People, Places, Protected Areas and Tourism: Place Attachment in Rossport, Ontario, Canada

Abstract

Place attachment is spatially and temporally anchored in the local context, affecting how residents perceive proposed development strategies. As such, we examine, through the analysis of 18 interviews conducted with residents from Rossport, Ontario, Canada, how place attachment and historical antecedents (or lack thereof) have influenced the acceptance of, or opposition to, conservation and tourism strategies in and near the village of Rossport, Ontario. The analysis of the interviews suggests that some of the resistance and scepticism towards conservation and tourism initiatives by long-term residents is rooted in historical approaches to regional development strategies, while a lack of awareness of historical events prevents newer residents, who often supported these initiatives, from understanding the legacy of these proposals in the community. Moreover, analysis indicates that sharing the stories of the community and place attachment through video interviews provides an opportunity to promote social cohesion and a place attachment between long-term residents and more recent amenity migrants.

20 years of Nordic nature-based tourism research: a review and future research agenda

“…This is reflected in a study by Raadik Cottrell and Cottrell (2015) who found that sense of place influences perceived environmental change and the effects on future holiday experiences to Saaremaa in Estonia. Sense of place can also help better understand the acceptance of, or opposition to, conservation and tourism strategies among local populations (Lemelin et al, 2015). Learning and interpretation are other themes recognized, related to the role of guides as well as tourists' nature connections.…”

“Terra de Nhá Chica”: Contradições inerentes à prática turística

“…As relações possíveis de observação entre meio físico e biótico e entre os próprios organismos de diferentes ordens, propiciam a reflexão sobre o ser humano como parte da dinâmica da natureza. Lemelin et al (2015) indicam que um dos aspectos do ceticismo da população local, próxima às áreas protegidas, relacionados a iniciativas de desenvolvimento do turismo associado à conservação, deriva do desconhecimento do processo histórico de produção do espaço, que dificulta o desenvolvimento do sentido de pertencimento a uma comunidade, a um território ou ao que Zaoual (2006) chamava de sítio simbólico de pertencimento.…”

Tourism activity as an expression of place attachment–place perceptions among tourism actors in the Jukkasjärvi area of northern Sweden

“…Other scholars scrutinizing place attachment have applied similar approaches, likewise using various interviewing methods and smaller samples (e.g. Åkerlund & Sandberg, 2015;Gustafson, 2001;Lemelin, Koster, Bradford, Strickert, & Molinsky, 2015;Tuulentie & Heimtun, 2014;Ujang & Zakariya, 2015;Windsong, 2014). The present study similarly draws upon semi-structured interviews, here addressing tourism actors in the Jukkasjärvi (Kiruna) area.…”