Tourism Operators Guidebook on Crown Land
Overview of Key Issues
British Columbia's (BC) Adventure Tourism (AT) industry has become an increasingly important component of the BC economy. It is BC's fastest growing tourism sector, generating about $900 million in direct revenues in 2001. This growth is strategically important to the province because it is concentrated in close proximity to rural communities. The AT industry has the potential to bring numerous benefits to rural areas in the form of job creation, local tax revenue generation, and regional development. Its provincial contributions include: increased fees and other revenues for the use of Crown land; much needed diversification of the provincial economy.
AT operators recognize that a secure and certain land base for AT activities is integral to the success of the industry. Specifically, as the AT industry competes in a market economy, resource certainty relative to the industry's competitors is important. However, in most cases BC's AT operators do not possess direct control over the resources on which they depend. The province owns approximately 94% of BC's land, and specific rights are granted to various industries to encourage economic development. Most of these rights are not exclusive, and as such the actions of different businesses can affect the viability of others. This is particularly true of AT operators, who require a relatively pristine environment for the successful operation of their business
As resource decisions impact a variety of resource users it is imperative that impacted parties have a strong understanding of the stages and capacity in which they are able to participate in land-use decisions. The Tourism Operators Guidebook on Crown Land provides AT operators with the information they need to influence positive resource decisions in their area.
Guidebook Objectives
The Tourism Operators Guidebook on Crown Land has been designed to meet the following four objectives:
- To increase awareness among AT operators regarding land use and resource planning processes that may affect their operations;
- To provide guidance on how AT operators can become involved in land and resource planning processes;
- To increase understanding of AT operator's tenure rights; and
- To assist AT operators with establishing and improving relationships with other resource users and maintaining the land base on which their operations are dependent
The guidebook provides useful information to individuals who are considering starting an AT operation and AT operators who would like to identify interests and address land security issues. With the information provided in the guidebook an AT operator should be able to manage potential land use conflicts in a proactive and productive manner..
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