"Place, Passion and Possibility: Rethinking Community Tourism Development"
Session Description
What if we started tourism development conversations with what our communities already have, rather than what they lack? What if we began by discovering the assets, stories, relationships, skills and passions that make a place unique? Over the past several years, GMIST has worked alongside communities across Atlantic Canada to explore the Asset-Based Community-Led Development (ABCD) approach — helping people (re)discover what makes their communities special, build local capacity and mobilize existing resources to create amazing tourism experiences. While there’s no magic bullet when it comes to community tourism development, when we shift our focus from deficits to strengths, and from projects to people, new possibilities and opportunities can emerge. In this session, hear stories from across Atlantic Canada about how a place-based, strengths-focused mindset has influenced individuals, sparked new ideas and changed the way communities think about tourism development.
Nora Fever Bio
Nora is the Director of Programs and Innovation at the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism (GMIST) based in Gros Morne, Newfoundland and Labrador. As part of the GMIST team, she has been fortunate to be involved in creating new programming such as LIFT, an Experience Development Program and ACTivate, a Community Development Program. She believes that collectively discovering and sharing what is special about our places and building solid relationships can lead to stronger, more resilient communities. Prior to joining GMIST in 2021, Nora worked in various tourism and business development roles throughout Western Newfoundland with organizations such as Corner Brook Port Corporation, Western Destination Management Organization and Creative Gros Morne.
