Sustainable Tourism Destinations And Heritage
Thank You for Joining Us!
Last month (Oct 16th), we held a Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) training workshop at The Laurel Packinghouse. We collaborated with Tourism Kelowna and the Kelowna Museums Society to organize the workshop that was open to all Biosphere Adhesion Entities. We are very lucky to have Angela Nagy from GreenStep Solutions (GSTC trainer) providing an overview of tips and resources on how to offset operational impacts. We will be hosting another GSTC workshop in Kamloops in the coming months, with the exact date to be determined.
This is in line with the United Nations’ Sustainability Goals, particularly goal eleven Sustainable Tourism Destination and Heritage. This month we are featuring several organizations that are leaders in social, cultural and environmental protection through tourism activities.
Leaders in Biosphere
Highlights of businesses committed to the Biosphere Commitment Program
Moccasin Trails
Moccasin Trails aims to provide people with an authentic experience of Indigenous culture. They share Indigenous culture through tourism and believe through sharing and storytelling the whole culture is revitalized, preserved and promoted. They want to bring people from around the world to experience learning and reliving the indigenous culture. As the main organizer of the Okanagan Cultural Getaway, they have planned a three-day trip (Nov 15th-17th) which includes museum tours, food tastings, walks on ancestral paths and a Canoe excursion where people can touch, smell, see, hear and feel the Indigenous culture.
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Grizzli Winery, Kelowna
Grizzli Winery is located in the beautiful West Kelowna’s wine trail. They are proud to celebrate local authentic culture and create tourism activities and products based on local cultural heritage. They organize various events throughout the year that promote local artists and artisans. Their Arts in the Park event successfully combines food, wine, and art. Locally inspired creations such as stone, glass, wood and fiber arts are displayed with the backdrop of the vineyards.
Monte Creek Ranch Winery
Monte Creek Ranch Winery is on the South Thompson River east of Kamloops. They promote a sustainable community by supporting various community organizations with donations and sponsorship. An example is their efforts to support the Canadian Red Cross with their wildfire relief fund. They did this in partnership with the Kamloops Wine Trail, Sips for Support. They are also bio diverse in various daily practices. They use manure from their cattle to fertilize the vineyard and have a honey bee colony onsite to promote wildflower health and the health of their Haskap grove.
Global Biosphere Example
The Historic Centre of Évora the capital of the Alentejo Province in Portugal, one of the biosphere adhesion certified destinations, shows its remarkable success in culture and heritage preservation. Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Évora’s overall integrity has been preserved through strict regulation and conservation measures. The rural landscape to the north has remained largely unchanged. In 2013, Évora has concluded their joint project as part of the World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Program on capacity-building for tourism management.
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SDG 11: Sustainable Tourism Destinations and Heritage
Cultural tourism as one of the largest and fastest-growing global tourism markets is increasingly being developed to promote sustainable destinations and enhance authenticity. The development of cultural experiences includes the preservation, protection, and promotion of cultural heritage.
1. Discover and understand the Okanagan Heritage
2. Review successful examples of heritage integrations
Want to join Green Okanagan for a Vermi-Composting workshop?
Green Okanagan is hosting an all-inclusive vermi-composting workshop!
Composting your organic and food waste helps to reduce your environmental impact. Instead of creating methane in a landfill, it will turn your organic waste into nutrient-rich soil! How cool is that?
Join this hands-on evening where you will be learning all about this form of composting whilst making your own apparatus to take home with you.
