Introduction to the Tourism of North America
Let’s begin with a little physical geography
Major landform regions of the US and Canada (see text)
1. Canadian Shield
2. The Gulf Atlantic Coastal Plain
3. The Piedmont
fall line cities between #2 & #3
4. The Appalachian Mountains
5. The Central or Interior Lowlands
6. The Interior Highlands (not given a separate section in text)
7. The Rockies “Western Mountains” (see text)
8. The Basin and Range areas
9. The Pacific Coastal Plains
Climate –again (see text)
Maritime vs Continental
North American climate characteristics
--great latitude extent
--its size –about ten climate types
A. tundra
B. Subarctic—much of Alaska
C. marine west coast –Vancouver, Seattle
D. Mediterranean or dry summer subtropical s. California
E. desrt and steppe—parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada
F. Humid continental long summer—us
G. Humid continental short summer—Wisconsin, etc
H. humid subtropical—the South
I. savannah—s. Florida
J. Tropical rainforest—Hawaii
--its prevailing westerly winds
--the warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico
--the mountain ranges
or what is orographic precipitation??
What are the major differences between North America and
European tourism?
1. difference in spatial pattern
----in Europe it tends to be??
----several major concentrations in North America-s. California,
New York, s. Florida
secondary concentrations such as??
DC, Las Vegas, San Francisco
In North America—natural tourism resources tend to be concentrated
in the west—
41 national parks and about 85% of the public outdoor recreational
land area
2. the nature of tourism is another major difference between North
America and Europe
we don’t have much of a historic base, also lack the intense cultural
variety
remember, what were visitors in the 19th century from Europe mostly
coming to see?
1.
2.
3. another difference has to do has to do with the difference in size
and in scale rivers, mountains, etc in Europe tends to be?
This means?
Like France and for similar reasons, most North American tourism
tends to be internal
4. lack of public transportation and higher crime rates than most of
Europe
5. superior medium priced hotels, cheaper domestic flights usually
inferior trains and buses (price, quality)
6. other comparisons
Canadian Tourism
a few quick notes on Canada
second largest country in the world—longest undefended border
population of about 30 million
Americans summer in Canada, many Canadians winter in Florida
history of tourism parallels that of the US-tourism infrastructure is
similar to the US—many of the same chains
domestic tourism is by far the most important—about 85% of all
overnight travel—government encourages this
who are the main group of foreign visitors??
Who is the second largest group??
seasonality is important—the weather is a major factor here
Tourism in Canada—Provinces and Territories
A. Newfoundland and Labrador
--fishing, cultural and scenic attractions
St. John’s the capital, is the focus—oldest CBD on the continent
(Unemployment is high and the government is trying to encourage
tourism here)
also great national park—Gros Morne—and whale watching
B. Nova Scotia
the most popular of the Atlantic Provinces for tourists!!
Cape Breton Island—the famous Louisbourg settlement
(With Quebec, this province is a top honeymooning spot for Canadians)