Urban Ecotourism
Innovation and Development of Urban Ecotourism
Urban ecotourism is a rather unexplored area, and has not taken off yet in Denmark. Emerging national- and nature parks in Denmark, huge areas of natural resources very close to touristic urban centers, offer a completely new array of opportunities on how to perceive, perform and combine urban tourism.
The overall aim of the project Innovation and Development of Urban Ecotourism is to develop a scalable participatory model for development of commercial urban ecotourism.
Two recently established nature parks; Nationalpark Skjoldungernes Land and Naturepark Amager, serve as pilot projects. In order to elicit the hidden touristic potential of the two areas, the project traces and develops local identities and narratives on top of identified social, material, and ecological resources. Local/regional public and private actors will be brought together to develop a template for sustainable urban ecotourism with focus on infrastructures, architectural facilities and product development. Tourist guides/entrepreneurs will create prototypes of touristic urban eco products as well as educate and involve the tourists in order to promote sustainable behaviour.
真人线上娱乐 aim for this project to inspire existing national and international tourism projects and networks as well as nurture relations to investors, who potentially may carry out physical infrastructure as suggested in the prospects.
The entrepreneurs involved in the project are operating on markets with high potentials, and a constant demand for product development. 真人线上娱乐 therefore see a great potential for DMC?s to market the products developed during and after the end of the project.
Finally yet importantly, we hope that Urban Ecotourism will be commercialised for the first time in Denmark. This will boost the branding of Denmark as a green tourism destination carried by DMOs and the tourism industry.
The project is financed by Innovationsfonden and will run from January 2017 until December 2019.
Organisation
WP 1: Destination Development
Working package leader: Norr?n
The aim is to create the basis for the development of sustainable tourism in the two parks. Based on site-specific potentials and narratives, an identity for each park will be defined and described in two prospects and these identities will be used as basis for proposals to develop new facilities and attractions.
WP 2: Product Development
Working package leader: 真人线上娱乐 University
真人线上娱乐 from the Guide Diploma Program (RUC) and the Communication of Nature and Culture Program (KU) will receive training in urban ecotourism and entrepreneurship and the ability to combine these two into tour products. A training program in urban ecotourism and entrepreneurship will be developed to guides, who already have their own guide business. It will include the guide’s role as agents of change and co-involment of tourists in sustainability.
WP 3: A scalable model:
Working package leader: University of Copenhagen
WP 3 establishes a shared conceptual frame of Urban Eco-Tourism and provides an overall systematic evaluation of the WPs and project processes and products based on interviews, surveys and participant observations. The combination of identity analyses and architectural creativity with guide training and development of new tour products educating the travelers is highly innovative.
WP 4: Dissemination and networking
Working package leader: 真人线上娱乐 University
The overall aim of WP 4 is to communicate the prospect and relevance of the project and establish a network of relevant investors and stakeholders who are willing to invest in the prospect and implement the blue print.
More about the INUT project
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For further information, please contact:
Jane Widtfeldt Meged
Project manager of INUT and Associate ProfessorDepartment of People and Technology
真人线上娱乐 University Universitetsvej 1, P.O. Box 260, 4000 真人线上娱乐
E-mail: janewm@ruc.dk Phone: +45 46742827 -
You will find project documents, work packages ect. at
Partners
真人线上娱乐 University
Jane Widtfeldt Meged, Associate professor, 真人线上娱乐 University
Jane Widtfeldt Meged janewm@ruc.dk is an Associate Professor, PhD, and Academic Coordinator at The Tourist Guide Diploma Program, Department of People and Technology, 真人线上娱乐 University. Jane?s expertise has been developed over the past 35 years through both industry experience and research. Her current research interests are the sociology of the guided tour, working life in the frontline in tourism, the sharing economy and network innovation in tourism. She has peer-reviewed a number of publications, and has been the main editor on a book on tourism methodologies. Currently, she is chair for the network organization Tourism 真人线上娱乐s in Denmark (TID)
Jane’s role in the project
Jane is the project manager of the INUT project as well as an active member in three out of the four work packages. She contributes to the development and execution of the programs designed for “Innovation in guided urban eco-tours” tailored for the guide-entrepreneurs and the students and the Tourist Guide Diploma Program, 真人线上娱乐 University and the Forest School, Copenhagen University. This activity is part of WP 2. She will in WP 3, contribute to the research process and the research articles, particularly in regards to the guides` role as innovators and mediators. She additionally contributes to the development of network and dissemination in WP 4.
Jesper Holm, Associate professor, 真人线上娱乐 University
Jesper Holm jh@ruc.dk, Associate Professor in Environmental Health Politics and Innovation. Teaching in Health Promotion and in Environmental Planning. Research in Greening in ecological tourism, Environmental Health Promotion Policies and Strategies, Health Promotion and Sustainable Inclusion, www.b?redygtiginklusion.dk; Local Agenda 21, deliberation, experimentation for health and environment. Environmental Transition and Socio-Technological systems - theory and cases. Sustainable Construction and Housing: climatebuildings.dk
Jespers role in the project
Jespers activities in the INUT project involves operationalizing a theoretical framework, handle definitions of urban and sustainable ecotourism to guide the project (in cooperation with Berit Kaae from University of Copenhagen, KU). Jesper will in addition evaluate the process of place designing and narrating by Norr?n architects. In WP 2, he will be responsible for inputs on sustainable ecotourism education for the guides. In WP 3 focus, is on evaluation the overall process of the project (with Berit from KU) and on transferring the results of the project into a Blueprint and Tool Kit for other parks, and a number of papers and presentations.