Hopefully the luck of the Irish will be with West Virginia State University (WVSU). Next week, I and a group of nine other travelers representing the University, Gus R. Douglass Land-Grant Institute (GRDI), and state government will visit Ireland to learn and experience their internationally known tourism first hand. Ireland doesn’t offer just any tourism vacation; they are experts in a select new type of sustainable tourism called Ecotourism.
Ecotourism and sustainable tourism are the new buzz words in the tourism industry. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), a leading authority on sustainable ecotourism defines it as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people (TIES 1990). Broken down into simple terms, ecotourism is the concept that tourism revenue can promote conservation.
Ecotourism is about connecting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. It is travel which is low impact, culturally sensitive, community orientated, primarily nature based, educational. The sustainable ecotourism movement has been a long-standing effort internationally, but is in its early stages of development in the US. Some countries around the world have begun conducting award winning programs in ecotourism and assisting small towns to generate a strong revenue stream. One example is the Greenbox in Ireland where we will be visiting various tourism sites over ten days.
Tourism in West Virginia accounted for $3.8 billion in revenue in 2006, and is one of the main economic engines in the state’s economy. It is critically important, as a land-grant university that WVSU works to partner with other organizations in developing sustainable ecotourism projects in WV to further strengthen our state's economy while at the same time having little impact on the environment.
While in Ireland, I will try to post further comments of activities and adventures that we encounter during the trip. Check back for updates.
Cheers,
Todd Beane, Marketing Specialist
Jan Jones
Apr 8, 2008
4:45 pm
Ireland March 2008
Our trip to Ireland was fantastic! We met a variety of individuals promoting and working on the development of sustainable tourism initiatives. Here are a few things that I learned on my trip:
- Hire a driver when trying to get around in Dublin. It is a lovely city but there are no road signs and it can be a challenge for first time left side of the road drivers (especially with a vanload of back seat drivers!).
- Everyone in Ireland starts singing "Country Roads" when you tell them that you live in West Virginia.
- Internet access in Ireland is similar to that in West Virginia- you never know when or where it might work.
- Traveling with a group of tourism and community development people from West Virginia makes you extremely proud to work and live in West Virginia! I was hoping to return with and Irish accent but instead returned with more of a WV Southern accent!
- I learned that there are very exciting academic programs in Ireland that mirror what we are trying to do here.
- Traveling with a group of people is an adventure in itself!
- The NorthWest regions of Ireland are just as beautiful and fun to visit as the more popular tourist destinations.
All in all this was an amazing trip. This was an opportunity to share ideas and culture with people in Ireland and to form lasting friendships with the people that I traveled with. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Ireland on St. Patrick's Day...GO!
Thanks for inviting me to go.
Dr. Jan Jones
Duane
Apr 3, 2008
2:16 pm
Common Thread
We aren’t perfect and we don’t wanna be perfect….(taxi driver explaining the signage within Dublin or lack of, which is what makes everyone/thing unique)
A common thread was discovered during the Ireland Study Group that will propel West Virginia State University to lead the way in fostering development among many partners within Ecotourism. Regardless of where the group traveled or what was seen, something stayed the same. This item was reinforced with every contact, from shopkeepers to community developers to pubkeepers.
We have this item prevalent within our communities in West Virginia, though I question to the same extent as demonstrated by the contacts within Ireland, more specifically the Northwest region. Each stop provided an opportunity to explore another area and contact, from James (Institute of Technology at Sligo) to Brian, John and Denise (performing a collection of Irish traditional songs and tunes), and reinforce what became a common thread woven throughout the area. Heritage.
Many opportunities lie before us, within Ecotourism.
What is Ecotourism? One organization defines it as: embraces the principles of sustainable tourism with the following principles to distinguish it from the wider concept of sustainable tourism:
o Contributes actively to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage,
o Includes local and indigenous communities in its planning, development and operation, contributing to their well-being,
o Interprets the natural and cultural heritage of the destination to visitor,
o Lends itself better to independent travelers, as well as to organized tours for small size groups.
As the taxi driver stated, we aren’t perfect and we don’t wanna be perfect. So, do we, as West Virginians, want to develop our common thread for others to discover?
toddbeane
Mar 21, 2008
9:43 am
Back from Ireland
The study tour group has returned from Ireland. First, I want to apologize for not posting any comments while we were gone overseas. We had extremely limited cell phone service and no internet service until the next to last day. So I am writing to fill everyone in on our experiences and travels.
The northwest country side of Ireland where we spent most of our time is very similar to the beautiful hills of West Virginia. As we look out the windows in West Virginia we see rough hills with rocks lodged on the mountain sides, deep hollows where a little stream might run down, all this rugged terrain that is common of our beloved WV. This is exactly what Ireland’s rugged landscape beauty shows. The northwest country side of Ireland is in fact the “European West Virginia.” Once seeing their landscape, I can understand why every person we met in Ireland knew the John Denver song, “Country Roads” word for word. Their homeland is very similar to our Appalachian Mountains, and they feel a true affinity for our hills and our culture.
In our travels we experienced living history through magnificent cathedrals and castles built hundreds of years ago, to truly ancient burial sites of mysterious stones effortlessly placed in strange formations over 5000 years BC. We met with locals operating Ireland’s first Organic Center, visited a community center built and owned by the town’s people, and experienced first hand how the Greenbox is changing Ireland’s tourism industry and saving the environment at the same time.
The fantastic educational trip ended back in Dublin for the world famous St. Patty’s Day Festival parade on March 17. The Irish truly celebrate their holiday starting a few days before and finishing a few days after. The parade was easily comparable to our own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Bands from all over the world intermingled with huge robotic creatures and costumed groups of performers as they strutted, pranced, and rolled down City Center Dublin to commemorate Patty’s Day 2008.
With tourism being one of the largest economic sectors in terms of earnings and number of people employed, the European Union has focused significant resources on the development of sustainable ecotourism programs and practices. WVSU Extension, with financial support from the USDA through is Rural Business Services program, is working with representatives from the European Union and Ireland to explore ways West Virginia can emulate their success.
During the trip to Ireland, our WV team met with representatives from higher education, the tourism ministry, regional economic development leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs to study and learn from their successful practices. The exchange of information between us and our Irish hosts will be used to develop and then deliver instruction on sustainable ecotourism methods. This instruction will be at a variety of levels including college-level courses offered at WVSU as well as extension courses taught to local businesses.
Todd Beane
liedlbe
Mar 7, 2008
6:15 pm
Can't wait to see the photos & hear the stories
Todd:
I can't wait to see your photos and hear the stories. I loved the few days I had in Dublin several years ago. Enjoy and let me know when the presentation on the trip will be.
Barbara Liedl
Post new comment