HTM 37600 - Sustainable Tourism Development

Students will study the effects of tourism on the local and ecological environment. They will gain understanding of ways to minimize the impact of tourism on the local environment while providing opportunities that directly benefit hosts and visitors as well as the environment. This course will also explore current trends in the travel market in terms of perceptions and needs of the contemporary traveler asking the question whether ecotourism is itself a trend or the reflection of a more profound change in values that impact consumer behavior in the tourism industry.

Preparation for Course
P: HTM 10000, and HTM 17300 or HTM 37100. Each class must be completed with grade of C- or better.

Cr. 3.
Notes
Special fees assessed.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Understand the nature of sustainability and its relevance to tourism.
2. Recognize the impacts of tourism on the physical environment, society, culture and economy in a variety of contexts.
3. Differentiate between sustainable tourism and its subsets including eco-tourism, geo-tourism, alternative tourism, voluntourism and heritage tourism.
4. Evaluate methodologies for application and management of sustainable tourism practices in a variety of types of tourism destination (nature areas, resorts, heritage sites, urbanized tourism destinations) and recognize barriers to implementation.
5. Evaluate the importance of various visitor management techniques, including carrying capacity assessment at tourist destinations.
6. Analyze the role of the consumer in sustainable tourism development.
7. Assess the business case for sustainability in tourism.