"Thesis student researches ecotourism marketing in Vancouver"

My article that was published at my study's weblog :)

After waiting, preparing and anticipating for seven long years, it was suddenly there: the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games! On a rainy day in February, a usually calm Vancouver transformed into the bustling centre of the world’s attention, taking all the Vancouverites and tourists along on a 17 day spectacle of exciting sports events, live music, multicultural highlights and festivities, arts, light and firework shows and many impulsive street parties. These were actually the first Olympics in which the host city’s inhabitants did not all abandon the city but embraced the event with such a spirit that exceeded everyone’s expectations. And so did mine! As someone who was never interested in watching any prior Olympic Games and being unconvinced about these, I suddenly spent my days looking online for the games highs and lows, keeping track of the medal count, watching interviews with athletes, cheering for Dutch ice skaters and roaring for the Canadian hockey team on the streets of Vancouver among thousands of other happy and excited people! An experience I would not have wanted to miss out on.

As a fourth year ITMC student I chose Vancouver as the setting for my final thesis about ecotourism marketing for the reason that Vancouver is rapidly becoming one of the world’s sustainable hotspots. During my placement here in my 3rd year I noticed the many attempts of businesses and organisations to be environmentally and socially responsible and work together on creating a lively, active and inspiring atmosphere to live in. And Vancouver wouldn’t be Vancouver if they did not let their environmental awareness shine on something that would have major impacts on the city and its surroundings: the Olympic Winter Games. As large scale events usually go together with great numbers of waste, water and energy use, and negative impacts on the nature, Vancouver wanted to make a difference. The organising committee of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics (VANOC) has worked hard to become the first to report, reduce and offset carbon emissions and use the experience to increase awareness and participation in emerging solutions to climate change. From using recycled rubber tires as floor material at various venues in order to protect the land; supporting and licensing aboriginal merchandise; improving public transportation; building the Olympic villages and venues under the new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system; making use of a paperless press release distribution system which saved an estimated 1.5 tonnes of paper; improving old venues rather than building new ones; to offsetting all VANOC’s carbon emissions that could not have been reduced or eliminated in any other way. With their many innovative and successful initiatives, they really have made a difference and hope other cities will follow suit by their example.

All of this makes you wonder why Vancouver and the province of British Columbia are not globally recognized as sustainable tourism destinations. The spectacular nature is here, the outdoor activities are here, the indigenous cultures are here and the various sustainable initiatives are clearly here – in all different forms available for all sorts of people. What better way to promote sustainable tourism on a global scale than through the most sustainable and hospitable Olympic Winter Games broadcasting live from Vancouver’s most spectacular scenery? I truly hope this event has made a great impact and many more will come to visit the beauty of Vancouver! Tourism British Columbia’s slogan says it all: You Gotta Be Here!

Source: http://www.tourism-bachelor.com/2010/03/05/thesis-student-researches-ecotourism-marketing-in-vancouver