Pet tourism

As a dog owner I am sometimes limited in the places I can visit when out for the day. Many locations (understandably) don't allow dogs other than assistance dogs to enter their premises. So it is always nice to find somewhere that not only lets them in, but actively thanks you for supporting their business. So I present to you the Oliver's Mount cafe in Scarborough, a basic little place on the side of a hill overlooking the town. Dogs are welcome in the cafe, there is lots of space outside for them to scamper around and, best of all, they get a treat for visiting. In fact, it looked so good I almost ate one myself but didn't, sticking instead to my cup of Bovril!

A friend in New Zealand, the driving force behind http://www.caninespirit.co.nz/, is researching the topic of pets and tourism for her PhD. So expect more blogs on this topic in the future. And in the meantime, think about what you could do to help develop this niche market!

Universities and destination development

I was recently asked to write a book chapter on the subject of universities and their contribution to tourism. Surprisingly little has been written on the subject  - in the late 1990s one academic wrote a bit on the use of university accommodation and in 2000 UNESCO published a whole journal about university museums.  But I have been struggling to find more detailed research on the role of universities in place making for tourism, or in destination development.  So the next few weeks are going to involve a lot of primary research, an intensive literature review and some rapid writing up.  That’s not an excuse for me not updating the blog on a regular basis, but bear with me and I’ll be able to share some interesting stuff in a month or so. In the meantime, here is a picture of the James Graham Building at Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK - this campus will be hosting a training camp for the Chinese athletics squad competing at the 2012 Olympics this summer - sports & events tourism  based at university campuses is surely one area that is worthy of further investigation by someone.