Remote communities and employment: tourism’s current and potential role

Seminar at University of Lapland – Arctic city-communities and the extractive industries: urbanisation, industrial livelihoods and

sustainability – PhD Course, UArctic Thematic Network – Dec 1-6/13

Gordon B Cooke, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Assigned readings (1 of 3): Cooke, G.B., Donaghey, J. & Zeytinoglu, I.U. 2013. The nuanced nature of work quality:

evidence from rural Newfoundland and Ireland. Human Relations, 66(4), 503-527.

Data collected via 88 semi-structured interviews in rural Newfoundland and Ireland in 2009 and 2010. ‘Rural’ locations ranged from suburban (i.e. within daily commuting distance of a city) to rural service centre towns to truly small and remote communities in both locations, although not ‘Arctic remote/fly-in-type communities.

Participants could talk about their personal or family circumstances, or about employment and lifestyle issues generally existing within their communities. So, we don’t have 88 personal vignettes.

Types of employment: generally, few full-time, full-year (FTFY) jobs once one gets beyond suburban locations. FTFY is primarily for those lucky enough to have a government job, but even post office, town official, health care, and civil servant jobs are often part-time or seasonal. People tend to ‘piece together’ different opportunities to make a living.

Types of lifestyles: community development/clubs (but to raise money or improve facilities, not just recreation), hiking, outdoors, friends, family, ‘make our own fun’ GBC: Is this accurate, or a caricature, or both?

Assigned readings (2 of 3): Cooke, G.B., Donaghey, J. & Zeytinoglu, I.U. 2013. The nuanced nature of work quality:

evidence from rural Newfoundland and Ireland. Human Relations, 66(4), 503-527.

Vast majority of participants were 40+ years of age Our thinking was that, by age 40, people have had the chance to reflect and prioritize

or re-prioritize their wants and needs and goals Typology:

Life first, work secondary: seeking work that fits within one’s priorities in life. Intrinsic reward seekers: seeking a feeling of accomplishment or satisfaction from work Social butterflies: looking for regarding social interactions at work Extrinsic reward seekers: a good dob is one that is secure, pays well and provides good benefits

and a pension. Modest budgeters: a good ob is one that pays enough and provides enough benefits… Grateful returnees: happy to be able to return to rural roots and will take any avaikbale work Restless returnees: will only stay if they can find sufficiently good quality employment

Implications: A good job does not necessarily have to be full-time or full-year or good paying or to have benefits! Maybe job creation funds should be spread widely and thinly, not deeply and narrowly Wow! A seasonal job in tourism might be a good job for many..

Assigned readings (3 of 3): Cooke, G.B., Burns, J.K. and McManamon, D. K. 2013. The Case for Public Investment

in Cultural Tourism in Gros Morne National Park (GMNP). Prepared for Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Newfoundland and Labrador.

There is substantial emirirical and theoretical support, within academic and government literature, for the investment of public funds to support cultural tourism.

Cultural tourism is the packaging of past and present activities in a manner to attract visitors. Those activities can be tangible like museums or landscapes or intangibles like music, rituals and folklore. (Screeching-in or kissing the blarney?!?)

There is a ‘chicken or egg’ problem. In a rural (and remote) area, there might not be enough customers to sustain profitable tourism businesses, but unless there is a critical mass of businesses, tourists won’t be attracted to visit that area. In this situation, there is, arguably, a role for governments to take the lead.

Tourism investments need to be developed within an understanding of broader social an economic policies. For instance, in Newfoundland, the tourist season needs to be stretched in the shoulder season so that individuals can get 14 weeks of full-time work, even if there are few tourists for the rest of the year. In Ireland, having a steady stream of tourists throughout the year is better, even if it provides part-time hours.

Tourism should only be part of a region’s economy, and tourism employment is likely going to contain primarily non-standard (i.e. seasonal and/r part-time) jobs, many of an entry-level nature.

Discussion questions (1) Based on the assigned readings:

How applicable are the findings from these two rural studies to the Arctic communities you study?

For remote communities, what are the likely beneficial effects of public investment in tourism?

For remote communities, what are the likely negative effects of public investments in tourism?

Is the net effect likely to be positive?

If the decision is made to invest in tourism, is it important to focus on cultural tourism? (That might mean less tourists and revenue, but more of a specific type)

Gord’s favourite question: If not extractive industries and not tourism, then what can economically sustain rural/remote communities?