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NEW: For Blackstone Valley Partnership - Rail Information for 7/21 Meeting

Broad Street Regeneration Initiative Action Plan  View plan

Past Workshops and Presentations

View "Harnessing Social Media" Conference Materials

View Civic Tourism 2: Creating and Marketing Your Somewhere from Oct. 15-18.

Download Final Report

View Civic Tourism  Conference Info 

View materials from all conferences
 

Latest News and Info

NEW: June 15, 2009 - GreenBiz
U.S. Mayors to Support Global Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism More

May 15, 2009 - Providence Journal
Blackstone Valley looks at ways to lure tourists
More

Dead’ river wins global eco tourism award  View Video

September 25, 2008
BTN talks to Dr. Robert Billington
More

WINNER!!!  Tourism Chief Nominated for World Travel Award Dr. Robert Billington, President of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council has won the World Travel Awards - North American Travel Personality of the Year. More on Nomination | More | Evening Times article | Woonsocket Call | Valley Breeze | Providence Journal

NEW: Masters Thesis by MASAKI MIYAKE entitled: Tourism and the Local Business Community in Small Cities and Towns: A Qualitative Study of the Blackstone Valley, Rhode Island  PDF | Word

March 26, 2008
Cultural Tourism Workshop Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston Cultural Tourism Workshop Series Best Practices
by Robert Billington, Ed. D.  View Online | Download PowerPoint

New Concept of Tourism Presented by Peter Lord - More

National Geographic
Billington featured as part of National Geographic Geotourism Challenge 
Billington Profile | Challenge Info

View all News
 

Announcing the first annual ARISTA awards:
Nominate an agency for notable achievement in sustainable tourism  Read More
Sustainable Tourism Principles
| Deadline Info

Lab assists communities with incorporating sustainable tourism, ecotourism, geotourism, civic tourism principles into strategic planning process

The Tourism Paradigm for the 21st century is shifting as sustainable planning principles emerge.

A growing number of local, state and national governments throughout the world are recognizing the need and value of incorporating sustainable tourism principles into their strategic development planning process. Strategic planning processes that make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, and provide socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders provide for a cleaner environment, stronger economy, higher quality of life for residents and an enhanced experience for visitors.

According to the World Tourism Organization: “Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability.”

The Sustainable Tourism Planning & Development Laboratory offers an experiential learning program that assists clients with learning about and creating sustainable tourism plans for their community or region. Through lab programs, clients

LEARN the techniques of sustainable tourism planning, development, marketing and promotion.

UNDERSTAND the essential role the community plays in place-making tourism development.

CREATE a comprehensive tourism plan, to include economic, social, historic, cultural, commercial and environmental values.
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INVOLVE key stakeholders in your tourism development strategy implementation.

DISCOVER the importance of creativity, commitment, confidence and leadership in tourism destination development.

EXPERIENCE a community applying sustainable tourism planning to emerge from an industrial landscape to a successful visitor destination.

Lab programs include:

  • Individual workshops
  • Half day, full day or multi-day conferences
  • Speaker’s bureau
  • Strategic tourism planning development
  • Ongoing consulting

Benefits of the lab include the following:

  • Staffed by professionals with over 20 years of international expertise in building visitor destination
  • Customized programs and services based on needs and budget
  • Programs conducted throughout the world
  • Handling all aspects of managing and marketing conferences and administering lab programs
  • Networking connection to the global sustainable tourism network and related fields
  • Benchmarking and best practices

During the past few years, the lab has conducted a number of workshops and conferences, and assisted several communities with their strategic tourism planning. In addition, its parent agency, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, was recently awarded the World Trade & Tourism Council’s Destination Award in part for its efforts at incorporating sustaining tourism principles into its programming and promotion of tourism in the Blackstone Valley region of Rhode Island.

 

Tourblackstone.com: sustainable tourism lab, civic tourism, geotourism, ecotourism, environmental, development and destination planning

 

Download our latest Green Guide (PDF)

Read the guide online
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Green Globe Affiliate: sustainable tourism lab, civic tourism, geotourism, ecotourism, environmental, development and destination planning

Geotourism principles: sustainable tourism lab, civic tourism, geotourism, ecotourism, environmental, development and destination planning

 

UNWTO SBEST: sustainable tourism lab, civic tourism, geotourism, ecotourism, environmental, development and destination planning

Plainfolk: sustainable tourism lab, civic tourism, geotourism, ecotourism, environmental, development and destination planning

 

 

 


 


 

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