Articles tagged with: tourism

2026 Geography and Tourism Studies Spring/Summer Courses

Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | By Janine Duff
Whether you want to jump on the fast track to graduation, reduce next year’s course load, satisfy a program requirement or pick up an elective, Brock’s Department of Geography and Tourism Studies is offering a wide array of Spring/Summer courses to help you advance your area of study and explore topics of interest.

Course Spotlight: TOUR/GEOG 2P36: Human Rights, Geography and Development

ASY – ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE

In today’s tumultuous times, how does the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights protect human rights in Canada and around the world — and is it enough? How do natural disasters, artificial intelligence, and the rise of exclusionism affect human rights?
- Explore rights and equity issues in development, mobility, displacement and the environment.
- Examine how current events affect civil and political rights in different geographic environments.
- Develop critical thinking skills, which are invaluable for your future career, such as analyzing the links between human rights, news, and social media.
Restrictions: minimum of 4.0 overall credits or permission of the instructor.

This course may also be of interest to students in Political Science, Sociology, Business, Education, Psychology and History.

Other Spring/Summer Geography and Tourism Studies Courses

Spring:
- GEOG 1P03: Vulnerability, Human Communities and Environment
- TOUR/GEOG 3F55: Vancouver Field Course
- TOUR 1P91: Introduction to Tourism
- TOUR 2P32: Nature-Based Tourism
Summer:
- GEOG 1P12: Our Changing Environment: Human Impacts
Learn more about our Spring GEOG and TOUR courses and our Summer GEOG courses.

Registration opens March 3!

For more information or to register for Brock’s Spring/Summer courses, visit brocku.ca/springsummer
Tags: course, geography, tourism
Categories: News
2025 Geography and Tourism Studies Spring/Summer Courses

Monday, March 03, 2025 | By Janine Duff
Whether you want to jump on the fast track to graduation, reduce next year’s course load, satisfy a program requirement or pick up an elective, Brock’s Department of Geography and Tourism Studies is offering a wide array of Spring/Summer courses to help you advance your area of study and explore topics of interest.

Course Spotlight: GEOG/TOUR 2P14: Geographies of Alcohol Production in Niagara

ASY – ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE

Interested in exploring how alcohol production in Niagara has influenced cultural and economic processes such as place-branding, regional development, and tourism? In this survey course, you’ll use geographical concepts to understand the history of alcohol production and wine tourism in Niagara.
- Explore social and cultural trends such as the rise of craft alcohol production and alcohol-related tourism.
- Examine the role of government policy on alcohol production, distribution and consumption.
- Study how health concerns, climate change and physical geography have impacted alcohol production.
Please note that you do not require any prior knowledge of geography or alcohol production and consumption to take this course.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course may also be of interest to students in Oenology and Viticulture, Economics, Sociology, Biology and History.

Other Spring/Summer Geography and Tourism Studies Courses

Spring:
- GEOG 1P03: Vulnerability, Human Communities and Environment
- GEOG 1P12: Our Changing Environment: Human Impacts
- GEOG/TOUR 2P07: Introduction to Geospatial Technologies
- GEOG 3Q99: Field School-Quaternary Geology
- TOUR 1P91: Introduction to Tourism
- TOUR 2P98: Anime Tourism
Cross-listed (Spring):
- ESRC/GEOG 3Q99: Field School-Quaternary Geology
Learn more about our Spring GEOG and TOUR courses and our Summer GEOG and TOUR courses.

Registration opens March 5!

For more information or to register for Brock’s Spring/Summer courses, visit brocku.ca/springsummer
Tags: course, geography, tourism
Categories: News
New agreement expands exchange opportunities in the Netherlands

Wednesday, May 22, 2024 | By Samantha Morris
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024 | by Mel Smith | Reposted from The Brock News
Brock University and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences signed a Student Exchange Agreement in April to expand opportunities for student mobility and collaboration. Brock University Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Academic Brian Power (seated left) and President of NHL Stenden Erica Schaper (seated right) were joined by senior leaders of both institutions as well as staff involved in student exchange projects under the new agreement.
Brock University and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences are working together to strengthen their global connections and create new international opportunities for students and faculty.

The universities signed a Student Exchange Agreement on Friday, April 26 that is set to expand opportunities for student mobility and collaboration.

“Exposing individuals to different perspectives, languages and cultures fosters tolerance, empathy and global citizenship, preparing graduates to thrive in a multicultural world,” said Brock University’s Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Academic Brian Power during the signing ceremony.

Representatives from NHL Stenden, including President Erica Schaper, Chairperson of the International Advisory Board Stephen Dunnett, Director of International Affairs Wayne Johnson and Study Abroad Co-ordinators Afke Bruinsma and Moniek Dijkema, toured Brock’s campus before the formal signing, deepening their understanding of how their students and faculty can collaborate with the Brock community.

“We constantly seek opportunities and possibilities for our students to push their boundaries and further develop themselves,” said Johnson. “We believe this partnership with Brock University will create these moments and therefore we are excited to sign this exchange agreement and look forward to further developing our relationship to include many more possibilities.”

International partnerships are facilitated through Brock International. For more information, please visit the Brock International website.
Tags: Atsuko Hashimoto, Danuta de Grosbois, David Telfer, exchange, geography, International, Michael Pisaric, NHL Stenden, Partnership, Samantha Morris, Student Opportunities, Study abroad, tourism
Categories: News
Brock students win leadership competition

Thursday, April 11, 2024 | By Samantha Morris
THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2024 | by Colleen Patterson | Reposted from The Brock News
Third-year Medical Sciences student Randa Joatar (left), second-year Medical Sciences student Tochukwu Daniel Oguejiofor, Medical Sciences Research Assistant Kanishka Wijesundara (BSc ‘23), fourth-year Business Administration student Kylor Huang, Brock University Student Life and Success, Leadership Development Coordinator Travis Greene (BA ‘19), first-year accounting student Isabella Berardi, third-year Sport Management student Aryan Debojyoti Purkayastha, and fourth-year Tourism and Management student Ryan On celebrate their first-place win at the Collegiate Leadership Competition’s National Invitational on Saturday, March 16.
A team of Brock University students took home first place during the Collegiate Leadership Competition’s (CLC) National Invitational last month.

Brock students competed against other Ontario college and university teams at Wilfred Laurier University on Saturday, March 16.

To prepare, the team spent months honing their ability to provide support and problem-solve while uncovering their unique leadership skills.

“Everyone has the ability to be a leader in their own way. Anyone can be a leader because leadership is a process, not a position,” said Travis Greene (BA ‘19), Leadership Development Co-ordinator for Brock University’s Student Life and Success and the team’s coach.

Greene and Assistant Coach Kanishka Wijesundara (BSc ‘23) worked with six students on Brock’s team:

Isabella Berardi, first-year Co-op Accounting

Aryan Debojyoti Purkayastha, third-year Sport Management

Kylor Huang, fourth-year Business Administration

Randa Joatar, third-year Medical Sciences

Ryan On, fourth-year Tourism Studies

Tochukwu Daniel Oguejiofo, second-year Medical Sciences

Joatar said training for the CLC taught her valuable lessons in leadership.

“It’s more than merely sharing a vision and delegating tasks. It’s about offering support, understanding the stresses of teammates and knowing when to act as the lead or support,” she said. “This experience was a great way to gain transferrable skills and make friends along the way.”

Greene is hopeful the CLC win will inspire more people interested in getting involved across campus, whether that be with through Campus-Wide Co-Curriculum, volunteering or enrolling in one of the many training opportunities available to students and Brock employees.

“The successes of these six students can be seen as a massive inspiration to all students at Brock,” says Greene. “This year’s team have acquired a wide arrange of skills, involvement and passions that any other student on campus can achieve themselves if they want to.”

Following the national CLC success, Brock’s team went on to compete against schools across Canada and the United States in the CLC Global Championship online on Thursday, April 4 and Saturday, April 6. The team placed seventh and was one of only three teams to get a perfect score on the final activity of the competition.

For more information about student leadership opportunities, visit Brock’s Student Life Success website.
Tags: Competition, leadership, Ryan On, student, Student Life, student news, tourism, Tourism Studies
Categories: News
PHOTO GALLERY: Community gathers for Brock’s inaugural World Water Day Celebration

Friday, March 22, 2024 | By Samantha Morris

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024 | by Amanda Bishop | Reposted from The Brock News

Geography and Education student Damian Haitas (left) and Isaiah Boekestyn, a Kinesiology major and Geography minor, discussed the GEOG/TOUR 4P83 Photovoice display at the first annual World Water Day Celebration.

The Rankin Family Pavilion Atrium saw a flood of interested students, staff, faculty members and community visitors on Friday, March 22 at Brock’s World Water Day Celebration.

Hosted by Brock’s Water Resilience Lab and Department of Geography and Tourism Studies, the inaugural event featured a research showcase, educational exhibits, artistic displays, interactive stations — including a bottled water versus tap water taste-testing station courtesy of Niagara Region — and community organization booths with job and volunteer opportunities as well as valuable information about the many ways that water affects the Niagara region.

View the photo gallery here

Tags: community, event, geography, Julia Baird, Niagara Region, Samantha Morris, Students, tourism, water, Water Resilience Lab, World Water Day
Categories: News
Community invited to Brock’s World Water Day celebration

Monday, March 18, 2024 | By Samantha Morris
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2024 | by Amanda Bishop | From The Brock News
Associate Professor Julia Baird (left), PhD in Sustainability Science student Hannah Marlen Lübker and Academic Advisor Samantha Morris have organized Brock’s first ever community event to celebrate World Water Day.
Water — and all that it means to the world — will be celebrated at an upcoming community event hosted by Brock University.

Brock’s Water Resilience Lab and Department of Geography and Tourism Studies will host the inaugural World Water Day Celebration on Friday, March 22 to showcase the many ways people study, appreciate and engage with water at the University and across the Niagara region.

The free public event, funded in part by the Council for Research in the Social Sciences, brings to life a long-term goal of Julia Baird, Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience.

“Water touches so many aspects of our lives — what we learn and the research that happens at Brock, as well as issues of water management, water conservation and the well-being of our community and ecosystems in the broader Niagara community,” says the Associate Professor in the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre and the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies.

Baird has worked closely with Samantha Morris, Academic Advisor and Communications Co-ordinator in Geography and Tourism Studies, and graduate student volunteer Hannah Marlen Lübker to bring together the community to share the myriad of ways that water is important.

The World Water Day Celebration will open at 10 a.m. in the Rankin Family Pavilion on Brock’s main campus. Students can learn about the many water-related courses on offer and the community can discover some of the dynamic water research being undertaken at Brock.

Between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., attendees can peruse water-themed informational and research posters from graduate and undergraduate students, an array of artistic submissions, featured course highlights or displays that combine all of these features, such as a PhotoVoice exhibit from one of Baird’s courses and the VISA 2P90 exhibit currently on display in the Matheson Learning Commons and Thistle display cases on “Women, Water, and Words: An Exploration of Visual Culture in Niagara.”

The James A. Gibson Library has also curated a featured collection of print and e-books entitled “Exploring Deep Waters” to highlight ways to learn more about water.

From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., interactive booths will open featuring Brock researchers and community groups and organizations, including the following:

Niagara Region

Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority

Niagara Parks Commission

Niagara Geopark

Soaring Eagles Indigenous Elementary School

Brock’s Department of Geography and Tourism Studies

Water Resilience Lab

Researchers will share their projects and community organizations will highlight their work as well as volunteer and student job opportunities that may be available. Visitors present during the interactive portion of the day can enter a prize draw, which includes a $50 gift card for Someday Books. The draw will take place at 1:30 p.m.

All members of the Brock and wider communities are invited to drop in and enjoy this all-encompassing tribute to water.

Reposted from The Brock News
Tags: community, event, geography, Julia Baird, research, Samantha Morris, tourism, water, World Water Day
Categories: News
New summer course to explore anime tourism

Thursday, March 07, 2024 | By Samantha Morris

By Amanda Bishop | Reposted from the Brock News

Learn about how anime fans who flock to locations in Japan to celebrate their favourite films and characters are shaping a new form of tourism in TOUR 2P98 this summer.

A new Brock course taking place this summer will dive into the phenomenon of tourism driven by anime fandom.

“Anime Tourism,” offered asynchronously online by the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies as TOUR 2P98 in the Summer 2024 session, is open to students with five or more credits. No knowledge of Japanese language is required. Registration for the Spring and Summer Terms is now open.

The course will examine anime culture, the development of anime tourism destinations and the impact of anime tourism. It will also explore the geography, history, culture and mythology of Japan.

Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies Atsuko Hashimoto photographed this statue of characters from Attack on Titan in Hita, Japan.

“I am interested in how anime tourism is contributing to the development or rejuvenation of communities,” says Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies Atsuko Hashimoto, who also plans to offer the course in the Fall/Winter session. “There are certain anime films which have specific towns or specific locations — the shrine, the forest or the part of the townscape — that are so precisely drawn that many people can actually identify the location and want to visit it.”

Her research explores the trend of anime fans seeking out the physical locations of animated settings and travelling there to mimic favourite characters and take photos for social media, which she compares to similar pastimes like geocaching.

Hashimoto says that when fans decide to travel to locations from their favourite anime, there can be both positive and negative social and economic effects, and the course will explore all of these dimensions.

As an example, she points out that while much of the current anime tourism phenomenon is driven by Japanese fans, international visitors descending on a location that is unprepared to receive them with accommodation or translators can create problems.

However, the economic benefits of anime tourism are motivating many local governments to devote resources — from new special divisions of government to YouTube channels showcasing towns — to attracting filmmakers and creating even more interest in their locations.

“We can already see how the Japanese Government, local tourism marketing offices, businesses and even local people are taking advantage of this anime tourism phenomenon, even trying to be featured in anime films,” she says.

Hashimoto says she is looking forward to discussing favourite anime examples with students and exploring how fans can help build a sustainable and responsible tourist industry around anime.

Together with Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies David Telfer, Hashimoto recently presented a paper on anime tourism entitled “Fictive Places in the Real World: Anime Film Tourism and Regional Development in Japan” at the International Conference on Literary and Film Tourism in Barcelona, Spain. She will soon speak at an event hosted by the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Toronto on the cultural significance of anime as a lead-in to a screening of the 2022 film Suzume (Suzume no Tojimari).

Story reposted from the Brock News

Tags: Anime Tourism, Atsuko Hashimoto, course, Japan, New Course, TOUR, TOUR 2P98, tourism
Categories: News
Seed exchange brings spring to campus

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 | By Samantha Morris

By Colleen Patterson | From The Brock News

Plant and gardening enthusiasts got a head start on spring at the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies’ third annual seed and plant exchange. Members of the Brock community perused a variety of fruit, vegetable, herb and flower seeds to take home on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Student Affairs Case Coordinator Keely Burger (left) and Associate Director of Student Affairs Darryl Veld (right) chose to brighten their office spaces with some of the household plants and cuttings available at the event. Five volunteers and representatives from the Brock University Seed Library were on site providing advice and additional resources during the exchange. More photos can be viewed on the Geography and Tourism Studies Facebook, X and Instagram accounts.

Story reposted from The Brock News.

Tags: event, geography, Plant and Seed Exchange, tourism
Categories: News
CRC Spotlight: Brock researcher examining ways to foster water resilience

Wednesday, February 07, 2024 | By Samantha Morris
By Cathy Majtenyi | From The Brock News
As Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience, Julia Baird investigates how decisions regarding water use or activities that have an impact on water are made at the government, community and individual levels.
The federal government’s Canada Research Chairs program invests up to $311 million per year to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds. Chairholders are recognized to be national and international experts in the fields of engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences. Brock University has 10 active Canada Research Chairs, with more to be announced. This monthly series profiles the work, and lives, of Brock’s Chairholders.

When she wants to take a break in her busy schedule, Julia Baird heads out to a lake or river.

“I’ve always found water to be a source of calm in my life,” says the Associate Professor in Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) and the Department of Geography and Tourism.

“Water is critical to life; it’s inherent in us that we’re connected to water,” she says. “I think of the well-being of future generations and how important it is to support sustainability.”

As Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience, Baird investigates activities that have an impact on water. She studies how decisions regarding water use are made at the government, community and individual levels through her Water Resilience Lab.

“The diversity of voices, and how those voices are included and connected, is critical for creating the right conditions for water sustainability,” she says.

Central to her work is the concept of water resilience, which Baird says involves “being able to continue to support the well-being of the system despite whatever disturbances may arise.”

Baird says there are three ways to respond to disturbances in the environment, such as floods or droughts brought about by climate change: persist where possible in spite of disturbances, adapt to situation or transform the way society operates to mitigate or avoid disastrous impacts.

Ideally, decision-making processes related to water, as well as related areas such as land-use planning, agricultural operations, coastline protection and erosion control, are guided by water resilience principles and practices.

Baird has long been fascinated by how people make decisions and how individuals influence decisions carried out at the political level. Her research looks at how psychological traits, such as empathy and self-efficacy at the individual level, can motivate the public to support decisions that lead to water sustainability.

Empathy is associated with attitudes that reflect stronger support for resilience-based approaches for the environment.

In a study led by Baird, participants in six countries who read three scenarios describing situations of flooding, drought and depleted fish stocks gave moderate to strong support for governance taking a resilience-based approach.

“We know that empathy is malleable, it can change in people,” says Baird. “The question is, how can we build empathy broadly so that the public will influence changes that can have positive impacts down the line?”

Baird earned her PhD in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Saskatchewan in 2012 and came to Brock as a post-doctoral fellow. She became Associate Professor in the ESRC and the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies in 2021.

In that same year, Baird was granted her Canada Research Chair position, which was renewed in 2022.

Baird has had a number of accomplishments during her terms, including:

Helping to create the WWF-Canada – Brock Partnership for Freshwater Resilience.

Receiving the 2020 national Water’s Next Award in the category of “People: Academic Leader.”

Co-editing a book on water resilience.

Participating in large research networks including ResNet, which is focused on ecosystem services governance in Canada.

Joining the research team at the University of Michigan’s Global Centre for Understanding Climate Change Impacts.

In her second term, Baird plans to test interventions to build empathy broadly in society and examine the long-term impacts of empathy interventions on behaviour.

“Ultimately, our work is centered on finding solutions to some of today’s most pressing water issues,” says Baird. “I’m motivated by that every day.”
Story reposted from The Brock News
Tags: CRC, environment, funding, geography, Julia Baird, research, tourism, water
Categories: News
Brock displays sculpture by renowned Indigenous architect

Wednesday, January 17, 2024 | By Samantha Morris

By Colleen Patterson | From The Brock News

Friends of Laura Second President Caroline McCormick (left) and Brock Associate Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies David Brown stand beside the bronze Sunflame sculpture, which will be on display in Brock University Library’s Makerspace until spring.

The Brock Library’s Makerspace is the temporary home of a bronze sculpture created by renowned Indigenous architect Douglas Cardinal. Sunflame will take its place as the centrepiece of the First Nations Peace Monument at Decew House Heritage Park in Thorold in the spring.

The Sunflame bronze sculpture as it will look when permanently installed as the centrepiece of the First Nations Peace Monument at Decew House Heritage Park in Thorold in the spring of 2024.

The monument, located just minutes from Brock’s main campus, honours and acknowledges the significant contributions of First Nations people in the building of Canada.

“Though the First Nations Peace Monument is small in size and tucked away in a secluded park setting in Thorold, it has enormous national significance,” says Associate Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies David Brown, who played a major role in the monument project.

“It’s dedicated to the proposition that the commonalities and shared experiences that bind us together as allies today must become much stronger than our historic differences.”

Brock partnered with the non-profit community group Friends of Laura Secord to display Sunflame so the community can enjoy the sculpture before it moves to its permanent location.

The glass-walled Makerspace, located in the busy Rankin Family Pavilion, is an ideal venue to prominently display the sculpture.

“The Makerspace is honoured to be the temporary home of the Sunflame sculpture,” says Makerspace Supervisor Derek Schneider. “We hope to educate the Brock community on all things pertaining to ‘making’ while paying homage to our rich Indigenous community and heritage.”

Cardinal’s signature designs draw inspiration from the organic forms of the natural world, and he uses technology, similar to the 3D rendering and printing tools available in the Makerspace, to translate them into distinctive architectural and sculptural works.

Some of his works include the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., TELUS World of Science in Edmonton, Alta., and the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

For more information about the monument, scan the QR code at the Sunflame display, download the GuideTags digital interpretive app. Brock’s display includes information brochures and closed-captioned videos about Niagara history as well as points of interest along the Laura Secord Legacy Trail and the Niagara Indigenous Heritage Trail.

To learn more about technology and workshops offered to the Brock and wider community, visit the Makerspace website.

Story reposted from The Brock News.

Tags: David Brown, geography, tourism
Categories: News