understanding the need to transition away from destination marketing towards destination management and stewardship .
• Identifying the key capacities that need to be strengthened in the destination in order to build resilience.
• Reframing the destination’s values and business models to be more holistic, thus including diverse stakeholders in a destination’s journey towards resilience.
• Recognising the long-term benefits of resilience for the community, the environment and the economy.
• Understanding how to secure investments for resilience programmes and projects.

Start building resilience today

Take pata’s complimentary tourism destination resilience course.

The course is available in six languages and learners can get a certificate of completion at the end.

Crisis response and recovery

Apart from the TDR Programme, if you are looking for more tools on crisis management and response, PATA has a significant repository of resources created during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were developed to support recovery efforts in the robust and responsible renewal of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. As tourism recovers from the pandemic, these resources remain relevant as they are applicable to any type of crisis that the industry may face.

Supporting Partners

Check out our other initiatives

PATA also has initiatives for communities, such as the Informal Workers Programme, and for tourism businesses, such as online courses, guidelines and toolkits for plastic and food waste reduction, finance skills, digital skills and cybersecurity. Check these below:

For communities

For businesses

Learn how a pata membership can help you achieve your organisational goals.

We help support the growth of our members’ businesses in both public and private sectors by expanding their networks regionally and globally, while strengthening the tourism industry through trade events, industry research, professional development programs, and targeted channels for brand exposure.

What Our Experts Say About Us

John Bailey – Managing Consultant, Global Communications Consulting

“The key to crisis management is to identify potential risks, then seek to reduce their likely impact. Preparing for unexpected shocks or disruptions is an essential element of planning, and you should not wait for a crisis to happen to put a plan in place.”

Matteo Bierschneider – Co-founder, Wise Steps Indonesia

“Capacity building is arguably the most important tool to turn strategies, action plans and risk reduction agendas into living policies by equipping the people with the right skills.”

Mark Evidente – CEO, TwoEco, Inc.

“While much has already been said about the need to make the travel industry more sustainable, true sustainability that meets the needs of future generations requires that we plan and adapt to triumph over crises.”

Nerissa Juan – Division Chief, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines

"TDR is an innovative programme because it provides a holistic framework, which encompasses not only natural disasters and pandemics, but also a wide range of challenges particular to tourism destinations."

Search the United Nations

Resilient tourism

For many developing countries, including the least developed countries, small island developing states, countries in Africa and middle-income countries, tourism is a major source of income, foreign currency earnings, tax revenue and employment. Because tourism connects people with nature, sustainable tourism has the unique ability to spur environmental responsibility and conservation.

Sustainable tourism, including ecotourism, is a cross-cutting activity that can contribute to the three dimensions of sustainable development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by fostering economic growth, alleviating poverty, creating full and productive employment and decent work for all.

It can also play a role in accelerating the change to more sustainable consumption and production patterns and promoting the sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources, promoting local culture, improving the quality of life and the economic empowerment of women and young people, indigenous peoples and local communities and promoting rural development and better living conditions for rural populations, including small-holder and family farmers.

The use of sustainable and resilient tourism as a tool to foster sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development and financial inclusion, enables the formalization of the informal sector, the promotion of domestic resource mobilization and environmental protection and the eradication of poverty and hunger, including the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources and the promotion of investment and entrepreneurship in sustainable tourism.

Global Tourism Resilience Day (17 February), proclaimed by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/77/269 , aims to emphasize the need to foster resilient tourism development to deal with shocks, taking into account the vulnerability of the tourism sector to emergencies. It is also a call for action for Member States to develop national strategies for rehabilitation after disruptions, including through private-public cooperation and the diversification of activities and products.

• Tourism Data Dashboard

The UNWTO Tourism Data Dashboard – provides statistics and insights on key indicators for inbound and outbound tourism at the global, regional and national levels. Data covers tourist arrivals, tourism share of exports and contribution to GDP, source markets, seasonality and accommodation (data on number of rooms, guest and nights).

Tourism for the SDGs Platform

2027 — International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism

In February 2024, the General Assembly decided to proclaim 2027 the International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism.

It encouraged all states, the United Nations system and all other actors to take advantage of the International Year to promote actions at all levels, including through international cooperation, and to support sustainable and resilient tourism as a means of promoting and accelerating sustainable development.

Did you know?

• Tourism supports millions of direct and indirect jobs all over the world, in particular for women and young people. [Report A/77/219 ]
• For some small island states and developing countries, tourism accounts for over 20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). [Report A/77/219 ]
• The economic contribution of tourism (tourism direct GDP) was estimated at $1.9 trillion in 2021, higher than the $1.6 trillion recorded for 2020, but still well below the pre-pandemic value of $3.5 trillion. [Report A/77/219 ]

Promoting the value of protected areas, safeguarding biodiversity, and building sustainable livelihoods - ecotourism reveals Egypt’s natural wonders . 

• Resolution A/RES/77/269 "Global Tourism Resilience Day"
• Resolution A/RES/78/260 "International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism, 2027"
• Resolution A/RES/77/178 "Promotion of sustainable and resilient tourism, including ecotourism, for poverty eradication and environmental protection"
• Report A/77/219 of the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization on the promotion of sustainable tourism, including ecotourism, for poverty eradication and environment protection
• The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism
• World Tourism Day 2022 Report: From Crisis to Transformation
• Guiding Tourism Recovery
• World Tourism Barometer
• UNWTO/IATA Destination Tracker - Easy Travel
• Best Tourism Villages
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Tourism 4 SDGs
• World Tourism Day

World Tourism Organization

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is a leading UN international agency in the field of tourism. Its mission is to promote tourism as a driver of  economic growth, inclusive development  and  environmental sustainability  and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide. Discover how they are working to cope with this pandemic along with the tourism sector and other UN agencies. 

How my tourism business survived COVID-19

My name is Dekha Dewandana, I’m 46 years old. I’m the owner of Esa di Kubu homestay in Sudaji Village, Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia. Despite the difficulties during the pandemic, I didn't give up. I followed what I was taught during the ILO training: to be the owner and host of our own village. This is the story of Dekha's success in this paradisiacal country that host the World Tourism Day 2022 celebrations.

Why do we mark International Days?

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances .

Tourism Resiliency Program Named Skift IDEA Awards Finalist

The  British Columbia Tourism Resiliency Network  has been named a finalist in the Skift IDEA Awards 2021 in the Pandemic Response category, entered by Tourism Vancouver Island on behalf of the British Columbia Regional Tourism Secretariat. Each year,  Skift IDEA Awards  celebrate brands and businesses designing new and better ways to travel in 14 categories. 

“We are honoured to be recognized by such a leading voice in the travel industry, and in the same category as global tourism destinations like Los Angeles and Iceland,” says Anthony Everett, President & CEO of Tourism Vancouver Island and Chair, British Columbia Regional Tourism Secretariat. “We congratulate our fellow finalists and commend the innovative programs developed around the world for the betterment of the tourism industry.”

In the Pandemic Response category, entrants were judged on their design or strategic solutions to enable safe travel or mitigate the economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic. All finalists in the Pandemic Response category, include:

• Accor –   ALL Heartist Fund  
• Aparium Hotel Group –  Innovative Dining Suites
• Bahrain Airport Company –  Pandemic Response  
• Business Iceland –  Looks Like You Need to Let it Out  
• Global Rescue –  Coronavirus Intelligence Center
• Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board –  Start Your Comeback in Los Angeles
• OYO –  VaccinAid
• Tourism Vancouver Island (on behalf of British Columbia Regional Tourism Secretariat) –  Tourism Resiliency Network
• WELL Health –  Safety Rating  

Winners will be announced later this month and celebrated December 9, 2021. Learn more and view the finalists in all categories here .

Skift is a leading travel industry news site founded in the U.S. Skift also provides market research and marketing services to the travel industry. 

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Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association Launches Tourism Resiliency Program

Over the last few weeks, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) has been diligently working on creating a new program that directly addresses the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism businesses and helps to navigate the Provincial and Federal initiatives that have been put in place to try and mitigate the effects of the pandemic. The organization, while still continuing with its core programs, has pivoted from its role and is focused on providing one-on-one direct support to all tourism businesses within the Thompson Okanagan corridor. 

After surveying almost 800 businesses, they found three key needs which were common to a large sector of stakeholders: 

• Advocate on behalf of business to Government 
• Clarify Appropriate Consumer Communications 
• Support Businesses with pathfinding services and expert advice. 

The survey results demonstrated that personalized support is key in helping stakeholders navigate the current landscape.

Thompson Okanagan Tourism Resiliency Program

Together with the British Columbia Regional Tourism Secretariat, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, go2HR, Indigenous Tourism BC, Tourism Industry Association of BC, community DMOs, and Destination BC, TOTA has launched the  Tourism Resiliency Program , which was piloted by the Vancouver Island Tourism Association and funded by the Island Coastal Economic Trust. 

The focus of this program is to connect tourism businesses with the necessary support and information that they need.  One of the main issues small businesses are facing is understanding and navigating the different funding programs and resources that have become available in the last few weeks. TOTA will provide leadership, expertise, and resources to connect businesses with the solutions that are appropriate to them. The program has 3 main objectives:

• Provide Meaningful Support
• Streamline Communications
• Advocacy 

TOTA has not only trained their staff to be able to navigate the provincial and federal funding programs and resources, but they have also partnered with specialists from different fields who can offer expert advice (finance, HR, legal services, mental health, etc). The program will pair participating businesses with a program advisor who will meet with them one-on-one to understand their specific needs, legal experts will be consulted as required, and a Development and Delivery of Support Plan will be created for the business. The program is meant to provide long-term help and the program advisor will be on hand for anywhere between 3-6 months (as long as necessary). TOTA will also host a number of webinars to address and educate on specific COVID-19 related programs. 

Any tourism business located within the Thompson Okanagan can participate in the program, which is free of charge and is now open for registration. Appointments can be booked online at  tourismresiliency.ca/tota/, by emailing [email protected]  or calling directly at 1-877-431-8489. 

Sara Correa Haslehurst, Business Development, Sports & Events

• Privacy Policy

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Tourism Kelowna would like to thank Westbank First Nation and Okanagan Indian Band for the privilege to live, work, and play on the tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ (land), that is the unceded and traditional territory of syilx Okanagan peoples, the original stewards of these lands and to whom we give thanks to as our hosts

Kelowna Visitor Centre: 

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Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 6S4 Canada

1-800-663-4345

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• BC Tourism Climate Resiliency Initiative

Shames River | Northern BC Tourism/Jeanine Philippe

• Destination Management

The BC Tourism Climate Resiliency Initiative (BCTCRI) is a provincial project that focuses on building a foundational program to support a resilient tourism sector that is prepared to adapt to climate change. Starting in the 2023/2024 fiscal year and spanning over two years, an investment of $3 million from the BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport (TACS) will be allocated to this initiative through the Destination Development Fund .

Destination BC, in close collaboration with tourism industry partners, will use this funding to operate the BCTCRI which is comprised of four key projects that invest in facilitated sustainability and adaptation planning for tourism businesses, micro-grants to support implementation, the formation of a data framework, and province-wide networking opportunities. This initiative and its respective projects are aimed at improving the climate resiliency of the tourism sector and are aligned with the sustainability and adaptation goals identified in the following provincial-level strategies:

• TACS Strategic Framework for Tourism 2022-2024
• Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy: Actions for 2022-2025
• Destination BC Corporate Strategy Summary 2023-2025

The goals and intention of the BCTCRI is to ensure:

• BC’s tourism industry is better prepared to adapt to climate change.
• BC’s tourism industry is using a standard set of tools to track, measure and improve sustainable practices and climate adaptation initiatives.
• Foundation is set for a long-term sustainability and climate adaptation approach for the tourism sector in BC.

Project One: Facilitated Sustainable Tourism and Climate Adaptation Planning for Tourism Businesses

Project two: micro-grants to support sustainability and climate adaptation plan implementation, project three: sustainability and climate adaptation data framework, project four: community destination stewardship initiative.

The initial application intake, which opened on January 18, 2024, on a first-come, first-served basis, is now full, and a waitlist has been established for future intakes. A second application intake is expected to open in fall 2024.

This program provides free , tailored support to tourism businesses in BC that are looking to incorporate environmental sustainability or climate adaptation measures into their operations. An experienced program advisor and supporting experts from Destination BC’s extensive network will work with organizations to develop a sustainability and climate adaptation road map and perform detailed assessments to identify the most impactful, customized measures for climate resiliency. Learn more →

Next application intake opening from May 13 – May 30, 2024. 

This program provides micro-grant funding up to $15,000 for eligible tourism businesses that are ready to build on their sustainability or climate adaptation plan to implement a project or obtain sustainability certification. Projects must be non-planning related, and include infrastructure enhancement, equipment purchases, or development of new systems that support previous planning processes. Learn more→

More details coming soon.

OUR PARTNERS

The BCTCRI and its representative projects are developed and delivered in collaboration with partner organizations, including the six Regional Destination Management Organizations (RDMOs) , Indigenous Tourism BC , and the BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport working together to meet the goals of this initiative.

FAQ: BC Tourism Climate Resiliency Initiative

Get in touch.

To find out more or ask questions about the BCTCRI or any of the four projects, contact us at [email protected] .

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NE2251: Tourism Resilience and Community Sustainability: Adaptation and Recovery of Rural Businesses and Destinations

(multistate research project), status: active, project menu.

• Appendix E: Participation
• SAES-422 (report and minutes)
• Participants Directory
• Publications
• Photo Album

Attachments

Duration : 10/01/2022 to 09/30/2027

Administrative Advisor(s):

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of issues and justification.

External forces such as globalization and technological change have led to a decline in traditional agricultural, forestry, and mining jobs in rural America. As a result, many small towns and communities in rural areas are looking to effective means such as recreation and tourism for economic diversification and growth. The rural authenticity, unique culture and heritage, distinctive and “alive” assets of traditional music, art and craft, local food and drink, and outdoor beauty and recreation have been increasingly identified as important assets that can help to improve local economies. It is argued that asset-based economic development is more sustainable as opposed to the traditional coal mining industry and the newly emerged Marcellus Shale gas industry in the Appalachia and Northeastern region. One of the six goals identified in the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) 2016-2020 Strategic Plan focuses on “strengthening Appalachia’s community and economic development potential by leveraging the Region’s natural and cultural heritage assets.” To achieve this goal, ARC has provided funding for hundreds of projects in a wide range of program areas, including “asset-based development”, “entrepreneurship and business development”, and “tourism development.” The increasing importance of the recreation economy has also been recognized by the USDA as an emerging or priority area of national need and an effective means for rural development. A recent study (OIA, 2016) reveals that outdoor recreation economy generates $887 billion in spending, supports 7.6 million direct American jobs and generates $125 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue.

Previous studies have found that nonmetro counties with high recreation development have a population gain because rural amenities and recreation opportunities attracted people for permanent residence (Beale & Johnson, 1998; Headwaters Economics, 2019; Johnson & Beale, 2002; McGranahan, 1999). In West Virginia, a study on visitors’ economic impact by Dean Runyan Associates (2018) indicates that the size of the travel industry in relation to the total economy of a locale is more significant in some smaller communities and rural areas than urban areas in the state. For some rural counties like Greenbrier, Tucker, and Pocahontas with unique scenic and outdoor recreational opportunities, the travel industry is a vital component of the total local economy in terms of travel-generated employment and earnings.

While recognizing the role that recreation/tourism plays in rural areas, tourism itself is very susceptible/vulnerable to external factors (Williams & Balaz, 2014) such as natural disasters, economic crises, disease outbreaks, climate change, terrorism, and uncertainties in safety and security, among others. For example, between 2000 and 2015, international tourism has suffered from major disruptive events such as the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, the global economic crisis in 2008/2009, and the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak. However, the negative impacts caused by these events on tourism were short lived and “none of one of them [have] led to a longer-term decline in the global development of tourism, … with only SARS (-0.4%) and the global economic crisis (-4.0%) leading to declines in international arrivals (Gossling et al., 2021, p. 3). Thus, tourism as a system seemed to be resilient as it will eventually recover from external shocks. That said, the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented “with no foreseeable conclusion” (Litvin et al., 2021, p.1), causing unemployment rates in the USA to the level not seen since the great recession in 1930’s (USDA Economic Research Service, 2021b). As a result, its impact on certain sectors of the tourism system may be permanent and may not be able to go back to the level they were prior to the pandemic.

The county-level impact of COVID-19 pandemic on rural America in terms of local unemployment and employment rates were analyzed by USDA Economic Research Service (2021) which classifies all U.S. counties into six economic dependence types: farming, mining, manufacturing, Federal/State government, recreation, and nonspecialized. It is found that COVID-19 case rates are lowest in nonmetro recreation counties while highest in nonmetro manufacturing-dependent counties. However, the Northeast region, especially in Appalachia, is among the highest unemployment rates in March 2021. Therefore, given the importance of outdoor recreation/rural tourism in local economy and its vulnerability to external shocks, particularly the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, a multistate long-term project that assesses and monitors the recovery of the tourism sector in rural areas deems necessary. 

The economic distress facing rural America has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which has profoundly affected people’s lives. While tourism has been regarded as an effective means for rural economic development and diversification, it has been hit hardest by the pandemic (Ugur & Akbıyık, 2020). For example, international arrivals plunged by 74% in 2020 with an estimated loss of 1.3 trillion in international visitors’ spending in the same year (UNWTO, 2021). In the U.S., travel spending in 2020 declined by 42% from 2019 (US Travel Association, 2021). Specifically, in terms of the hospitality sector of the tourism system, the expected room revenue loss for US hotels is nearly $83.7 billion in 2020 (vs. $51.2 billion for 2021) (American Hotel and Lodging Association, 2021). The American Hotel & Lodging Association conducted a survey of over 1200 members in November 2020 about the hotel’s financial outlook and staffing levels, finding that 71% of hotels cannot survive for another 6 months without further federal assistance and 77% will have to lay off more employees given the current and predicted travel demand. Moreover, over one thirds of hotels will face bankruptcy or be forced to sell by the end of 2020.

While the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry is widespread, the depth and breadth of the impacts vary among businesses and destinations.  Small businesses that account for the largest chunk of the tourism sector in rural areas have suffered the most. For example, the Northeast region, especially in Appalachia, had the highest unemployment rates (USDA Economic Research Service, 2021a). While the COVID-19 crisis has drawn increasing attention from researchers, research on rural people as a whole (Mueller et al., 2021) and rural tourism in particular is largely limited even though rural areas accounted for the highest percent of COVID-19 cases and deaths (USDA Economic Research, 2021b). Although small and medium-sized businesses are more vulnerable to crisis impacts compared to large hotels, airlines, and tour companies, tourism crisis management tends to focus on the latter with small businesses being largely ignored (Cioccio & Michael, 2007; Cushnahan, 2004). There is a lack of understanding as to how businesses and destinations have responded to the crisis at the meso level (regional, state) (Neise et al., 2021). Watson and Deller (2021) argue that “the resiliency of these tourism- and hospitality-dependent regions to recover from such shocks is less well understood” (p.1). Furthermore, Yang’s et al. (2021) study on community resilience measurement indicates that tourism sectors are important in measuring community resilience. Thus, there is a need to examine the impact of crises and disasters such as COVID-19 on the tourism sector in rural areas systematically and longitudinally to fully understand the resilience, adaptability, and recoverability of rural tourism across states during and following the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic may offer an opportunity for tourism sectors in rural areas to restructure in a more sustainable way in the long term. It is hoped that rural tourism will come back better and more resilient following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related, Current and Previous Work

Although tourism and recreation are conceptually different, the two terms are interchangeably used as they overlap in many ways and it is hard to separate them practically. Rural tourism research in the 1960s and 1970s was focused on farm tourism with the economic impacts of tourism on farmers as the main theme, although to some degree social and psychological impacts and problems were also examined (Oppermann, 1996). Farm tourism continued to be the study focus in the 1980s and early 1990s; however, other forms of rural tourism such as bed and breakfast (B&B) and rural tourism impacts on local communities were also examined during this time period (Oppermann, 1996). Much of the rural tourism research before the 1990s was conducted in Europe (Oppermann, 1996). Since 2000, rural tourism research has extended to other countries/regions beyond Europe and has broadened to a variety of tourism themes. Lane and Kastenholz (2015), after an examination of 1,848 articles published after 2000, identified 16 themes ranging from tourism management and development to economics, environment/ecology, rural/regional development, ecotourism, cultural tourism, and protected areas.

While rural tourism has been widely examined in the literature as a means for rural development, a search of the National Information Management and Support System (NIMSS) database reveals that few projects address issues and challenges facing rural America with a focus on outdoor recreation/rural tourism as a whole and community resilience in particular. For example, two projects were found to be related to outdoor recreation with at least one objective on resilience. They are: NE1962: Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Other Green Environments: Understanding Human and Community Benefits and Mechanisms (2017-2022), objective 3, Demonstrate and expand the evidence for the role of park and outdoor recreation services in promoting community vibrancy and resilience; and NECC1011: Balancing Natural Resource Recreation Management, Human Well-Being, and Community Resilience, Objective 3, Understand the role and the dynamics of outdoor recreation for resilient and vibrant communities. There may be other projects that do not focus on outdoor recreation/rural tourism but have considered outdoor recreation in a broad context. For instance, NE1029: Rural Change: Markets, Governance and Quality of Life, objective 3, Develop a better understanding of the role of amenities in rural development and the impact of economic and social changes on the quality of life in rural communities. While the first two projects have community resilience as a research objective, both focused on the connections between outdoor recreation, physical activity, human health and well-being, particularly among youth (for the first project).

A search of NIMSS database also found several other projects on community resilience, though not related to recreation/tourism. For example, 1. NE1749: Enhancing Rural Economic Opportunities, Community Resilience, and Entrepreneurship, objective 2, Evaluating Factors and Policies Affecting the Resiliency of Rural Communities; 2. NC1030: Sustainable and Resilient Systems: Transformative Response to Disruptions by Families, Businesses, and Communities, objective 2, Identify and measure the sources of major change and disruption and the structural barriers that impact the family/household, the business or the community, and objective 3, Identify and measure transformative responses to the positive and negative impacts of change and disruption on the family/household, the business, or the community; 3. NC1171: Individual, family, and community factors associated with resilience in diverse, rural, low-income families, objective 1, Community Capacity: To assess community capacity to support resilience in diverse rural low-income families, and objective 2, Individual and family resilience processes: To examine individual and family resilience processes from the perspective of rural, low-income mothers; and 4. NC1100: A Systems Perspective to Community Resilience: Rural healthcare at the intersection of households and businesses (2021-2016). These projects examined community resilience as it relates to economic and policy changes and/or natural and human-made disasters, none of them have focused on the COVID-19 pandemic or any other similar disease outbreaks as they affect individuals, businesses, and communities.

A search of USDA NIFA’s Current Research Information System (CRIS) also shows that none of the projects that involve rural tourism, agritourism, and other forms of tourism such as nature-based tourism or ecotourism funded by Hatch Program, McIntire-Stennis Program, or AFRI Competitive Grants in the past decade has focused on tourism resiliency and crises. This clearly indicates that there is research gap in the field of tourism resiliency as it relates to external shocks.  

Tourism resilience, adaptability, and recoverability

As aforementioned, tourism industry is vulnerable to risks and crises, which has emerged as a popular research theme in the past decade or so. However, there is “theoretical fragmentation of the understanding of risk and uncertainty, resembling a patchwork of disconnected ideas across scales and disciplines” (Williams & Balaz, 2015, p. 282). Recently, Ritchie and Jiang (2019) further identified three research gaps related to tourism risks: lack of conceptual and theoretical foundations; lack of empirical testing of models/theory; and unbalanced research theme coverage, which, according to Arbulu et al. (2021),  “refers to the lack of research on the factors affecting vulnerability and resilience in tourism” (p. 2).

Resilience can be analyzed at three different levels: (1) the micro level (i.e., the resilience of individual organizations), (2) the meso level (i.e., the resilience of an industry, a market or a group of companies), and (3) the macro level (i.e., the totality of individual organizations and market  (Rose, 2006; cited in Neise et al., 2021). An examination of the organizational resilience serves as the basis for understanding resilience at the meso level. Thus, most resilience studies were conducted either at the micro level or at the meso level or at both levels.

Resilience can be understood as a simple recovery to the original level. It is also understood as a development process which consists of four factors--risk or vulnerability, resistance, reorientation or reorganization, and recoverability (Martin, 2018). Organizational resilience is conceptualized in recent research as the ability to withstand disruptions and transform against challenges (Barasa et al., 2018). Neise et al. (2021) further argue that organizational resilience involves three aspects: absorption, coping, and adaptation. Absorption refers to a firm/organization’s ability to withstand disruptions and remain functional (Berkes, 2007). Pre-shock performance can be used as a key indicator to measure absorption (Neise et al., 2021). Coping reflects the ability of a firm/organization to respond quickly to shocks and resulting restrictions while adaptation relates to an enterprise’s ability to develop and implement strategies to respond to crises in the long run (Berman et al., 2012).

Ritchie and Jiang (2019) reviewed 142 papers published from 1960 to 2018 on tourism risk, crisis and disaster management and identified three major stages studied: preparedness and planning (e.g., proactive crisis management/response, crisis management plan and strategies, risk management mechanism, etc.), response and recovery (e.g., tourism response and recovery strategies, government policy response actions, post-crisis/disaster marketing strategies and campaign, recovery strategy measurement, etc.), and resolution and reflection (e.g., crisis/disaster learning, organizational learning, knowledge management, and destination/enterprise resilience). While over 50% of the 142 papers focused on response and recovery, most studies in this category are case specific “with limited contribution to theory development” (p. 7). The review revealed that three key strategies for effective tourism recovery (crisis communication, recovery marketing, and stakeholder collaboration) have been discussed in previous studies.

Previous studies have examined the impact of such pandemics as SARS, Asian Flu, and HIN1 on tourism (Chen, 2011, Chien & Law, 2005; Kuo et al., 2008; Lee & Chen, 2011; Mao et al., 2010; Pine & McKercher 2004;  Tew et al., 2008; Tse et al., 2006; Wen et al., 2005; Wu et al., 2010). These studies have examined different aspects of the tourism industry, including hotels, cruises, travel flows, travel intentions, perceived risks, consumer behavior, and crisis management and recovery, among others. There are also studies that specifically investigate the hospitality’s responses to crises prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Examples include Dahles and Susilowati (2015) (the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis in Indonesia), Israeli and Reichel (2003) (terror activities from 2000 to 2002 in Israel), Gehrels and Blanar (2013) (2008 economic crisis in Czech Republic). For the purpose of this project, the following review is mainly focused on studies related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While studies on the COVID-19 crisis as it relates to recreation/tourism have expanded recently, most of them are conceptual or descriptive with a focus on visitors’ behavior changes, number monitoring, and spatial use of nature/urban green areas and associated health benefits while empirical studies on tourism resilience and recovery are limited (Varzaru et al., 2021). Prayag et al. (2020) argue that “existing resilience studies on tourism organizations do not provide empirical evidence of the relationships between different types of resilience” (p.1219). Assaf et al. (2021) identified consumer behavior, demand and performance modeling, forecasting, destination and facility management, information technology, and quality of life as six key pillars that require more attention for future research, based on a survey of industry and academic experts’ opinions. Studies of the pandemic on tourism can be broadly classified into two types: supply on the destination side (i.e., hospitality, travel agents, destination attractions) and demand on the market side (i.e., tourists’ perception and behavior change, tourist arrivals). Below is a brief review of findings on these two types with a focus on perception of risk, impact on hospitality (which usually accounts for the large chunk of tourism spending in a destination) and tourist arrivals.

Perception and Behavior

Although different countries/states have adopted different policies/regulations on travel restrictions, the “cocooning” theory (Popcorn, 1981) that refers to people’s stay at home to avoid uncertainty outside may apply for some people during the global pandemic. Previous studies found that the same risk may be perceived differently by different people. There are many factors that may contribute to risk perception, including socio-demographics, personal characteristics (e.g., Allocentric vs. Psychocentric described in Plog, 1974), and past travel experience. For example, allocentric Americans were more likely to travel for vacations and family/friend visits during the pandemic than their psychocentric counterparts (Litvin et al., 2021). tourists from the US, Hong Kong, and Australia tended to take travel risk more seriously than their counterparts from Greece, Canada, and the UK (Richter, 2003; Weber & Hsee, 1998; cited in Bratic et al., 2021). Several studies found that perceived risk of the COVID-19 negatively affected Chinse people’s decision to travel to major cities (Nazneen et al.) or even rural areas (Hong et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2020). Neuburger and Egger’s (2021) study in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), based on two rounds of surveys (two weeks before and immediately after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, p. 1011), reported that people were more likely to change or cancel their travel plans over the two-week period with increasing perceptions of travelling risk. Bratic et al. (2021), in examining increased travel anxiety due to perceived risk of COVID-19 in Serbia, found that COVID-19 perception led to travel anxiety which led to change and cancellation of travel plans.

There are studies that used big data to analyze customers’ perceptions of the COVID-19 as it affects tourism. For example, Hu et al. (2021) examined travelers' online evaluations of China’s hotel services based on 98,163 hotel reviews from Ctrip.com. Customers’ perceptions were comparatively analyzed between “within COVID-19 pandemic” (January 21, 2020, to April 13, 2020) and “recovering from COVID-19 pandemic” (April 14, 2020, to June 2, 2020) with reference to the corresponding period in the year 2019. They found that the pandemic has altered people’s expectations of hotel attributes and services. Other examples of the use of big data to examine the pandemic-related perceptions/behaviors include Kwok et al. (2021) (assessment of public’s attention to COVID-19 messages posted on Facebook and Twitter by hospitality companies; Kim et al. (2021) (consumers’ choice and decision making in the hotel and restaurant domains as affected by the pandemic based on Google Trends Data and other information sources); and Piccinelli et al. (2021) (assessment of air travelers’ concerns over the pandemic from online comments), among others. 

Hospitality

The journal Tourism Recreation Research just issued a call for a special issue on “Hospitality Innovation and Resilience during Uncertainty” reflects the importance of research on the resilience in the hospitality sector as it is affected by the COVID-19. Duro et al. (2021) argue that the hospitality sector in the tourism industry has been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Klein and Smith (2021) analyzed COVID-19 impacts on core industries in six large cities (Seattle, WA; Reno, NV; San Francisco, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Orlando, FL, and Washington, DC.), finding that leisure and hospitality industry was most vulnerable while information technology and government were most resilient. presentation to owners/manager Hospitality businesses tend to adopt coping strategies such as layoffs or furloughs to navigate through the hard times. However, this workforce reduction strategy may adversely affect the mental wellbeing of those workers who were laid off or furloughed because of the pandemic (Chen & Chen, 2021).  

Wilkesmann and Wilkesmann’s (2020) study on top gastronomy in Germany shows that 50% restaurants could survive for a maximum of 6 weeks if the COVID-19 shutdown is maintained and many restaurants cannot survive in the long term. Another study (Neise et al., 2021) on restaurants and bars) in the same country reports that 45% of owners considered their businesses as resilient. Most owners received reliefs from the government and only a few offered a delivery and takeaway service during the lockdown. Businesses already struggling with high costs or with loans and debts prior to the pandemic cannot withstand the lockdown impact and are less resilient. In other words, restaurants and bars with better financial and economic performance before the COVID-19 crisis are more resilient.

Tourist arrivals

Varzaru et al. (2021) examined the COVID-19 impacts on the tourism industry for 24 European countries based on data from March 2020 and January 2021, finding that total cases of COVID and total deaths of COVID significantly influenced the average percentage of changes in tourism measured as nights spent (by all customers, by residents, and by non-residents) at tourist accommodation establishments during the 11 months of pandemic. They further classified these countries into two clusters using the nights spent by the three groups with cluster 1 including countries that have successfully coped with the COVID-19 pandemic and cluster 2 being counties that have been affected the most, suggesting travel restrictions have reduced people’s inclination to travel, which, in turn, led to reduced number of nights spent.

Arbulu et al. (2021) used Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the tourism recovery (in terms of arrivals, cruise ship passengers, Gross Value Added, GVA, and employment) in Balearic Islands based on four scenarios that reflect the different levels of supply shock (travel restrictions and lockdown) and demand shock (a fear of travelling, falling income, low season). They found that in the best-case scenario, it would take over two years for the Island’s tourism to reach the arrival levels of 2019. A backtesting analysis was also conducted to compare predications GVA reduction for each scenario with the historical data, showing a mean deviation of -2.09%, ranging from -5.79% to 1.79%. Balearic Islands, along with other destinations in Spain, was also examined by Duro et al. (2021) who identified tourism dependency, market structure, the supply of rural accommodation, and health incidence of the pandemic as the primary factors to measure the vulnerability of tourism to COVID-19 and developed a COVID-19 vulnerability index using Spain and its 50 provinces as case. Balearic Islands was found to be among the most vulnerable destinations in Spain.

In summary, crisis studies on tourism prior to the COVID-19 pandemic can serve as a reference for studies under the current circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, not all prior crises are global in nature and as such their impacts are limited in terms of magnitude and scale. It is worth noting that current COVID-19 related tourism studies are fragmented, local, and cross-sectional. Ritchie & Jiang (2019) stress that “at the local level the impacts of a crisis (e.g. unserviceable infrastructure in a period of time) is localized and may have little effect nationally” (p. 6), and “researchers should consider using multiple case studies to improve generalizability” (p.6). In other words, a systematic, synergic, and longitudinal study is needed to better understand the dynamics of the impacts so that future crisis management can incorporate lessons learned from the past crises and the current pandemic to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience ahead of crisis and disasters (Litvin et al., 2021; Ritchie & Jiang, 2019).

• Assess, inventory, and classify the impact of current and potential external shocks on rural tourism at the multi-state level.
• Investigate the resilience, adaptability, and recoverability of different components of the rural tourism system (i.e., suppliers, buyers, and destinations).
• Identify, implement, and evaluate strategies for tourism businesses and destinations to cope with external shocks.

The research methods and approaches that are being proposed will be developed and applied to all participating states.  Although all states face similar COVID-19 issues, the impacts and associated coping strategies may differ from county to county and from region to region (region here refers to tourism region defined by each state), which allows for comparative analysis of the relationships between dependent and independent variables. Thus, interstate collaboration provides the opportunity not only for longitudinal analysis within a single state, but also for cross-section analysis across states, research that has never been done before.

A national team composed of researchers and extension specialists from participating states with varying levels of COVID-19 impacts and different destination characteristics will be built through the National Extension Tourism Network and other outlets such as personal contacts, email list servs and academic/professional conferences.

This project will follow the definition of the Office of Management and Budget to define rural counties/areas. Following the USDA Economic Research Service, rural areas are defined in this project as nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) counties. Tourism as a system should be investigated from the systematic approach that “makes it possible to analyze, describe and synthesize different viewpoints from an overall perspective” (Kaspar, 1989, p. 443). Tourism as a system consists of multiple subsectors that are interconnected. The UNWTO defines the tourism industry as composed of 12 categories. However, given the rural nature of this multi-state project, it would be unfeasible to investigate all the 12 sectors of the tourism system. Instead, the team will focus on consumers (the market side) and tourism businesses and destinations (the supply side). The analysis will be done at the county level (rural counties) and/or tourism region level (each state has defined tourism regions. For example, there are nine tourism regions in West Virginia).

Research activities will involve monitoring and assessing the pandemic impacts at different time periods (pre, during, and after) from the perspectives of supply and demand (cf. Assaf et al., 2021). Specifically, on the market side, research topics would include visitors’ perceived risk of travel, their shifting preferences of destination choices/lodging types, their changes of motivations, travel patterns and destination images. Research on the supply side may involve 1) testing the regional inequity of rural areas in terms of their resilience to COVID-19; 2) assessing the spatial effects of COVID-19 at different geographic scales, including county, tourism region, and state; 3) examining attitudes of rural residents towards tourism that may take place in remote areas; 4) examining new forms of tourism and amenity migration as related to new forms of workspaces (e.g., digital nomads); and 5) coping strategies developed by tourism businesses (hotels/motels, B & B, vacation rentals, cabinets, restaurants, bars and other dinning places).

Primary data and secondary data will be used. Possible secondary data sources include, but not limited to:

• Current Population Surveys, CPS
• the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS
• American Community Surveys, ACS
• US Bureau of Census
• North American Industry Classification System (e.g., code 71 refers to attractions such as Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation and code 72 refers to hospitality component such as Accommodation and Food Services)
• Baseline Resilience Indicators for Communities https://artsandsciences.sc.edu/geog/hvri/bric
• COVID 19 Tourism Index by Temple University https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6e1ccb1ee1bb4469871898646aa62f54
• John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

• USDA Economic Research Service, the COVID-19 pandemic and rural America.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/covid-19/rural-america/

• USDA Rural Development COVID-19 Response

https://www.rd.usda.gov/coronavirus

• US Travel Association

https://www.ustravel.org/

• American Hotel and Lodging Association, AHLA

https://www.ahla.com/

A mixed methods approach that involves both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis will be adopted in this study to achieve the three research objectives. Qualitative methods may include focus groups and in-depth interviews. Study participants (community leaders/officials, destination managers, enterprise owners or managers/staff, local business development agencies and associations, CVB, chamber of commerce, and local residents) will be identified and selected based on research objectives and needs. There are three types of focus groups: face to face (in-person), phone, and online, each with advantages and disadvantages. Face to face focus group, depending on the pandemic situation of a given study area, is preferred for this study given the scope (local area where people are easily to be brought together) and the nature (deep understandings of the ups and downs of local tourism development) of this study. However, for a focus group that involves participants from multiple counties or states, an online focus group would be the right choice. Data will be transcribed with the use of some software like Dragon and analyzed using Nvivo 12.

Quantitatively, online survey and big data from social media or other platforms will be used. Qualtrics, a popular online survey platform, will be used to collect data from visitors identified from Qualtrics data panel which is formed from multiple sources, including “website intercept recruitment, member referrals, targeted email lists, gaming sites, customer loyalty web portals, permission-based networks, and social media, etc.” (Qualtrics. 2021). Alternatively, potential visitor participants can also be recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk), which “has been determined to be a reliable platform for conducting social science research and has gained significant acceptance by tourism researchers” (Litvin et al., 2021, p. 2). For residents, potential participants can be recruited through the purchase of email addresses from GeoSelector-DirectMail.com. Finally, for tourism businesses, potential participants can be identified via self-created mailing list (Wilkesmann & Wilkesmann, 2020) using the snowball approach and/or local CVB network. Data analysis of quantitative data may include, but not limited to, GIS spatial regression, least-squares regression, ANOVA, t-tests, factor analysis, cluster analysis, time series analysis, and structural equation modeling.

In terms of travel patterns, there are different ways to examining people’s spatial/temporary movements in a destination, including the traditional way of using pencil-paper questionnaires or travel diaries and more advanced approaches of data collection based on GPS devices, online social media, mobile social media, mobile phone call detail record (CDR) data or UberMedia, and other big data platforms (e.g., Google, Baidu) (Xu, Xu, Wang, Yue, Deng, & Mao, 2019). Compared with the traditional approach of data collection using questionnaires, field observations, or interviews, geotagged big data provide geographical and contextual information about people’s spatial movement and thus are more useful and effective to understand the spatial movements/behaviors of individuals as well as their comments, perceptions, and momentary experience associated with a destination during different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic . Information obtained from big data or social media on where people visit, why they visit, how long they stay, what they experience, and how satisfied they are with a destination visited is tremendously useful for better planning and management of a destination.

In terms of visit volume estimation, there is a trend among researchers to use geotagged photos uploaded to Flickr or other social media to approximate visitation rates in a park or a tourism destination. For example, Wood et al. (2013), in examining the visitation rates at 836 recreational sites around the world, found that “crowd-sourced information from Flickr photographs corresponds well with empirical information about where people go” (p. 2) and “there is a reliable statistical relationship between the number of people counted and the Flickr-generated estimate of user-days” (p. 2). In their studies, photo-user-days (PUD) are defined “as the total number of days, across all users, that each person took at least one photograph within each site” (p.6). Sessions et al. (2016) studied the relationship between the number of Flickr-generated photos measured as monthly PUD and publicly available visitor statistics in 38 national parks in the western United States. They found that the monthly PUD significantly predicts national park visitation, leading them to conclude “researchers can use Flickr photographs to infer the number of visitors to a park” (p. 706). Similar finding was reported by Kim et al. (2019) who examined the applicability of Flickr in 15 ASEAN heritage parks, with PUD being significantly related to the field observation data such as visitation revenue (r = 0.90). Flickr photos have also been used to identify the origins of visitors in Wood et al. (2013) and Sessions et al. (2016). The information on visitors’ origins is essential as it allows for the differentiation of local visitors (residents) from outside visitors.

While recognizing the power of using Flickr to predict visitor use patterns and numbers, the use of a single source of social media may increase the bias of results. Researchers have suggested using multi-source big data to increase accuracy (Wood et al., 2013; Sessions et al., 2016).  

There are two basic approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of these activities: those that readily lend themselves to numerical representation (quantitative), and those that tend to be less easily summarized in numerical form (qualitative).  Some argue for qualitative approaches to the collection of evidence of effectiveness and equity, while others argue that the approaches should utilize only data collected using quantitative methods.  Still others argue for method triangulation which included the collection and integration of both qualitative and quantitative data.  Both groups agree that comparative and experimental research is needed to improve the quality of the data collected, and to minimize and better understand and measurement error (Rossi and Freeman, 1993). To compound this problem, the complexity of many current resource management programs/policies often means that the public and specific stakeholder groups do not have adequate knowledge to develop well-formed opinions about a specific program or policy.  This lack of knowledge often transcends into a lack of support for a given policy or program. To make matters worse, if the public or stakeholder groups possess erroneous information about policy or program, it can have a detrimental effect on decision making associated with the policy or program (i.e., funding, level, and direction of public or stakeholder support).  Consequently, program and project managers have begun to recognize the value of developing communication strategies that are effective in providing information on their specific program or project to the public and specific stakeholder groups (Bright, et al., 1997, Robertson and Carlsen, 2003; Robertson, et.al., 2002).  Policy and decision makers want to make the best possible decisions based on evidence gathered from the public and stakeholders with the appropriate rigor and related to a particular purpose or standard for decision making at a reasonable cost. 

Examples of the use of triangulations

• Visitors’ perceptions of destination attributes and services

Understanding visitors’ perceptions of destination attributes and services is crucial for Destination Management Organizations (DMO) to manage and market destinations. Visitors’ perceptions are typically examined based on data collected from surveys, which are largely limited in sample size because of budget and personnel constraints, resulting in sampling errors and biases. In contrast, big data are available (though not always at no cost) for customer-generated media/online reviews and can be applied to a large geographical area, even at the regional /national level. Thus, visitors’ evaluations and reviews about their own experiences with a destination from popular online review platforms such as TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Yelp can provide rich information on their perceptions of the destinations visited through content analysis, text mining, machine learning, etc. In so doing, findings from traditional surveys can be cross validated with findings from big data analysis, with the latter being complementary to the former (Antonio et al., 2020).

Although the applications of mixed methods that involve traditional surveys and big data analysis are limited in the field of tourism studies, there are exceptions. For example, Kim and Lehto (2013) analyzed survey results along with textual data form tourism websites to examine the convergence or divergence of destination personalities. This use of combining survey responses with textual data is considered by Truong et al. (2020) as one of five advantages of mixed methods—triangulation (other four are: complementarity, development, initiation, and expansion). 

Given the nature of this multi-state project being longitudinal, survey results at time point A can be compared with survey results at time point B, so are results from big data analysis. Thus, results from both sources can be cross validated longitudinally and cross sectionally.

• visit volume, visitor spending, and big data

Visit volume and spending at the county level can also be estimated based on survey data (Deng et al., 2017). Results from the survey data can be related to room head counts and sales. For example, there are 12 sectors classified as visitor-related by the Florida Department of Revenue (Hotels and Motels, Bars and Restaurants, Liquor Stores, Photo and Art Stores, Gift Shops, Admissions, Sporting Goods, Rentals, and Jewelry Stores) (Stienmetz and Fesenmaier, 2019). Thus, visitor-related sales at the county level can be calculated by adding up taxable sales for each of these 12 sectors. A relationship between estimates based on survey and the actual sales can be established at time point A as well as at time point B and time point C. If such relationship can be tested as reliable across states longitudinally, then the visit volume and spending can be estimated in the future simply based on actual sales of visitor-related sectors which are easily available at the county level for most states.

There are states that hire marketing firms like Longwoods International or Dean Runyan Associates to provide longitudinal data on visitor profiles including spending. Thus, a relationship can be established between the three sources of data: primary data obtained from surveys, secondary data from firms, and secondary data from actual sales. 

As indicated in the proposal, there is a trend among researchers to use geotagged photos uploaded to Flickr or other social media to approximate visitation rates in a park or a tourism destination. For example, Wood et al. (2013) found that “there is a reliable statistical relationship between the number of people counted and the Flickr-generated estimate of user-days” (p. 2). This relationship can also be examined and tested in this proposed project at the county level across participating states at different time points (pre, during, and post-pandemic), thus adding another source of triangulation.

Measurement of Progress and Results

• Publications in scientific articles/reports
• Webinars/workshops
• Crisis recovery frameworks and theory development
• Inventory of tourism assets in rural areas under examination
• Assessment of tourism performance pre, during, and after crisis
• Creation of a rural tourism resilience index dashboard
• Graduate students engaged in multi-state projects
• Extension programs engaged
• New Extension programs developed

Outcomes or Projected Impacts

• A better understanding of the role of the tourism industry in local and regional economy and how dependency on tourism sectors influences local/regional economic resiliency.
• Development of future funding proposals that promote collaborative research and extension activities on tourism resiliency and community sustainability in the U.S.
• Development of best practice toolkit for rural tourism responses to external shocks.
• Development of strategies to recover from externa shocks.

Projected Participation

Outreach plan.

The National Extension Tourism Design Team (NETDT) was established to provide leadership to National Extension Tourism (NET) work collectively across the U.S., the design team is a loosely structured group geographically aligned with the four Regional Rural Development Centers with Design Team members from each region.  NET members provide research-based education and engagement and outreach support among participating land-grant and sea grant institutions.  NET provides strategies to collaborate and share including a bi-annual conference, website, webinars, and joint programming around topics such as agritourism, community or rural tourism development, and coastal tourism.  NET members also collaborate on research and scholarship as evidenced by the recently published online volume of case studies entitled Innovative and Promising Practices in Sustainable Tourism: Case Studies. 

Extension tourism specialists from the NET Design Team will be involved in all phases of the Hatch project helping to align research with local stakeholder needs and ensure that research findings are disseminated to community stakeholders through the various outlets described above that are designed to foster academic, Extension, and community partnerships and collaboration.  National Extension Tourism involvement will ensure that local community needs are identified and fully integrated into the research design and planning process.  The integration of community stakeholders in the research design and implementation process will ensure that once the research is conducted that the findings can be disseminated through academic and practical outlets with the results being developed into practical tools that communities can utilize to improve their resiliency and manage their destinations in a sustainable manner.  The research developed and implemented as a result of this Hatch proposal will directly support the development and evaluation of applied programming (i.e. curriculum, assessment tools, training, etc.) to assist and advance Extension and Outreach efforts in meeting the needs of rural tourism stakeholders as they adapt and build resiliency.

Critically, through connections fostered within NET, our proposed Multi-State project will have access to broader networks of researchers and Extension professionals working on other topics in the fields of tourism, recreation, and hospitality. This includes a strong presence within NET of leading experts in agritourism, a field with an increasingly dense network of researchers. These researchers can be engaged in this project through their emerging work on resiliency of agritourism enterprises (for examples see Curtis and Slocum (2021)  and Chin and Musa (2021) ). Because of their work at the level of the firm, they are well-poised to contribute to this project’s goals on business resiliency, and this project offers the first real opportunity for them to do so in a tourism-specific context.

Internationally-focused projects and colleagues abroad will also be incorporated into this project’s activities where appropriate and allowable under funding guidelines. Those participating in this proposal’s development have key connections to a global body of researchers and outreach educators through engaged activities, such as the International Workshop on Agritourism . A number of principles to this proposal and/or leaders within NET also currently engage in their own projects abroad, bringing a global perspective to the research and education that will result from the creation of this Multi-State collaborative effort.  

Participating researchers from different disciplines will be identified based on their publications and academic acquaintances. These researchers can be from those affiliated with an Ag Experiment Station or anyone with relevant research expertise and experience is welcome to join. Once such a team is formed, then it comes time for brainstorming to define topics for interdisciplinary examination, determine methods to be used, and set up goals to be achieved. it is important to build good working relationships among participants during the implementation of this project to ensure researchers with different expertise from different disciplines understand one another and contribute collaboratively to the same goal.

Organization/Governance

Two committees, a Technical Committee and an Executive Committee, will be created to guide and coordinate research activities following the recommended standard governance for multistate research activities. The Technical Committee will be made up of an official representative from each participating state appointed by the Experiment Station Director, a representative from USDA, and an administrative advisor designated by the Experiment Station Directors. The Executive Committee will consist of a Chair, Secretary, and administrative advisor.

The Technical Committee will meet once a year, usually in the fall to coincide with the National Extension Tourism Conference. The committee will evaluate research progresses and activities  to ensure adherence to the project objectives and accomplishment of projected outputs/outcomes. The Chair and Secretary will be elected at the annual Technical Committee meeting for two-year terms. The Chair will be responsible for the preparation of the annual report. The Secretary will take on the responsibility of organizing the annual meeting, recording and distributing meeting minutes, and performing other duties assigned by the Technical Committee.

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The Montana Resiliency Plan

Preparing for the future of montana tourism.

The Montana Department of Commerce has partnered with a strategic planning firm, Coraggio Group, to launch the Montana Resiliency Plan. Destination resilience refers to a community’s ability to adapt and recover from social, economic and environmental disruptions. This project will help the state rethink the role of tourism throughout all regions of Montana in ways that retain desirable economic impact, enrich resident quality of life and respect resource protection.

Project Goal

At the core of this project is statewide collaboration. To capture the different needs of Montana's unique areas, Coraggio Group is working with each travel region to develop 6 independent resiliency plans. These will ultimately combine into a statewide plan.

Project Details

The Montana Resiliency Plan will help Montana’s tourism industry predict challenges; adopt strategies that will best serve the state during periods of change; and maximize efficiencies in processes, timelines and costs.

Our Approach

Coraggio Group uses a 3-phase process: Get Clear, Get Focused, Get Moving. The project is currently at the end of the Get Clear phase. Focused plan development will occur in the summer and fall of 2023, with statewide implementation tentatively slated for Winter 2023-2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to frequently asked questions about Montana Resiliency Planning for tourism. This project will help the state rethink the role of tourism to retain desirable economic impact, enrich resident quality of life and respect resource protection.

Public Meeting Schedule

See the public meeting schedule for the Montana Tourism Resiliency Plan. 

• Sustainable & Regenerative Tourism
• UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Climate Action 101
• Energy Management
• Water Management
• Waste Management & Circular Economy
• Responsible Purchasing for Tourism

BC Community Sustainable Tourism & Resilience Planning Program

Welcome to the BC Community Sustainable Tourism & Resilience Planning Program

The BC Regional Tourism Secretariat (BCRTS) partnered with The Travel Foundation – global leaders in sustainable tourism, destination stewardship and climate action – to offer a fully- funded Community Resilience and Sustainability Planning program during March through June 2023.

The aim was for participating community tourism organizations to have a strengthened understanding of good practice in destination management and have practical initial plans to implement sustainable tourism actions within their communities including ideas for supporting tourism businesses and community memberes in the region with this transition. For community tourism organizations that have already developed a sustainability plan, the program was an opportunity to add and enhance what is in place. The BCRTS invites all community tourism organizations to share with your community partners the best practices and key learnings to date.  

While the live program itself is now over, resources are available for community organizations and destination leaders to refer to at any time. Program components available include:

BC Sustainability and Resilience Planning Handbook (Downloadable PDF): Access Here Companion Workbook (Downloadable Excel): Access Here

Introductory Webinar

Community tourism organizations within all six regions of British Columbia were invited to join the program, beginning with an introductory webinar. The intro webinar started with an overview of the latest thinking on key concepts and current challenges in sustainable tourism with guest speakers including Jeremy Sampson, CEO of the Travel Foundation. Concepts included: Global challenges of planetary crises and inequity shaping the future of tourism, current trends and shifting mandates of DMOs toward integration of marketing and management, applying these concepts to your DMO’s context and using the lenses of destination stewardship to adapt organizational activities.

View the recorded introductory webinar here .

Workshop Series

The resilience and sustainability planning program consisted of four 2-hour virtual sessions led by the Travel Foundation biweekly from April 20 – June 1, as well as 1:1 coaching sessions.

The workshop series followed a five-step sustainability planning process:

1, Prepare This was the stage-setting, with the introductory webinar and familiarization with the handbook and workbook.

2. Get Started This workshop focused on taking a step back and thinking about what your community wants from tourism: the vision and ideal outcomes across environmental, social, cultural, and economic areas. We also discussed ideal outcomes by individual sectors within the tourism industry. While a full planning process would encompass a broad community engagement to answer these questions, participants were encouraged to think this through from their organization’s perspective, as a starting point for their initial plans.

3. Map it Out This workshop and workbook exercises focus on mapping and identifying risks – both impacts of tourism and external threats to tourism, as well as mapping out potential partners including rights holders, stakeholders, businesses, local governments, community leaders and organizations. We introduced an impact management framework and discussed current impacts and external threats being faced by participants in their communities. The recognition that small organizations cannot solve problems alone, and many organizations in a community have shared goals, means that plan outcomes can be designed with partners in mind that can come together to work toward shared solutions.

4. Build Resilience This workshop focused on adapting products, services, experiences and marketing to align with sustainability and destination stewardship, responding to consumer trends, ‘future-proofing’ businesses, and identifying ways to support businesses with adaptation. Using lenses of destination stewardship to adapt day-to-day activities is a way to make meaningful and more feasible changes, especially for small organizations. Participants shared their current ideas and initiatives underway to develop new products and experiences, adapt existing offerings, and marketing messaging that aligns with new goals.

5. Measure and Monitor This workshop focused on pulling everything together – setting goals, selecting high priority actions to focus on, and developing monitoring indicators to track progress. Here we discussed balanced measures of success including general destination stewardship key performance indicators “KPIs” as well as indicators of effort (tracking the work done) vs indicators of effect (tracking the impact desired). Starting with the impact you would like to have can help determine the most important actions to focus on, as well as how you will go about demonstrating that impact to your audience – your community, funders, board, etc.

Peer-to-Peer Discussion Session On June 15 the Travel Foundation held a final session for the program – a facilitated peer-to-peer discussion session focused on topics of importance to participating organizations. Discussion topics included: Overcoming Barriers – sharing ideas for overcoming staffing and funding barriers as well as engaging businesses to get buy-in on sustainability adaptations and practices; and Tactics & Strategies – Sharing ideas on responsible messaging, marketing, experience development and climate action.

The interest in peer-to-peer learning resulted in the decision to continue with a quarterly peer-to-peer exchange that will be hosted by the BCRTS! Communities can register interest to join these discussions here [contact form]

For more information or support for your community’s sustainability and resilience action planning, please contact the BCRTS here and your regional representative will be in touch.

The British Columbia Regional Tourism Secretariat is a collaboration between the following five regional destination management organizations: Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, Kootenay Rockies Tourism Association, Northern BC Tourism Association, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association and 4VI (formerly Tourism Vancouver Island).

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Moscow metro to be more tourist-friendly

A new floor sign system at the Moscow metro's Pushkinskaya station. Source: Vladimir Pesnya / RIA Novosti

For many years now, Moscow has lagged behind St. Petersburg when it comes to making life easy for tourists, especially where getting around the city is concerned. Whereas the northern capital installed English-language maps, signs and information points throughout its subway system in the late 2000s, the Russian capital’s metro remained a serious challenge for foreign visitors to navigate.

Recent visitors to Moscow may have noticed some signs that change is afoot, however. In many stations of the Moscow subway, signs have appeared on the floor – with large lettering in Russian and English – indicating the direction to follow in order to change lines. Previously, foreign visitors using the Moscow metro had to rely solely upon deciphering the Russian-language signs hanging from the ceilings.

Student volunteers help tourists find their way in Moscow

However, this new solution has a significant drawback. “The floor navigation is visible only to a small stream of people – fewer than three people per meter. During peak hours, this navigation will simply not be noticed,” said Konstantin Trofimenko, Director of the Center for Urban Transportation Studies.

One of the biggest problems for tourists in the Russian capital remains the absence of English translations of the names of subway stations in the station vestibules and on platforms. The Department of Transportation in Moscow has not commented yet as to when this problem will be solved. However, Latin transliterations of station names can already be found in the subway cars themselves.

Finding the right exit

At four of the central stations – Okhotny Ryad, Teatralnaya, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Lubyanka and Kuznetsky Most – the city authorities have now installed colorful stands at the exits with schematic diagrams of the station’s concourse and surrounding area, which provide information about the main attractions and infrastructural facilities.

The schematic diagrams are the work of British specialists from the City ID and Billings Jackson Design firms, who have already implemented successful projects in New York and London.

According to Alexei Novichkov, expert at the Design Laboratory at the Higher School of Economics, the design of these information booths raises no objections: The color solutions, font, layout and icons are consistent with international standards.

However, the stands do have some shortcomings. “Many questions are raised about the fact that the developers of these maps did not apply orientation to the north, and have provided layouts of the surrounding areas with respect to the exits,” says Novichkov. “A system like that is used for road navigators, but most of the ‘paper’ guides and maps are oriented strictly to north. The subway map is also oriented to north, so people may become confused.”

Muscovites and foreign visitors are generally positive about these navigation elements, with most of them citing the numbered exits from the subway as the most useful feature.

The fact is that many Moscow subway stations have several exits. One of the busiest central stations of the Moscow subway in particular, Kitay-Gorod, has more than a dozen exits. Previously, these exits were differentiated from each other only with signs in Russian referring to the names of streets and places of interest to which they led – making it easy for tourists and those with poor navigation skills to get confused.

Now, when making an appointment to meet a friend, instead of struggling to find the right spot when they tell you: “I'll meet you at the exit to Solyanka Street,” you can just propose to meet under a specific exit number.

“I’ve lived in Moscow for seven years,” says Angelika, a designer from Voronezh, “but I still don’t always know where to go to find the place I need, so the new schematic diagrams will be very useful. Previously, some subway stations had maps, but not with so much detail.”

Teething problems

Foreigners, meanwhile, focus their attention on other elements. “It is good that the new information boards have QR-codes, which can be ‘read’ by smartphones,” says Florentina, a writer from Vienna. But there are also shortcomings. “The English font of the information on posters and in the captions to theaters and museums is too small – you have to come very close to see it well,” she says.

Pleasant encounters on the streets of Moscow

Florentina was also dissatisfied with the fact that such posters are not provided at all subway stations: “When I was trying to find Tsaritsyno Park (a museum and reserve in the south of Moscow) at a subway station with the same name, it turned out to be quite difficult,” she says.

“There are no maps with landmarks for other areas, such as those already in the city center. There were no clear pointers in the English language, and the passers-by I met did not speak in English, so they could not help me,” she adds.

Officials say that the navigation system is gradually being redeveloped and improved. According to Darya Chuvasheva, a press representative for the Department of Transport of Moscow, the introduction of a unified navigation system will take place in stages.

“By the end of 2014, the system will first appear on the first subway stations on the Circle Line. By the end of 2015, we plan to install the system at all major stopping points, subway stations and transport interchange hubs,” says Chuvasheva.

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This Week at Interior April 12, 2024

Transcript:.

Hi, I'm Silmarie Padron, I'm the Project Leader for the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and we're in Culebra National Wildlife Refuge...and you're watching This Week at Interior!

This Week at Interior  

Secretary Haaland and Department leaders this week announced a series of historic milestones and actions to promote responsible clean energy development on public lands and help achieve President Biden’s goal of creating a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. The Bureau of Land Management has now permitted more than 25 gigawatts of clean energy projects – surpassing a major milestone ahead of 2025 – enough clean energy to power more than 12 million homes across the country. This includes solar, wind and geothermal projects, as well as gen-tie lines on public lands that are essential for connecting clean electricity projects to the grid. The Department also announced a final Renewable Energy rule that will lower consumer energy costs and the cost of developing solar and wind projects, streamline application processes, and incentivize developers to continue responsibly developing solar and wind projects on public lands.  

Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis visited Puerto Rico this week to highlight how investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will strengthen climate resilience and ecosystem restoration initiatives in the Commonwealth. Joined by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Elizabeth Klein, the Acting Deputy Secretary met with Governor Pedro Pierluisi to reinforce the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to building the island's energy resilience, including through the potential of offshore wind leasing. She announced a $2.75 million investment for the development of Puerto Rico’s climate workforce and hosted a roundtable with leaders from Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, students and leadership from the University of Puerto Rico, and staff from the U.S. Geological Survey to underscore the Department’s commitment to addressing workforce capacity challenges and increasing climate expertise in Puerto Rico. The Acting Deputy Secretary also toured the Culebra National Wildlife Refuge to highlight a million-dollar investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to eradicate invasive species that have increased coastal erosion, threatened seagrass and coral reefs and negatively impacted native species of wildlife and plants.

Interior this week announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized Endangered Species Act revisions to improve participation in its voluntary conservation programs. The revisions promote native species conservation by clarifying and simplifying permitting under Section 10 of the ESA, encouraging more resource managers and landowners to engage in these voluntary programs.  

Interior this week announced $79 million from the President’s Investing in America agenda to support wildland fire management. The funding will expand wildfire detection capabilities, reduce risk from wildfires, help rehabilitate burned areas and enhance radios and other technology used by wildfire incident management teams.  

Interior’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations this week announced $1 million in funding for Native Hawaiian Organizations through the Heritage Opportunities in Hawaiʻi grant program. That program establishes a more inclusive national travel and tourism strategy. It also provides opportunities to Native Hawaiian Organizations that have the potential to deliver significant benefits like job creation, elevated living standards and expanded economic opportunities.

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement this week announced changes to the Ten-Day Notice rule that will make it easier for citizens to report mining concerns, safeguarding people and the environment from the adverse effects of coal mining. The amended rule reduces burdens for citizens to report a mining problem and establishes procedures to more swiftly evaluate and process allegations about possible mine violations.

This week, Secretary Haaland joined Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II in Washington, D.C. The Prime Minister planted new cherry blossom tree seeds, a gift to symbolize the strong friendship between the United States and Japan. The memorial honors Japanese Americans who lived in incarceration camps throughout World War II, and those who served in the U.S. military during that conflict. Prime Minister Kishida later presented two cherry trees to Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and National Park Service Director Chuck Sams, and announced the gracious gift of an additional 250 cherry trees for the National Mall, which will join the original 3600 trees first planted in 1912.

Things were looking up this week across North America, as the last total solar eclipse for 21 years made its way from Mexico to Canada. As always, our public lands offered a great vantage point for the tens of millions who came out to witness the awe-inspiring sight. The zone of totality spanned 12 states, but even those outside that zone had a chance to see something special... about 99% percent of Americans were able to see at least a partial eclipse.

And our social media Picture of the Week, this beautiful image of New York's Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Located within sight of the New York City skyline, the refuge is one of the most important bird sanctuaries in the Northeast, and an ideal destination for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hiking and birding.  

Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

That's This Week at Interior! 

This Week: Secretary Haaland announces historic milestones on the road to a carbon pollution-free power sector; Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis highlights the President's Investing in America agenda in Puerto Rico; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalizes Endangered Species Act revisions to improve participation in its voluntary conservation programs; the President’s Investing in America agenda provides $79 million in new funding to support wildland fire management; new resources are on the way for Native Hawaiian Organizations; the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement makes it easier for citizens to report mining concerns; Secretary Haaland joins the Japanese Prime Minister to celebrate an enduring symbol of friendship between the United States and Japan; things were looking up as a total solar eclipse swept across the country this week; it's a taste of the wilderness in the shadow of New York City, and it's our social media Picture of the Week!

This Week at Interior April 5, 2024

News and headlines from Interior, April 5, 2024

• A new global BCG study reveals that during the past two decades, only 26% of corporate transformations successfully created value in both the short and long terms.
• We highlight five truths about corporate transformation—and refute one lie that executives like to tell themselves.

BCG Henderson Institute Newsletter: Insights that are shaping business thinking.

Business Transformation

/ article, five truths (and one lie) about corporate transformation.

By  Martin Reeves ,  Christian Gruß ,  Kristy Ellmer ,  Adam Job ,  Gabe Bouslov , and  Paul Catchlove

Key Takeaways

In an era of technological advancements, geopolitical tensions, and economic turmoil, standing still is akin to moving backward. As the durability of competitive advantage has dwindled , the average tenure of companies on the S&P 500 index has more than halved since the late 1970s. 1 1 S. Patrick Viguerie, Ned Calder, and Brian Hindo, 2021 Corporate Longevity Forecast , May 2021, Innosight website. Notes: 1 S. Patrick Viguerie, Ned Calder, and Brian Hindo, 2021 Corporate Longevity Forecast , May 2021, Innosight website.

But changing with the times is difficult: A new global BCG study reveals that during the past two decades, only 26% of corporate transformations successfully created value in both the short and long terms. (See “ About Our Research .”)

So how can change leaders beat the odds? We use our empirical insights to highlight five truths about corporate transformation —and refute one lie that executives like to tell themselves.

Truth #1: You Can (and Should) Fix Things Before They Break

In transformations, timing matters: Pre-emptive transformations are initiated while total shareholder return (TSR) is in line with or ahead of industry averages. These transformations create significantly more value in the medium and long run (+2.7 percentage point TSR over a three-year horizon) than reactive transformations (initiated after TSR has already dipped below the peer group).

Transforming preemptively—before a performance gap has opened up—means transforming from a position of strength, subject to less pressure and scrutiny: leaders are empowered to focus on identifying options for future advantage , rather than on purely defensive moves, such as divestments.

Consider, for example, Microsoft’s remarkable trajectory over the past decade: After stagnating performance from 2009 to 2012, the company managed to achieve some momentum between 2012 and 2014 (achieving 36% annualized TSR). Not content with this recovery, Microsoft’s then-incoming CEO Satya Nadella made changes to lay the groundwork for future success: He oriented the company toward the new dominance of cloud , even though this trend had not yet damaged the bottom line. This move set Microsoft up to nearly triple its stock price in the first four years of Nadella’s tenure. Nevertheless, he announced yet another restructuring in 2018, setting up an AI division, which was soon bolstered by Microsoft’s early $1 billion investment in OpenAI. 2 2 Don Reisinger, “Microsoft Is About to Undergo a Major Reorganization: Here’s How It Breaks Down,” Fortune website, March 29, 2018. Notes: 2 Don Reisinger, “Microsoft Is About to Undergo a Major Reorganization: Here’s How It Breaks Down,” Fortune website, March 29, 2018. Today, Microsoft is the most valuable company in the world—illustrating how preemptive transformation with heavy investment allows sustaining performance in an evolving competitive environment and amid significant technology changes.

Truth #2: Leadership Will Make or Break Your Transformation

Microsoft’s story also highlights the importance of leadership. The firm’s successful transformations were not only driven by Nadella’s anticipation of future trends, but also his willingness to question and change the mental models and organizational structures that underlay the company’s historic success. For example, since the 2018 restructuring, Microsoft no longer has a division dedicated to its Windows operating system. Contrast this with Blockbuster’s leadership rejecting the opportunity to acquire a fledging Netflix, Swissair continuing to invest in its failing airline, or Kodak not embracing the digital photography technology it pioneered—and the importance of leadership commitment to change becomes crystal clear.

When leaders present an obstacle to change, their removal can improve transformation outcomes.

• Our data shows that a leadership change during a transformation is associated with a 4.1 percentage points higher TSR performance over the five-year time horizon (compared to the previous downturn period).
• The positive TSR impact is even higher (an additional 3.7 percentage points over the five-year period) if the new leadership comes from outside of the company.

However, a change in leadership is not a guaranteed success driver; it is also associated with a high variance in TSR outcomes. As such, this effect is less driven by the leader per se than by their willingness and commitment to making a change—particularly at a time when leadership engagement in transformations is on the decline . Consistent with this, we find that preemptive transformations—in which leaders act to fix things before they break, demonstrating their initiative and commitment—are associated with higher leadership stability than reactive ones (4.7 percentage point lower frequency of CEO change during the transformation period). Moreover, we know from other research that stability in leadership teams can also drive a company’s long-term growth potential.

Truth #3: You Cannot Cut Your Way to Greatness

Our analysis shows that, in the short term, investor expectations are the most significant driver of value creation in a transformation contributing more than two thirds of TSR outperformance over industry peers in the first year after a transformation is initiated. (See Exhibit 1). Efficiency improvements drive 13% of the outperformance, while the remaining factors (revenue growth and margin improvements) play even smaller roles.

As such, it is crucial for companies to craft a compelling transformation plan and narrative at the outset of their journey, and to define a clear communication agenda toward their shareholders. Moreover, firms must signal discipline and momentum by executing on quick wins for cost reductions.

In the long term (five years), value creation drivers are flipped, such that the lion’s share of TSR outperformance is driven by successful cost reductions (32%) and revenue growth (43%), while investor expectations play a smaller role (25%). This indicates that, in the long-term, execution is key, as investors will keep executives to their promises. Moreover, it shows that you cannot cut your way to greatness: differential growth is critical to sustained value creation .

Truth #4: Transformations Require a Long-Term Orientation

Achieving sustainable growth and a future-proof operating model requires entering transformations with a long-term orientation, rather than merely focusing on addressing performance woes or catching up to peers in terms of technology stack or organizational best practices.

Our data shows that having a long-term strategic orientation exhibits a strong positive impact on transformation performance, being associated with a 12.5 percentage points higher TSR impact over a five-year horizon. 3 3 Measured leveraging a proprietary algorithm that quantifies the strategic orientation of companies based on semantic patterns in 10-K filings. Notes: 3 Measured leveraging a proprietary algorithm that quantifies the strategic orientation of companies based on semantic patterns in 10-K filings. A long-term orientation can be achieved by creating an entrepreneurial culture, in which new ideas are constantly developed and leaders are willing to take chances on unproven models. To support a forward-orientation, companies need to complement traditional, backward-looking performance metrics with future-oriented ones. For example, 3M pioneered the New Product Vitality Index (NPVI), a metric that tracks the share of sales from products that didn’t exist five years ago.

Beyond mindset, culture, and metrics, a long-term orientation also means investing in the exploration of new ideas that could be the basis of future advantage: above industry-average R&D spending is associated with a 2.9 percentage point improvement in TSR performance over the course of a transformation.

Above industry-average capital expenditures are also linked to better transformation outcomes—to the tune of 3.7 percentage point TSR over a five-year horizon. This indicates that leaders must find the right balance between identifying new sources of growth and improving their existing model, for example, by upgrading production machinery. It also underlines that operational effectiveness needs to be tied not only to cuts, but also to selective investments.

Truth #5: You Cannot Make Things Up as You Go

Transformations are complex and require simultaneously delivering on several objectives—usually under immense pressure from the outside and inside. As a result, companies cannot make transformation up as they go.

Putting a formal transformation program in place—which we identify based on a combined analysis of corporate announcements and restructuring spend—has a positive impact (5.9 percentage points) on long-run TSR during transformation periods. Moreover, the scale of the program and the willingness to invest in change matter, with our results further showing a strong, positive correlation between above industry-average restructuring spend and TSR outcomes (+5.7 percentage points over five years).

Formalizing the transformation entails defining a clear governance and process—or setting up a dedicated transformation office—for coordinating and tracking progress on change initiatives, as well as regularly communicating it to the executive leadership team so that roadblocks can be addressed promptly. Moreover, it may mean putting in place a chief transformation officer to helm an ambitious change effort, which our prior research shows can improve transformation odds significantly. However, simply having a CTO on staff is not a panacea. The role must be designed appropriately and filled by someone who is persistent, vigilant, and flexible —and who is trained for the job.

A Lie: You Are Special—and These Insights Don’t Apply to You

The empirical patterns of transformation are quite stable: At any point in the past 20 years, roughly 30% of companies significantly underperformed their sector for a period of multiple years, making transformation a necessity for performance reasons. 4 4 Underperformance is identified as an annualized deterioration in TSR, relative to the company’s industry average, of 10 p.p. or more over a two-year period. Notes: 4 Underperformance is identified as an annualized deterioration in TSR, relative to the company’s industry average, of 10 p.p. or more over a two-year period. (See Exhibit 2.) However, successful transformations are the exception, rather than the norm, even when measured on very modest criteria. More than 70% of companies fail to outperform their industry peer group average in both the short (one year) and long term (five years), after a previous performance downturn period. These number are quite similar to the findings in our 2018 report—showing that while the world has changed significantly in the last few years, the challenges of keeping up with that change have remained remarkably persistent.

Just as crucially, these patterns are remarkably universal, with our data showing that no region, sector, or size group is an outlier on transformation need and success rates. The success factors of transformations discussed throughout this article also have directionally similar effects across all subgroups of our sample.

Put briefly: When it comes to transformations, no one is special. Change leaders have no reason to be overconfident, given that only half of the companies we studied employed more than two of the key success factors we identified. Sustainable value creation through transformation remains so rare. 5 5 This includes: above-industry average R&D spending, CapEx investments, or restructuring costs (each scaled by sales); a long-term strategic orientation; setting up a formalized change program; bringing in a new CEO, or even a new external CEO. Notes: 5 This includes: above-industry average R&D spending, CapEx investments, or restructuring costs (each scaled by sales); a long-term strategic orientation; setting up a formalized change program; bringing in a new CEO, or even a new external CEO.

About Our Research

This study is an extension of BCG’s earlier work, “ The Truth About Corporate Transformation ,” published in MIT Sloan Management Review . Here, we broadened the research to a global scope, updated to cover the recent period of enormous turbulence, and deepened the analysis of factors and segments. Our empirical study covers the period 2001 to 2022, with the sample including nearly 2,000 public companies from around the globe that generated at least $10 billion in revenue in 2022 or had a market capitalization of $10 billion at the end of that year. To identify transformations, we assess firms’ total shareholder returns (TSR) relative to their industry peers, as transformations are regularly initiated in reaction to performance downturns. We combine this with a predictive model, which leverages information from corporate announcements and data on restructuring spend to identify whether a formal transformation program has been set up. Depending on data availability across variables in a given analysis, our study covers between 1,000 and 2,000 transformations.

In an increasingly turbulent world, changing with the times is crucial—but the odds of success are slim. To beat them, change leaders must heed these truths about corporate transformations.

The BCG Henderson Institute is Boston Consulting Group’s strategy think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration from the Institute, please visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) .

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ABOUT BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP

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Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

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40 facts about elektrostal.

Written by Lanette Mayes

Modified & Updated: 02 Mar 2024

Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

Elektrostal is a vibrant city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia. With a rich history, stunning architecture, and a thriving community, Elektrostal is a city that has much to offer. Whether you are a history buff, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about different cultures, Elektrostal is sure to captivate you.

This article will provide you with 40 fascinating facts about Elektrostal, giving you a better understanding of why this city is worth exploring. From its origins as an industrial hub to its modern-day charm, we will delve into the various aspects that make Elektrostal a unique and must-visit destination.

So, join us as we uncover the hidden treasures of Elektrostal and discover what makes this city a true gem in the heart of Russia.

Key Takeaways:

• Elektrostal, known as the “Motor City of Russia,” is a vibrant and growing city with a rich industrial history, offering diverse cultural experiences and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
• With its convenient location near Moscow, Elektrostal provides a picturesque landscape, vibrant nightlife, and a range of recreational activities, making it an ideal destination for residents and visitors alike.

Known as the “Motor City of Russia.”

Elektrostal, a city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia, earned the nickname “Motor City” due to its significant involvement in the automotive industry.

Home to the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Elektrostal is renowned for its metallurgical plant, which has been producing high-quality steel and alloys since its establishment in 1916.

Boasts a rich industrial heritage.

Elektrostal has a long history of industrial development, contributing to the growth and progress of the region.

Founded in 1916.

The city of Elektrostal was founded in 1916 as a result of the construction of the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Located approximately 50 kilometers east of Moscow.

Elektrostal is situated in close proximity to the Russian capital, making it easily accessible for both residents and visitors.

Known for its vibrant cultural scene.

Elektrostal is home to several cultural institutions, including museums, theaters, and art galleries that showcase the city’s rich artistic heritage.

A popular destination for nature lovers.

Surrounded by picturesque landscapes and forests, Elektrostal offers ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

Hosts the annual Elektrostal City Day celebrations.

Every year, Elektrostal organizes festive events and activities to celebrate its founding, bringing together residents and visitors in a spirit of unity and joy.

Has a population of approximately 160,000 people.

Elektrostal is home to a diverse and vibrant community of around 160,000 residents, contributing to its dynamic atmosphere.

Boasts excellent education facilities.

The city is known for its well-established educational institutions, providing quality education to students of all ages.

A center for scientific research and innovation.

Elektrostal serves as an important hub for scientific research, particularly in the fields of metallurgy, materials science, and engineering.

Surrounded by picturesque lakes.

The city is blessed with numerous beautiful lakes, offering scenic views and recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike.

Well-connected transportation system.

Elektrostal benefits from an efficient transportation network, including highways, railways, and public transportation options, ensuring convenient travel within and beyond the city.

Famous for its traditional Russian cuisine.

Food enthusiasts can indulge in authentic Russian dishes at numerous restaurants and cafes scattered throughout Elektrostal.

Home to notable architectural landmarks.

Elektrostal boasts impressive architecture, including the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Elektrostal Palace of Culture.

Offers a wide range of recreational facilities.

Residents and visitors can enjoy various recreational activities, such as sports complexes, swimming pools, and fitness centers, enhancing the overall quality of life.

Provides a high standard of healthcare.

Elektrostal is equipped with modern medical facilities, ensuring residents have access to quality healthcare services.

Home to the Elektrostal History Museum.

The Elektrostal History Museum showcases the city’s fascinating past through exhibitions and displays.

A hub for sports enthusiasts.

Elektrostal is passionate about sports, with numerous stadiums, arenas, and sports clubs offering opportunities for athletes and spectators.

Celebrates diverse cultural festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal hosts a variety of cultural festivals, celebrating different ethnicities, traditions, and art forms.

Electric power played a significant role in its early development.

Elektrostal owes its name and initial growth to the establishment of electric power stations and the utilization of electricity in the industrial sector.

Boasts a thriving economy.

The city’s strong industrial base, coupled with its strategic location near Moscow, has contributed to Elektrostal’s prosperous economic status.

Houses the Elektrostal Drama Theater.

The Elektrostal Drama Theater is a cultural centerpiece, attracting theater enthusiasts from far and wide.

Popular destination for winter sports.

Elektrostal’s proximity to ski resorts and winter sport facilities makes it a favorite destination for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities.

Promotes environmental sustainability.

Elektrostal prioritizes environmental protection and sustainability, implementing initiatives to reduce pollution and preserve natural resources.

Home to renowned educational institutions.

Elektrostal is known for its prestigious schools and universities, offering a wide range of academic programs to students.

Committed to cultural preservation.

The city values its cultural heritage and takes active steps to preserve and promote traditional customs, crafts, and arts.

Hosts an annual International Film Festival.

The Elektrostal International Film Festival attracts filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing a diverse range of films.

Encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elektrostal supports aspiring entrepreneurs and fosters a culture of innovation, providing opportunities for startups and business development.

Offers a range of housing options.

Elektrostal provides diverse housing options, including apartments, houses, and residential complexes, catering to different lifestyles and budgets.

Home to notable sports teams.

Elektrostal is proud of its sports legacy, with several successful sports teams competing at regional and national levels.

Boasts a vibrant nightlife scene.

Residents and visitors can enjoy a lively nightlife in Elektrostal, with numerous bars, clubs, and entertainment venues.

Promotes cultural exchange and international relations.

Elektrostal actively engages in international partnerships, cultural exchanges, and diplomatic collaborations to foster global connections.

Surrounded by beautiful nature reserves.

Nearby nature reserves, such as the Barybino Forest and Luchinskoye Lake, offer opportunities for nature enthusiasts to explore and appreciate the region’s biodiversity.

Commemorates historical events.

The city pays tribute to significant historical events through memorials, monuments, and exhibitions, ensuring the preservation of collective memory.

Promotes sports and youth development.

Elektrostal invests in sports infrastructure and programs to encourage youth participation, health, and physical fitness.

Hosts annual cultural and artistic festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal celebrates its cultural diversity through festivals dedicated to music, dance, art, and theater.

Provides a picturesque landscape for photography enthusiasts.

The city’s scenic beauty, architectural landmarks, and natural surroundings make it a paradise for photographers.

Connects to Moscow via a direct train line.

The convenient train connection between Elektrostal and Moscow makes commuting between the two cities effortless.

A city with a bright future.

Elektrostal continues to grow and develop, aiming to become a model city in terms of infrastructure, sustainability, and quality of life for its residents.

In conclusion, Elektrostal is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant present. From its origins as a center of steel production to its modern-day status as a hub for education and industry, Elektrostal has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. With its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and proximity to Moscow, there is no shortage of things to see and do in this dynamic city. Whether you’re interested in exploring its historical landmarks, enjoying outdoor activities, or immersing yourself in the local culture, Elektrostal has something for everyone. So, next time you find yourself in the Moscow region, don’t miss the opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Elektrostal.

Q: What is the population of Elektrostal?

A: As of the latest data, the population of Elektrostal is approximately XXXX.

Q: How far is Elektrostal from Moscow?

A: Elektrostal is located approximately XX kilometers away from Moscow.

Q: Are there any famous landmarks in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to several notable landmarks, including XXXX and XXXX.

Q: What industries are prominent in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal is known for its steel production industry and is also a center for engineering and manufacturing.

Q: Are there any universities or educational institutions in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to XXXX University and several other educational institutions.

Q: What are some popular outdoor activities in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal offers several outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling, and picnicking in its beautiful parks.

Q: Is Elektrostal well-connected in terms of transportation?

A: Yes, Elektrostal has good transportation links, including trains and buses, making it easily accessible from nearby cities.

Q: Are there any annual events or festivals in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal hosts various events and festivals throughout the year, including XXXX and XXXX.

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• Sustainable & Regenerative Tourism
• UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Climate Action 101
• Energy Management
• Water Management
• Waste Management & Circular Economy
• Responsible Purchasing for Tourism

Decade of Action Sustainability Program

Decade of action program: building a sustainable future for bc tourism through the un sustainable development goals.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to solve the world’s most urgent challenges and create a prosperous and sustainable future for all. Tourism has the potential to contribute, directly or indirectly, to all of the Sustainable Development Goals and deliver sustainable solutions for people, the planet, prosperity and peace.

The Decade of Action Program: Building a Sustainable Future for BC Tourism through the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a capacity-building program to support businesses across B.C. to create a Sustainable Development Goal Strategy and Decade of Action Plan. Learn how to align the SDGs with your existing sustainability efforts, set targets for the future, and drive meaningful results for your guests, company, and community.

Facilitated by the BC Tourism Resiliency Network, in partnership with Synergy Enterprises, this pilot program will support up to 40 tourism businesses across B.C. through two workshops and one-on-one coaching for each participating business.  

In the program, participants will:

• Connect with passionate business leaders and discover how tourism can create a better world  
• Receive coaching to identify the SDGs that most align with your organization, and actions that promote resiliency, cost reduction, and access to talent 
• Identify key metrics to track your progress towards the SDGs 
• Integrate the SDGs into your messaging and communications
• Develop an SDG Strategy and 10-year Action Plan for your organization 
• Help position BC’s tourism industry as a leader in sustainability

Spaces are limited! Apply by October 13 at noon, 2021.

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Plan Your Trip to Elektrostal: Best of Elektrostal Tourism

Essential elektrostal.

Elektrostal Is Great For

Eat & drink.

• Apelsin Hotel
• Elektrostal Hotel
• Apart Hotel Yantar
• Mini Hotel Banifatsiy
• Restaurant Globus
• Amsterdam Moments
• Cafe Antresole
• Viki Cinema
• Statue of Lenin
• Park of Culture and Leisure