Tourism, Rural, Regional & Agriculture - Topic Outline

Here you will find resources to assist you, your community and your business to understand the new paradigm for rural regional development. The aim of these materials is to provide practical information to help grow tourism in a sustainable fashion. These materials are presented in several different formats in order to maximize their utility, but also provide a variety of perspectives and to honor your time. We will be adding additional resources regularly to this project. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Rekindling Hope and Awakening Inspiration: This short essay introduces what we believe to be one of the core issues in rural community development. Lost hope is an erosive element that plagues communities across the globe. In more advanced communities, as in the U.S. a mindset on "competition" creates insurmountable odds to overcome. This essay describes a shifting mindset that can open new doors

A New Pair of Glasses - Tourism and Economic Development - A Mini Course
These materials were originally taught as part of a basic economic development course for economic development personnel associated with communities. However, this material is equally valuable for business owners, attraction developers or regional planners. The materials, in the main, can be generalized to other contexts.

Creating Engaging Experiences - the "Keys to Success"
Experience as Your Product: Traditionally most tourism businesses practice “activity based management” where the provision of activities are viewed as end products.

Recent research has found the end product of tourism and recreation management is the experiences people have. Solomon Source has developed its own customer benefits approach, which focuses on creating experiences that the participants perceive as beneficial.

Tourism Development Strategies for Strong Economies and Vibrant Sustainable Communities
This "white paper" provides an introduction to how tourism can be developed in a community. It outlines the 4 primary components to be considered and also the 7 action steps for success.

Interpretation - The Essentials of Tourism Product Development by Dr. Jim Kimmel
The Essentials of Product Development for tourism attractions and for communities interested in attracting visitors and developing programs. A concise but very thorough consolidation of the basic necessities for effective tourism product and program development. Dr. Kimmel has sifted through many books to provide you this wonderful instruction.

The Importance of a Good Web Presence - Tips from an Expert

Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations of Regional Revitalization & Empowerment
Experiential University sees the critical nature of theory and conceptual models for solid practical approaches and focuses on Applied Theory. Over the last two decades we have developed a number of models that help us create a higher level understanding (vision) and to place our pragmatic solutions into a context. Below find links to excerpts about some of the more important conceptual models that we use.

The Mandala (Lotus Flower) - Reaching Critical Mass: initiating a nuclear reaction, or exponential growth.

The Puzzle - Putting the Pieces Together - Context - Systems Thinking

The Big Picture - Fulfilling Human Needs and the Process of Education

Success Across Scales - Empowering Individuals, Families, Organizations, Communities and Regions

Hybridizing the Cooperative - A New Model for Developing Cooperatives

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