Call for Papers: Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers, St. John’s, Newfoundland, 11-15 August 2013.

Rethinking rural resilience: Tourism’s future in rural and peripheral development?
Tourism is one sector of the economy purported to benefit rural and peripheral regions. Rural and peripheral communities have been and are still being established as outposts of capitalism and prosper through primary industries such as agriculture, mining, forestry, and fishing. More recently, tourism has reached even the most remote regions (e.g., fly-in only communities of Canada’s high Arctic) with many communities embracing this new economic opportunity. Community outcomes, however, have been mixed. Tourism is not the panacea communities may want to believe it is.
http://www.mun.ca/cag2013/call.php
Tourism geographers have begun to reconceptualise tourism so that it is no longer about tourism development per se but about opportunities presented by tourism that complement community economic development. Thus, the following questions are paramount:
• How can tourism contribute to community economic development initiatives that meet sustainable development principles (e.g., integrating economic, social, cultural, environmental benefits)?
• How does tourism contribute to increased resilience in rural and peripheral communities?
• What menu of metrics can development outcomes be measured by (e.g., employment and demographic statistics) and which ones need further development (e.g., community well-being)?
This session invites papers addressing the question of tourism’s future contribution to rural resilience. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
• rural tourism and local quality of life and community well-being
• land use conflicts between tourism and other sectors
• marginalised groups in rural and peripheral tourism
• rural tourism partnerships and networking
• role of tourism beyond the economic realm
• complementarity of tourism and rural innovation
• community economic development initiatives and their ability to incorporate tourism as more than a stand-alone economic development strategy
If you are interested in participating in this session please send a draft of your abstract to patrick.brouder (at)miun.se on or before the 28th of February 2013.
Final abstracts must be submitted to the CAG2013 organising committee by the 15th of March 2013. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the session organiser: patrick.brouder(at)miun.se