4.0 For What Purpose is Inventory Information Used?
Due to the broad scope of the culture, recreation and tourism topic, there is a wide range of inventory information collected. Also, there is an equally wide range of purposes to which inventory information is put.
This chapter attempts to answer the question "For what purpose is tourism, recreation and/or culture inventory information used?" or "Why do you need inventory information?" This focus is intended to assess the range of uses.
It is also necessary to understand what inventory information is currently being used by the various agencies. Our analysis separated inventory users into several categories. A brief description of each is provided.
Federal government departments collect and/or use a variety of culture, recreation and tourism inventory information. The emphasis on tourism, recreation or culture varies by department, although the most common focus is on recreation. Often this is a by-product of the ministries' primary focus. For example, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for monitoring and maintaining fish stocks. One of their objectives in undertaking these responsibilities is to enhance the recreational fishing sector.
Provincial government ministries also collect and/or use a broad range of culture, recreation and tourism inventory information. This includes data on a variety of biophysical features and attributes. A great deal of unmapped database information is also collected, particularly describing tourism facilities and cultural sites/amenities. Although not strictly "inventory" related, many provincial agencies also generate, demand, or resource use information.
Local and regional governments use inventory information which documents land use within their boundaries. This includes heritage inventories, census reports, and land capability analysis. They also use a variety of "user" information from tourism surveys and recreation reports.
A range of other agencies use culture, recreation and tourism inventory information. These include consultants, university staff and students, industry associations, tour operators, tourism business operators and resource companies. The inventory information used varies by agency but typically involves biophysical mapping, databases and user-type surveys.
Culture, recreation and tourism inventory information is used for a variety of purposes. Federal and Provincial agencies are using inventory information to help them meet their mandates. From a tourism perspective, this includes land use planning, integrated resource planning, community planning, product development, and market development. In terms of recreation, the resource information is used to manage, promote, and protect recreational resources. The main cultural focus is towards heritage where inventory information is used to promote awareness of heritage and to encourage protection of heritage resources.
Local governments use culture, recreation and tourism inventory information for land use planning and to make land use decisions regarding private or public sector development projects. The information provides background material for development strategy formulation or referrals to other agencies.
A number of other non-government agencies regularly use inventory information for a variety of purposes. Resource based companies use the information to minimize impact on recreational and/or cultural resources. Tourism developers use biophysical information to assist in planning their facilities. Recreational agencies use inventories to prepare maps and other publications to serve their members.
Agencies involved with outdoor recreation use inventory information to determine an area's potential for recreation. It is also used as a tool to assist in the conservation of outdoor recreation resources and to enhance interpretation. Universities use inventory information to examine resource issues, review conflicts, and assess areas of overlapping interest. Consultants are generally working for private or public sector clients and require inventory information to help assess the viability of investment decisions in the case of private sector development or to provide direction to government agencies making resource assessment and allocation decisions.
Persons contacted as part of this project were asked how effective they felt current inventory information was in meeting their needs. A range of replies were given, but the overall consensus was that existing inventories are not very effective.
Of the agency representatives contacted, approximately 80% stated that existing inventories were "not very effective". The remaining 20% indicated that current inventory information was either "adequate" or was "not needed" to meet their agency's mandate.
The reasons given for this lack of effectiveness vary considerably, but can be grouped into the following categories:
There does not appear to be any significant difference between the opinions of resource managers (government) and inventory users (industry, associations, or the public). The only issue more consistently brought up by user groups had to do with access to the information and the level of detail available.
With the exception of a few non-government organizations and clubs, most agencies surveyed use tourism, recreation and/or culture inventory information. The type of information used varies with each organization, although federal and provincial government agencies are most likely to make primary use of internally generated information and secondary use of inventories generated by other departments of government. This information is largely resource oriented. Local or regional governments and non-government agencies are more likely to make use of any relevant information available to them. This might include formal government generated information but is just as likely to include information lists, reports, strategies, photographs, etc. The inventories used by these agencies provide resource information as well as user, trend, potential, value, and other non-resource information.
The inventories used by responding agencies vary significantly in terms of scope, focus, quality, format, and content. The geographic scope of available inventories ranges from coverage of the whole province to coverage of a municipality. Focus can be as specific as 'heritage schools' or as broad as all tourism resources in a given area. Quality and format vary from typed lists with handwritten updates to sophisticated, high capacity, multi-use GIS systems. However, the most significant variation occurs in the area of content with inventories providing information on a broad range of culture, recreation and tourism related subjects including, for example:
Whether it is because government agencies generate much of the existing inventory information or are more aware of access opportunities, it appears they are more likely to make use of higher quality, standardized and computerized inventories than are non-government organizations. While some non-governmental organizations do access this kind of inventory information, they are also more likely to use informal inventory information such as strategies, reports, lists, and photographs.
Agencies use culture, recreation and tourism for many reasons, all of' which correspond directly to the mandate or objectives of the user agencies. Generally, government agencies use inventory information as a tool to assist them in the management (preservation, protection, promotion, assessment) of the resource for which they are responsible. Non-governmental agencies put inventory information to a much broader range of uses. These include using inventory information to aid them in marketing activities, academic research, business opportunity assessment, meeting government regulating requirements, protecting a specific resource, or identifying interpretation opportunities. These two perspectives have in common the requirement for detailed and specific information about the resources.
With the exception of a few highly focused user groups, the majority of respondents (80%) stated that existing culture, recreation and tourism inventories are not very effective in meeting their needs. Reasons for this lack of effectiveness range from lack of detail and provincial coverage to data credibility and lack of standards. It also stems from changing needs of inventory users.