Session Convenors: Eifiona Thomas Lane, Rebecca Jones ( both Prifysgol Bangor University) and Lois Mansfield (University of Cumbria)
Please send your abstract with details of all contributors affiliations emails clearly noting the presenter to eifiona.thomaslane@bangor.ac.uk before the 21st March.
Escape to the Country: realities, challenges and opportunities for rural tourism and leisure ‘beyond recovery’
Abstract
Drawing from a facilitated workshop of pooled global tourism and leisure research and practitioner experiences, this session will facilitate the sharing of lessons learnt and will explore future opportunities for shaping future responsible rural development towards ‘recovery’. Events and ongoing changes such as circumstances of Covid lockdown, Brexit travel and trade impacts and wider environmental and social change require well designed destination management plans, monitoring of impacts and practical in place regulation, to safeguard host communities from negative physical resources, maximise positive and negate negative socio-economic impacts of development on host communities in the countryside
- the countryside as healthy space
- critical and comparative discussion of rural recovery
- Sector profile impacts e.g. business closures, employment, diversification
- food supply chain disruptions and hospitality
- innovative adaptive management strategies
- agri-tourism and rural recovery
- marketing and representations of outdoors
- changing visitor demographic and expectations
- impacts of demands for increased access to outdoor spaces for recreation
- new possibilities for community managed tourism planning,
- Impacts on rural settlements and wider rural space e.g. housing, employment
- governance and regulation of countryside tourism and leisure
- funding opportunities – short, medium and long term and strategic vision
- ongoing sustainable and responsible recovery
Contributions are welcomed from a wide range of academic and practitioner perspectives. Interdisciplinary perspectives and original local UK or global perspectives from the above and wider relevant questions are especially relevant. The session conveners encourage participation from new voices to enable a supportive sharing of lessons learnt to inform pathways to build rural community resilience.
Proposed session format
In-person, key notes and case study presentations drawing from wide range of practitioner, professional and community groups with discussant with audience participation e.g. via Mentimeter (1 session, 1hour 40mins total).
Please send your abstract with details of all contributors affiliations emails clearly noting the presenter to eifiona.thomaslane@bangor.ac.uk before the 21st March. This will allow us to send details into RGS to deadline.