The Importance of Outdoor Activities in Kamloops - Case Study Example

The Importance of Outdoor Activities in Kamloops With an appealing climate as well as spectacular views in addition to world-class recreation opportunities, it is easy to confirm why Kamloops is so popular. The conditions of Kamloops contribute significantly to the existence of many and diverse indoor and outdoor activities. Indoor activities in Kamloops include rock climbing gym, swimming, visiting museums, and movie theaters. Some of the outdoor activities in Kamloops include mountain biking, photography tours, running, stand up paddling, treetop flyers zipline, segways tours, fly fishing, and motorcycle tours. Indoor as well as outdoor activities in Kamloops play very significant roles. In addition to serving as tourist attractions, they also improve the health of the participators. In tandem with this, the paper aims at expounding on the outdoor activities and their contribution to Kamloops. In addressing this, the paper will expound on the domestic and foreign contributions of the Kamloops outdoor activities. In doing this, it will expound on how outdoor activities enhance good health of the people, increase the level of socialization, and reduce crime rates in Kamloops. The paper will also provide detailed information on the foreign contributions such as tourism, creation of employment opportunities, unification of countries through participating in outdoor activities, and growth of Kamloops economy through the outdoor activities. The paper will also explain on how outdoor activities enhance recreation activities in Kamloops. Domestic importance of Kamloops outdoor activities As it was introduced above, the outdoor activities in Kamloops are many and diverse. These activities manage to bring people not only together, but also contribute significantly to the collection of revenue. The activities also enhance the creation of job opportunities for the local people in addition to reducing some un-societal acts within Kamloops. According to Pender and Richard (12), “outside is both an educational and social experience.” In tandem with this assertion, it is evident that outside activities prepare one to take the responsibility for oneself. The outside activities make one to learn how to observe rules associated with safety. It is also through participation in outdoor activities that people learn about the essence of paying attention to things such as traffic. Additionally, the outdoor activities make one not only to be informed on the current conditions, but also to exercise common sense in all activities in life (Theobald 31). In terms of socialization, outdoor activities bring people from different regions together. The coming together of people allows them to share cultural practices as well as other social issues. In relation to health, research shows that the participation in community activities as well as surrounding oneself with family and friends reduces the chances of getting cold (Theobald 16). Additionally, the togetherness enhanced by socialization leads to increase in positive moods that boost the health of an individual. Recreational opportunities are often associated with positive impacts on the society. Living in Kamloops presents diverse social conditions that influent the way people live, work, and recreate (Pender and Richard32). The social benefits of the recreational activities range from promoting stewardship to reducing crime. Numerous studies also associate participation in outdoor activities with increased concern for the environment (Theobald 23). Survey opinions also show that open spaces, as well as recreation, reduces crimes significantly. Other social benefits of outdoor activities include strengthening communities, encouraging volunteerism, and promotion of social bonds. Kamloops is one of the tourist attraction centers in Canada. Kamloops is a gateway not only to high-quality outdoor activities, but also adventure opportunities as well as the areas of the tourism golf. The golf industry has a very significant contribution to Kamloops. This is evidenced by the direct spending associated with the industry. Based on direct, indirect as well as induced impacts, “Canada’s 2013 golf cluster economic impact accounts for about $14.3 billion of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up from $12.2 billion in 2008” (National Allied Golf Associations 2). The total gross production of golf is approximately $36.8 billion (National Allied Golf Associations 3). Golf industry also has very significant environmental benefits; many hectares of green space are managed by golf operators, including many hectares of unmanaged wildlife habitat. The outdoor activities in Kamloops create employment opportunities for the people. In relation to this, it is evident that golf provides an excellent job opportunity for people including students. This assertion is evidenced by the contribution of the golf industry to Canada as a country, in general. The Canadian golf industry employs approximately 126,000 people directly. The occupations of these people include equipment manufacturing, course operations as well as golf professional services. Other occupations include food services, maintenance and other aspects (National Allied Golf Associations 3). The total employment opportunities swell to 300,000 when direct, indirect and induced economic effects are put together. In relation to these job opportunities, it is evident that the golf industry serves as a good income to a good percentage of people. According to (National Allied Golf Associations 5), the total household income for the employees in the golf industry ranges between $1.9 billion and 8.4 billion. Additionally, it is evident that the golf industry employs a good number of students. The students not only earn a good income, but also get exposed to networking opportunities that will boost their career paths in the future (National Allied Golf Associations 5). As it was introduced above, golf is regarded as a game for many people. However, the Canadian golf industry regards it as an important economic generating activity. Among the golfers are legions of business people that use it to build relationships with clients, as well as reward customers. Some businessmen utilize golf as an outside office for signing and completion of contracts. “The golf industry pays $1.2 billion in property and other indirect taxes and $1.9 billion in income taxes” (IPOS Reid, p.1). From this assertion, one can deduce that outdoor activities in Kamloops contribute to the advancement of business activities through providing a platform for sharing ideas as well as making business decisions. Rock climbing is also one of the common outdoor activities in Kamloops. This recreational activity has grown in popularity, and as a result of this, it is attracting a good percentage of visitors to Kamloops. The economic benefits of tourism that visit Kamloops because of rock climbing are worth noting. The activity generates domestic income through selling of the locally produced goods and services like tourism and recreation products to the consumers from other communities other than the host community (Morris 6). Just like the golf industry, rock climbing, an outdoor activity related to the tourism business, increases the number of jobs in Kamloops. In other words, rock climbing with other tourism business related outdoor activities have strengthened as well as diversified the economy of Kamloops. They have led to the stepping away from dependence on natural resource-based primary production and adopting tourism development as a resource for economic advancement (Morris 9). The outdoor activities also enhance the success of charitable activities. In tandem with this assertion, it is evident that many charitable events are often hosted in Kamloops through the outdoor activities. The hosting of the charitable events is one of the key practices that lead to rising of a good amount of money. Conservation of the environment Evolution of technology has significantly affected the relationship of man with the environment. In most occasions, man spends time in enclosed places such as offices as well as working environment. This loss of touch with the environment affects the people’s health; it bars them from accessing natural light as well as fresh air that enhances not only improvement of physical health, but also spiritual and emotional health. In relation to this assertion, one can deduce that outdoor activities connect one with the environment. In relation to this assertion, the article “City of Kamloops” asserts that the leaders of Kamloops are working towards ensuring that it has advanced the cause of sustainability in Kamloops by advocating maintenance of natural resources for future generation (“City of Kamloops” 2014). Foreign importance of Kamloops’ outdoor activities Within a host country, economic impacts of outdoor activities result from the export in addition to the sale of locally produced goods and services to consumers from other countries. Outdoor activities have this capacity, fetching in new income into the host country by attracting visitors who spend the money they earned elsewhere (Morris 9). The expenditures made by visitors who visit Kamloops because of the outdoor activities translate directly into new income for the tourism business that is involved in providing visitor services. The taxes paid by the visitors also serve as one of the key sources of revenue (Morris 9). Sports fishing are also one of the outdoor activities in Kamloops that attracts international tourism. Sports fishing, as well as game hunting, boost the economy of Canada significantly by attracting tourists during off-peak seasons. They are assisting in generating economic prosperity through not only tourists’ purchase of gear, trucks and boats, but also through filling their tanks and coolers (The Economic Impact of Recreational Boating in Canada 5). The stay of the tourists in the motels and resorts also boosts the economy. According to (The Economic Impact of Recreational Boating in Canada 5), one of the key markets for the sport fishing and game hunting are tourists from the U.S. This is in relation to the fact that these outdoor activities correlate with the American tradition which is shared by young and old as well as rich and poor regardless of their economic status. To support the assertion that sport fishing and game hunting contributes to the economy of Canada, (The Economic Impact of Recreational Boating in Canada 5) claims that the two activities contributes to the creation of job opportunities. For instance, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters argues that hunting has become an important industry in Kamloops by associating it with the employment of 20,000 people (Venture Kamloops 5). In conclusion, outdoor activities play a very significant role in Kamloops. Apart from enhancing socialization and creation of job opportunities in the community, it also leads to the generation of domestic income. Outdoor activities also have a very significant foreign impact. They increase the number of tourist attractions to Kamloops, which, as a result, leads to the generation of economic income through taxes. The expenditure of the tourists in the motels, hotels and other areas within Kamloops also generates income to the city. Outdoor activities in Kamloops are also associated with protection and management of the environment. The activities not only connect people with the environment, but also create awareness on them on the essence of conserving natural resources. Additionally, outdoor activities in Kamloops have led to the stepping from dependence on the producing natural resources to other outdoor activities such as rock climbing and sports fishing. Works Cited City of Kamloops: Sustainable Kamloops Plan Foundations for Sustainability. 2014. Web. 23 March 2015. http://www.kamloops.ca/communityplanning/pdfs/11- SustainableKamloopsPlan-Foundations-12-11.pdf National Allied Golf Associations. Economic Impact of Golf in Canada. 2014. Web. 23 March 2015. http://www.ngcoa.ca/Userfiles/File/PDF-Link/SNG%20- %20Golf%202014%20Key%20Findings%20FINAL%20Report%20JUNE%202_ENG.p df The Economic Impact of Recreational Boating in Canada. 2012. Web. 23 March 2015. http://www.nmma.ca/assets/cabinets/Cabinet485/NMMA%20Boating%20Economic%20 Impact%20Study%202.pdf Morris, Randolph. The Contribution of Outdoor-Based Recreation Opportunities to Local Economies: The Economic Impacts of Rock-Climbing to the Squamish Region. Web. 23 March 2015. http://rem-main.rem.sfu.ca/theses/MorrisRandy_2007_MRM425.pdf Pender, Lesley, and Richard Sharpley.The Management of Tourism. London: Sage, 2005. Theobald, William F. Global Tourism. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005. Venture Kamloops. Economic Impact Study. 2014. Web. 23 March 2015. http://venturekamloops.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-Economic-Impact-Study- After-revisions.pdf IPOS Reid, Golf Participation Study in Canada, 2006. Web 23 March 2015. http://www.rcga.org/_uploads/documents/Membership/EN-Quick%20Facts- Ipsos%20Reid.pdf Read More