The Atlas of Experience Map.
During one of our Policy and Planning classes, John Hull asked us to explore The Atlas of Experience Map by Dutch researchers, Louise Van Swaaij and Jean Klare. The map gave me the option to explore tour ideas based on the emotional connection to those experiences and how that might alter my perspective. For those purposes, I would like to visit the town of Splendor in the middle of the Forests of Changing Colours. After investigating the map and looking at the exciting places I might fancy, it was easy to become distracted by the amusing clusters of names. With numerous locations that I felt I should go such as the minor city of Vulnerable, I had to think about right this minute where I would go. When I first explored this map it was during the Autumn season and considering Autumn being my favourite season, I thought that nestled between the locations of Retrospective and Memory, a visit to Splendor would be a nice escape to refresh and let go of the past.
Transformative Tourism.
We had Dr. Kellee Caton speak to us about transformational tourism, John Hull asked us to reflect on an experience that we have had. I can’t think of one specific huge transformative tourism experience that I have had, but I think that is also part of the process, it isn’t like turning on a light switch, and ta-da there is a transformation. It is the small experiences that start to change your life; maybe the ones you didn’t realize had created a ripple effect. I used to work on cruise ships and toured the world, mostly in the Mediterranean. I loved it, the people I would meet, the chance to walk up somewhere new every day – it was like a tasting buffet of new experiences. Now I look back at it and miss it but wouldn’t go back; I crave longer trips that allow me to soak it in and find what builds the fabric of the community. That wasn’t one day waking up and realizing that; it was a slow process that I’ve continued to explore.
Thinking back, one of the experiences that I would consider a transformative one for me, though I may not have known how much at the time was during my time on the cruise ships. We had an overnight stay in Venice, I was working late, and after my shift, three friends and I got off the boat to explore. We spoke about 5 or 6 languages between the four of us, and none with the same cultural backgrounds made for a fun group adventure. We decided to get lost and find out where the locals liked to go. We randomly choose lefts and rights down the streets till we found a little hole in the wall bar for some wine. There we asked for a recommendation that led us to the best pizza I’ve ever had, despite it being so incredibly spicy I may have lost some taste buds. We laughed and joked around and wandered without checking our watches or looking up directions. Time wasn’t something that we thought about or getting that perfect photo but enjoying the company and the culture. I’ve been in a gondola at sunset and through the Basilica, but I’ve never felt more connected to the Venician culture than getting lost that night. It wasn’t a monumental moment in my life, but I would say that started a ripple effect that still holds strong today.
Summit 2020.
Education takes place both inside and outside of a classroom. John Hull recommended we attend Summit 2020, launched by two regional tourism associations, The Cariboo-Chilcotin Coast (CCCTA) and the Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA). I listened to Keynote Speakers from around the world, sat in on panels, took part in virtual networking and left with a swag bag filled with digital resources. With it being the last few weeks of the semester, I was worried that I wouldn’t have the time to catch all of the events I was interested in attending. Luckily using the virtual platform, they are leaving it online for a month to see them, which took off the stress of prioritizing my school work and the Summit. I attended panels on ‘Thriving Communities,’ ‘TOTA, TRU, and Planet Happiness Partnership,’ and ‘Regenerative Best Practices.’ The closing keynote speaker Michael Shellenberger is considered a global thinker on energy, technology and the environment. However, I didn’t fully agree with all of his statements; his lecture did give me some new perspectives to look at going forward. Overall, I am thrilled I got the chance to partake in the event and was very entertained at the virtual platform they chose; it felt like I was attending a Summit in the computer game ‘The Sims.’
