| Community tourism development affects both residents and visitors. In a study conducted in the tourism destination area of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, residents, resident tourism professionals, and visitors, were asked to freely choose elements in the community which they strongly liked or disliked and which conveyed a sense of place.; Visitor and resident employed photography along with commentary supplied by the photographer participants allowed for the emergence of a consentient visual image of the tourism destination area. Visitors expressed stronger sentiments of liking and of uniqueness for the area than did residents. A significant aspect of the image which emerged was the omnipresence of nature. Participants alluded to the power of nature in the world's largest lake, Superior, and the gazing behavior it elicited from them. They discovered or confirmed that the area is blessed with a unique and spectacular natural heritage. But, residents do feel isolated from other people and places. They yearn for attachment, meaning, and preservation in their built and natural surroundings. Tourism professionals expressed desire for more planning, sophistication, and optimization of resources for economic and social development All residents desire aesthetics and progress, but would sacrifice progress if excessive environmental degradation threatened. Visitors enjoy glimpses of heritage and beauty, but express limited involvement in conservation issues.; Residents and visitors agree that the Thunder Bay tourism destination area is far from placeless. Participants said that gazing over Lake Superior from the Nor' Wester Mountains infuses a perception “like no place on earth,” and offers “a feeling of permanence.”... |
