GEO 546: Research Project

Fall, 2004

I ask that you select one of the following two options as your final research project (worth 30% of final grade):

Option 1*: Select one region, country, or U.S. state and do the following:

• Utilizing whatever documents/data are available (for example, from the World Tourism Organization (WTO)), from websites of official national (country) tourism agencies or from U.S. state tourism sites discuss the history and importance of tourism in and to the area you have chosen. Of course, there are hundreds of sites related to tourism and that show how places are marketed and represented. My own region of "expertise" has been Southeast Asia and you can see some examples of such sites by linking to Southeast Asian Tourism Websites. Among other questions that you might address, an obvious one is: How important is tourism to the area's economy?
  
• Describe the basis for tourism in your area (that is, Why is it there? What resources explain the promotion of your area for tourism?); include an assessment of the natural and human resources that are available such as scenery, historical sites, beaches, culture, as well as the infrastructure.
  
• Analyze how the area is represented to potential tourists (e.g., through the world wide web, through travel agencies, through advertising [brochures, travel magazines]).
  
• Analyze the impacts (both positive and negative) of tourism on your area, including environmental, social, cultural,and economic impacts.
  
• Based on your research, assess the potential for tourism in your area. Include here an assessment of what is needed to enhance and facilitate the tourism industry.
  
• Your conclusions should include, among other points, your sense of the significance of tourism in your area in the future.
• A bibliography must of course be included; any standard form is acceptable, for example, you might follow the form used in the course Bibliography.

I realize the above "outline" for your final paper includes a wide array of topics for you to address. Depending on the region/country/state you select for analysis, you may want to focus more on one of more of the above topics, which is ok by me. For example, you may want to focus most heavily on the environmental impacts on a certain area (e.g., Belize of the Yucatan), or analyze the way in which a certain area is represented to potential tourists (e.g., Hawaii or Kentucky).

Option 2*: Select a tourism "type" and evaluate/examine its' global (or regional or national) significance. Thus, you might select ecotourism, rural tourism, urban tourism, coastal tourism, sex tourism, etc. Chapters 5-8 of the Hall text each deal with a specific type of tourism and recreation. Once you have selected your topic, do the following:

• First, carefully discuss and define the type of tourism you have selected.
  
• Utilizing whatever information available, discuss the history and importance of your selected type of tourism in and to the area you have chosen. Among other questions, how important is rural or farm (for example) tourism to the economy?
  
• Analyze the impacts (both positive and negative) of the type of tourism you have selected.
  
• Based on your research, assess the significance and potential for the type of tourism selected, both globally, and in the area you selected (if appropriate). Include here an assessment of what is needed to enhance and facilitate the tourism type.
  
• A bibliography must of course be included; any standard form is acceptable, for example, you might follow the form used in the course Bibliography.

Your final paper should be at least eight text pages in length (excluding tables, maps, title page, and bibliography). You should include a minimum of twelve sources, excluding data sources (you must include your data sources but these do not count toward the twelve references). Six sources can be from the internet, copies of which should be attached to your project.

The final research project is due no later than Tuesday, December 7. Be prepared to give a short (10 minute) in-class oral presentation on your project.

*Note: I am open to discussing other possibilities for your research project on an individual basis. If you have another idea that you would rather explore, by all means come and talk to me about it.