User:Wilderness Tourism

Wilderness Tourism Association

The BC Wilderness Tourism Association (WTA) is a non- profit organization, which exists to protect BC’s wilderness landscapes and intact functioning ecosystems. These are scarce natural resources that form the foundation of BC’s wilderness tourism sector – an integral part of an ecosystem based economy. The WTA mandate is to “Ensure a sustainable future for BC’s wilderness tourism industry through leadership, advocacy, and education.”

Founded in 1999, WTA was established to improve communications between tourism operators, governments and other industry sectors with respect to wilderness conservation and access to wilderness tourism opportunities. Today, WTA continues this work and has helped members across BC with individual and collective interests, needs and issues. ” On a day-to-day basis, WTA consults with a wide variety of government and non-government organizations, and other industry sectors to keep abreast of issues, policies, trends and research, and puts forward our concerns.

The WTA also represents one of the greenest tourism sectors in the world by advancing sustainable operating practices, investing in environmental stewardship, and working towards a triple bottom line. WTA Membership is made up of Direct Business Members, Regional and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and Sector Associations. Membership is open to any tourism entity in BC that supports its mandate.

The primary role of the WTA is to act as a coordinating, advocacy, and educational organization on behalf of wilderness tourism and recreation in BC. The WTA fulfills this role by: Representing wilderness as a legitimate land/marine use and a resource of identifiable value to society; Participating in provincial land and marine use decision processes and ensuring that wilderness interests and ecological systems are addressed in resource decisions; Working with other sectors such as forestry, mining, fisheries and oil and gas etc, to articulate issues and objectives and help secure wilderness landscapes and viewscapes, wildlife habitat and wilderness recreation opportunities; Ensuring the survival of key wildlife species such as wild salmon, which is being heavily impacted by unsustainable fish farming practices; Ensuring that natural, cultural and historical features are respected and maintained; Advocating new parks and wilderness resources, and working to maintain the integrity of existing parks and wilderness resources; Working to positively change (and in some cases enhance) government agency policies so that wilderness opportunities are recognized and protected, and properly managed; Educating the government, public and visitors to BC on conservation issues, related to wilderness recreation and encouraging the sustainable use of land and marine resources; Facilitating sector communication and education on issues and opportunities pertaining to nature based tourism in BC.

In addition to its regular operations, the WTA has two major program areas: the publication of our Be Wild in BC Magazine, profiling BC’s wilderness tourism sector, and the WTA Wilderness Stewardship Fund, which invests in conservation and stewardship projects and processes important to members.

Sources: www.wilderness-tourism.bc.ca; WTA News - News and Analysis from the BC Wilderness Tourism Association June 08, October 08