Thursday, Mar 18, 2010
The NPS National Tourism Council (NTC) convened in Washington, D.C., in early March for its annual meeting. The NTC provides advice and counsel to the Office of Sustainable Tourism on ways to benefit parks and the park system by engaging tourism partners and on expanding agency capacity.
Among the questions taken up by the group were confirming the cross connections between Director Jarvis’ four priorities and the National Tourism Strategic Plan, implications of a growing trend toward sustainable tourism, and strengthening collaborative efforts with park partners. Meeting sessions included partner panels, the make-up of which included an academic expert on sustainable tourism, a leader of National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations, and the USDA Forest Service’s Tourism Chief. Each session generated interest, presented new information and reinforced much of the council’s vision for strategic visitation.
With new agency leadership vision in place, the council compared related elements between the tourism plan and the director’s priorities. It was determined that the tourism plan contains high connectivity with relevance, stewardship, education, and workforce concepts; strengthening effectiveness service wide. The council agreed that the next step is to integrate this finding with agency policy.
In the midst of a continuing dialog within the Service as to possible impacts of increased visitation, the council conducted a seminar on sustainable tourism, where cultural and environmental impacts of visitor experiences are as important as economic impacts. A panel of experts discussed the relevance of sustainable tourism to national parks by noting domestic and international experiences through case studies and laudable practices among sustainable destinations. Though the term may be new to some in the Service, the fundamental principles of sustainable tourism such as inclusion of all stakeholders and minimizing negative impacts on cultural and natural resources are deeply rooted in the NPS culture. It was determined that by adding the qualifying term “sustainable” to the term “tourism” their union reflects more harmony with the NPS mission.
Shifting their attention to working collaboratively with our park partners, the NTC engaged in a discussion with representatives of the newly formed National Parks Promotion Council (NPPC) and our long time ally, the Western States Tourism Policy Council (WSTPC). Newly incorporated, the NPPC expressed its common interest in promoting parks experiences in a way that will continue to preserve them for the enjoyment of future generations. The WSTPC noted that although our visitation has recently increased, there is still considerable urgency in attracting more youth and minorities. There was also a lively discussion on the implications for the Service of the Travel Promotion Act, which was signed by President Obama on the same day as the NTC meeting. This legislation passed overwhelmingly by Congress, proving the claim that tourism is non-partisan. It authorizes the Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP) through the US Department of Commerce. Dedicated funds for promoting the US Travel brand abroad are provided by visitors from the 35 visa waiver countries upon entry to the US. The council concluded the meeting by reviewing the current set of pilot projects which demonstrate several strategic principles in the tourism plan, including a cooperative marketing project to expand visitation on three themes related to the sesquicentennial of the Civil War (CW150). The National Tourism Council recognizes considerable opportunities to benefit our parks by working with partners to capitalize on the public’s renewed consciousness of good stewardship.
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