Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Tourism
Innovative Approaches - Dining
Food is an essential component of tourism. 100% of tourists eat while they travel. Dining is consistently in the top three most popular tourist activities. This meal plan exhibits sustainable practices that we believe move towards a positive environmental, economic and cultural outcome of the tourism industry.
Our commitment to sustainability will be evident in the following:
*We will use local growers and producers for most of the menu. Suppliers within 100 km score a bullseye!
*Where suppliers cannot be sourced in Newfoundland and Labrador, we will keep it Canadian – preferably Atlantic Canadian.
*We will purchase most food supplies in bulk, with limited processing and packaging.
*Wherever possible, we will purchase from suppliers who grow organically and sustainably.
*The fish we will serve will have been caught using hook & line/long line methods, not bottom trawl, and the mussels will be rope-cultured and fed naturally.
*Water will be filtered tap water and juices will be made from concentrate.
*There will be no paper (napkins, plates, cups), plastic (bottles, utensils, drinkware) styrofoam or individual serving packets used.
Our commitment to sustainability will be evident in the following:
*We will use local growers and producers for most of the menu. Suppliers within 100 km score a bullseye!
*Where suppliers cannot be sourced in Newfoundland and Labrador, we will keep it Canadian – preferably Atlantic Canadian.
*We will purchase most food supplies in bulk, with limited processing and packaging.
*Wherever possible, we will purchase from suppliers who grow organically and sustainably.
*The fish we will serve will have been caught using hook & line/long line methods, not bottom trawl, and the mussels will be rope-cultured and fed naturally.
*Water will be filtered tap water and juices will be made from concentrate.
*There will be no paper (napkins, plates, cups), plastic (bottles, utensils, drinkware) styrofoam or individual serving packets used.
Innovative Approaches - Facilitation
While most conferences are designed around experts who deliver interesting messages to delegates with a chance for a few questions following, the Summit is built on an approach called the Art of Hosting. It assumes that everyone has a valuable contribution to the dialogue and builds ample space
for conversation and questioning with a focus on actions as a follow up.
Each half day session will include a keynote speaker, panelists and 2 hours of self directed dialogue based on the topic of the session. www.artofhosting.org
Come prepared to listen, think, contribute and set new courses of action.
for conversation and questioning with a focus on actions as a follow up.
Each half day session will include a keynote speaker, panelists and 2 hours of self directed dialogue based on the topic of the session. www.artofhosting.org
Come prepared to listen, think, contribute and set new courses of action.
Innovative Approaches - Social Media
We want to create a community before, during and after the Summit through leading edge social media tools. We'll be using delegate surveys to start collecting your thoughts and ideas about sustainable tourism before you arrive. Both a blog and Ning site will be used to facilitate dialogue amongst participants, and video will be used to capture speakers that will be uploaded to Youtube for participants and those not able to attend to see and be inspired by. The result will be a rich offering of ideas, conversations, research, presentations and actions that participants can follow, be a part of or just observe to gain new ideas and inspiration on the latest in sustainable tourism. The Summit will provide an experience well beyond the 2 1/2 days in Gros Morne.
Innovative Approaches- Venue
Gros Morne Academy
In rural Newfoundland, as in many rural communities across Canada, the local school is the heart of the community. If youth are our future, the schools and the spirit created within their walls shape that future.
School enrolment in Newfoundland and Labrador has declined by 50% over the last 30 years, due in part to out-migration. In recent years it has become commonplace to hear about communities fighting to save their schools as government implements "right-sizing". The role of the school as a symbol of community resilience and survival is palpable in the province today.
When Gros Morne Academy was opened in 2003 as a K-12 school, those involved in its creation sought to ensure that the school would be more than a facility for formal student education; it would be a community facility open to all members of the community. Since its opening, organizations such as the Canadian Adventure Tourism Association and the Newfoundland and Labrador Music Industry Association have held their conferences there. The computer lab is regularly used by GMIST for its Edge of the Wedge courses. The administration and staff of the school have welcomed such events as an opportunity to both expose students to exciting opportunities and to give back to the community that provides financial and volunteer support to the school's extra-curricular programs.
Through hosting this Sustainable Tourism Summit at Gros Morne Academy, we hope to ensure that its students will have an opportunity to be exposed to important ideas and discussions of the future of sustainable tourism within Canada including their own community. This will be part of the legacy of this event.
In rural Newfoundland, as in many rural communities across Canada, the local school is the heart of the community. If youth are our future, the schools and the spirit created within their walls shape that future.
School enrolment in Newfoundland and Labrador has declined by 50% over the last 30 years, due in part to out-migration. In recent years it has become commonplace to hear about communities fighting to save their schools as government implements "right-sizing". The role of the school as a symbol of community resilience and survival is palpable in the province today.
When Gros Morne Academy was opened in 2003 as a K-12 school, those involved in its creation sought to ensure that the school would be more than a facility for formal student education; it would be a community facility open to all members of the community. Since its opening, organizations such as the Canadian Adventure Tourism Association and the Newfoundland and Labrador Music Industry Association have held their conferences there. The computer lab is regularly used by GMIST for its Edge of the Wedge courses. The administration and staff of the school have welcomed such events as an opportunity to both expose students to exciting opportunities and to give back to the community that provides financial and volunteer support to the school's extra-curricular programs.
Through hosting this Sustainable Tourism Summit at Gros Morne Academy, we hope to ensure that its students will have an opportunity to be exposed to important ideas and discussions of the future of sustainable tourism within Canada including their own community. This will be part of the legacy of this event.
