Spotlight on recreotourism

Editorial of March 21, 2024

Spring is coming (already!) the tip of his nose and with it these days of sunshine that are getting longer. Days when our activities after work or school are slowly coming back to life. Days where free time is pleasant. Free time... this social or leisure time where you can reconnect with others, take a walk, go to the museum, do your sport, enjoy a terrace with your friends, play with your children or stroll in a park with your family.

Leisure activities are activities that we choose for pleasure and that contribute to our personal or collective development, achievement and enrichment. Apart from vacations and trips (which not everyone can afford, let's remember), free time is, in my opinion, space-time to be reclaimed in our tourism industry if we want to be compatible with reasoned, responsible, social and local tourism.

In our territories, there is a wide range of customers, sometimes still invisible to our eyes (teenagers, families, workers, immigrants, health personnel, residents, merchants, merchants, students, students, indigenous communities,

local producers, artists, newcomers, people with modest incomes, etc.) who are just waiting to take advantage of our attractions, our landscapes and our activities. In our workshops with locals, we are still surprised at their lack of knowledge of their own region!

Let's revalue free time and these recreational activities that can be manual, artistic, cultural, sporting or outdoor. As you will see in our selected articles, they contribute to our well-being and happiness on a daily basis. Let's broaden our discussions with all of these actors for a more coherent and harmonious development.

If you are like me sensitive to this natural and necessary shift from a development and a tourist economy to a more recreotouristic economy, I leave you to your free time... to read!

Nadège

Original TouriScope article

Tourism as a lever for reconnecting with the territory

In a changing world, where the socio-ecological transition is emerging as an imperative, the tourism industry is positioned as a powerful lever to re-establish the link between individuals and their territory.

This societal transition, guided by a long-term vision, seeks to evolve from an economic growth model to a sustainable balance, taking into account environmental and social issues. Thus, tourism is proving to be a preferred way to encourage this fundamental reconnection. However, recreational tourism is proving to be an important avenue for this reconciliation.

In this perspective, we invite you to discover the six levers of tourism aimed at promoting this reconnection. From promoting local products to organizing events celebrating regional heritage, to entertaining educational excursions and enriching interpretive tools, each initiative contributes to forging deep connections between travelers and their environment. Discover without further delay our article on this subject, which discusses reconnecting with the land through examples of recreational tourism.

Elsewhere on the web

Recreation tourism in East Montreal

Discover a in-depth analysis on the recreational tourism potential of eastern Montreal. This study provides a detailed overview of the variety of experiences possible in this part of the city and the mosaic of visitors who might be interested in them. The article highlights current challenges and promising opportunities to increase the economic impact of recreational tourism. The strategic recommendations are based on a bold 2030 recreotourism vision that aims to radically transform the tourist landscape in eastern Montreal by promoting spaces whose uses and experiences are as beneficial for citizens as for visitors.

Recreation therapy by nature

From playing sports to contemplating in nature, each immersion can influence our well-being. These activities would offer unique benefits, stimulating the hormones of happiness and promoting a deep self-connection with the places visited. The article explores also the scientific evidence behind the mental health benefits of being outdoors. Indeed, the World Health Organization confirms that time spent in nature reduces stress, builds self-confidence, and even improves our mental abilities, thus increasing our creativity and concentration. Five initiatives from Quebec are presented here and can serve as inspiration to create and offer local recreational tourism experiences while taking into account the benefits that this can bring to all.

Practicing your leisure time on vacation

In English, we call them the “hobbiday”. This article talks about a real trend of 2024: doing simple recreational activities that provide us with dopamine and that simply contribute to our well-being, while traveling. Gardening, pottery, cooking, dancing, painting, painting, painting, fishing, hiking... these activities that usually make up our daily lives are also what tourists are looking for when traveling, now prioritizing their mental health above all else. An ode to slow time and recreational activities!

New imaginaries: the value of free time and leisure

Vacations in the sun, especially away from home, have long been about happiness and disconnection. What if we restored the image of recreational activities as a pillar of our daily balance? What if we made it a real “art of living”? This article questions our relationship to free time and provides us with some elements for reflection on its use. Alternative to overcrowding, time to reconnect with others so important in our context of social divide, solution to the climate crisis... The author's questioning about free time brings us to our relationship to time in general. What value are we going to give it?

Our projects

Recreational, nautical and cultural center - Lachine Canal

Touriscope is proud to have contributed to first steps of the reflections to transform the former Lachine marina into a real recreational, nautical and cultural park serving citizens first and foremost. Indeed, the desire was to allow residents to reappropriate the site and to develop the waterfront park and the surroundings of the Lachine Canal in order to democratize access to water, protect the banks and revitalize this space to make it a vibrant living environment. The main objective of the project is to improve the quality of life of the population by promoting physical activity and recreation as well as by revitalizing this heritage sector of Old Lachine and the Lachine Canal National Historic Site. TourScope contributed to this large-scale project with a benchmark that allowed the partners to draw inspiration from good practices that were being done elsewhere and the positive impacts that this had had. Today, the transformation of this site is continuing in concrete terms and major works are continuing.

Touriscope at the 2024 Quebec Leisure Forum

One of our Girl Scouts, Sophie Monnier, recently participated in the 8th edition of the Quebec Leisure Forum. This annual event is intended to be a place of exchange to reflect on the challenges and issues of the environment, in particular access to leisure. A segment was devoted to recreotourism and more particularly to the transition to the regenerative sector where the speaker invited us to rethink our relationship with territories and to build relationships in a different way. After a fairly clear observation on sustainable tourism, in his opinion, regenerative initiatives are much more necessary and positive. This requires a complete review of our way of thinking: ideas must come from the community and initiatives must above all meet the expectations of locals. If the territory is dynamic for locals, it will be dynamic for tourists. Thus, let's regenerate culture, lifestyles, landscapes or traditions. Let's work on this ability to regenerate these non-market resources and promote local activities.

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