2024

In September, Drs. Doug Ramsey, Christopher Malcolm, and Derrek Eberts (now Dean, Luther College, Regina, Saskatchewan) co-presented papers at the Annual Meeting of the Prairie Division, Canadian Association of Geographers, at the University of North Dakota. Titles included “Resident and Visitor Attitudes Toward Urban Crocodiles and Crocodile Management in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico” (Christopher Malcolm and Rose Marie Chavez, Dagostino) and “Small Town Museums in Southern Manitoba and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts and Responses” (Doug Ramsey, Christopher Malcolm, and Derrick Eberts).

2023

In December, Dr. Doug Ramsey was appointed to the Board of the Directors of Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Crown Corporation. In November, Dr. Ramsey was also awarded the John Welsted Award for Service to the Western Interior (Prairie Division, Canadian Association of Geographers). He was also made a Life Member of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation.

In December, the TRC welcomed its newest member, Dr. Ian Puppe of the Department of Native Studies at Brandon University. Dr. Puppe brings expertise on qualitative research in parks, including sustainability and cultural and heritage issues.

In June, Dr. Christopher Malcolm delivered a paper, titled “Demographics, fishing behaviour, perceptions of fishing conditions, and attitudes toward fisheries management of artisanal fishers along the Bahía de Banderas coast in Jalisco, Mexico” to the International Geography Union Thematic Conference on The Ocean and Seas in Geographical Thought, Special Session: Livelihoods of small-scale fishers in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Milan, Italy.

In June, Derrek Eberts, Doug Ramsey and Christopher Malcolm presented a paper titled “The impact of Covid-19 on golf courses in southern Manitoba” at the Canadian Leisure Studies Conference in Ottawa.

2022

In October, Dr. Christopher Malcolm delivered a paper title “Perceptions of black bears and bear safety in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada” to the Pathways: Human Dimensions in Wildlife Conference in Wageningen, Netherlands.

In May, Christopher Malcolm, Doug Ramsey and Derrek Eberts presented a paper titled “COVID-19 and Youth Recreational Hockey in Manitoba: Opinions and Observations of Parents” to the Canadian Association of Geographers Annual Conference, Toronto Metropolitan University (virtual).

2020

In September, the three principal members of the Tourism Research Centre, Dr. Doug Ramsey, Dr. Christopher Malcom, and Dr. Derrek Eberts, received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on local tourism. Here is the link to the Brandon University announcement: https://www.brandonu.ca/news/2020/09/21/federal-grant-supports-brandon-university-study-of-covid-19-effect-on-local-tourism/.

2019

In December, Dr. Christopher Malcom gave a presentation at the World Mammal Conference in Barcelona, Spain, titled : Towards Ecologically Based Management for Recreational Whale Watching.”

In November, Dr. Derek Eberts gave a Science Seminar lecture on the “Perceptions of Impacts of Tourism in Rural Communities in Jalisco State, Mexico.”

In September, Dr. Christopher Malcolm and Dr. Doug Ramsey provided the inaugural BU at the Brandon Public Library talk on “The Importance of Museums to Communities and Rural Tourism.”

In March, research by Dr. Doug Ramsey and Dr. Tatanja Thimm (Applied University of Konstanz, Germany) on cross-border shopping was highlighted in the Brandon University Research Connection. Please click here for the summary: https://www.brandonu.ca/research-connection/rc-article/cross-border-shopping-economic-growth-and-drain/

2018

In May, Dr. Christopher Malcolm presented a co-authored paper (with Doug Ramsey) titled  “The Role of Community Museums in Rural Tourism, Manitoba, Canada” at the Tourism and Leisure Studies Conference in the Canary Islands.

In February, Drs. Christoper Malcolm and Derrek Eberts gave presentations to students and faculty at the Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa.

2017

In October, Dr. Christopher Malcolm and Dr. Doug Ramsey presented the findings of their rural museum study to the AGM of the Association of Manitoba Museums Conference in Brandon, Manitoba.

Both also had their paper on another project published in the Canadian Geographer: Ramsey, D. and C. Malcolm. 2017. Destination Tourism in Rural Areas: The Case of the Morden Fossil Discovery Centre, Manitoba. The Canadian Geographer. DOI: 10.1111/cag.12409

This work was also highlighted in the Brandon University Research Connection series: https://www.brandonu.ca/research-connection/rc-article/understanding-quality-in-small-town-tourism-destinations/

2014

In February, the Tourism Research Centre hosted a public forum to discuss the regional impacts of the soon-to-be opened Sand Hills Casino near Carberry. It was held in the newly renovated Amphitheatre at the Keystone Centre in Brandon. Panelists included:

• Lois MacDonald | Manager, Riverbank Development & Tourism Services, Brandon
• Suzanne Barbeau-Bracegirdle | CEO, Aseneskak Casino, Opaskwayak, Manitoba
• Tom Hinch | Professor, University of Alberta, Edmonton
• Ralph Oliver | Reeve, RM of North Cypress
• Wayne Blair | Mayor, Carberry

2013

Dr. Christopher Malcolm and Dr. Doug Ramsey presented their findings to the 6th Annual International Tourism Congress, held in Peniche, Portugal. Their study on the experiences of visitors to the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, MB, was selected Best Paper at the conference and has been published in the spring 2014 issue of the European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation.

2011

The Tourism Research Centre has received a three year grant of $90,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The purpose of the grant is to foster and facilitate tourism research at Brandon University. The grant includes research, partnership building, guest speakers, conference attendance and web site development.

2010

Dr. Doug Ramsey has been named to Manitoba’s Agritourism Working Group. Facilitated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, this group is responsible for expanding the sector in Manitoba.

2009

Dr. Doug Ramsey has been named to the Board of Directors of the Keyston Center in Brandon.

In April 2009, Dr. Doug Ramsey was asked to serve on the Executive Committee of the Board of Travel Manitoba. Dr. Ramsey has been a board member of Travel Manitoba since the inception of the Crown Agency in 2004. Dr. Ramsey will also serve on a newly established working group given the task of developing a sustainable tourism policy for Manitoba.

The third annual Tourism Research Week was held in March 2009. Two guest speakers, Dr. Donna Senese and Dr. Mary Cawley, gave classroom and public lectures.

Dr. Donna Senese gave a public lecture titled: “Rural Tourism as Catalyst for Amenity Migration: A Comparative Examination of the Wine Regions of British Columbia, Tuscany and Andalucia Spain”. Dr. Senese is an Associate Professor in Community, Culture and Global Studies at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Dr. Mary Cawley gave a public lecture title: “Adding Value Through Integration: A Strategic Approach to Rural Tourism Development Using Examples from Ireland”. Dr. Cawley is a Professor of Geography at the National University of Ireland in Galway.

2008

The Department of Rural Development and the Rural Development Institute co-sponsored the biennial Graduate Student Conference, Rural Issues and Insights: Tourism Development in March 2008. The tourism themed conference completed “Tourism Research Week”, sponsored by the Tourism Research Centre through its SSHRC Aid to Small Universities Grant. In addition to nine tourism presentations from faculty, students, industry and government, two keynote speakers (see invited speakers section of the TRC pages) brought the conference to a close. Click here for conference program.

2007

Research conducted by student interns Allister Cucksey and Mathew Grills for the Brandon University Tourism Research Centre to compile a database of the tourist facilities in Southwestern Manitoba. Date of completion August, 2007

Dr. Doug Ramsey (Rural Development) accepted the invitation to Chair the Visitor Services Task Force of Travel Manitoba. A board member of Travel Manitoba, Doug was happy to take on the challenge. The task force was given a mandate to review all aspects of Visitor Services for the Province of Manitoba including: Tourism Information Centres at border crossing and the Forks in Winnipeg, web-based visitor service information, telephone services, and the central warehouse for storing and distributing paper-based tourism promotion information.

2006

Research conducted by student interns Andrea Graham and Abayomi Oredegbe for the Brandon University Tourism Research Centre to compile a database of the tourist facilities in Southwestern Manitoba. Date of completion August, 2006.

2005

Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ken Beesley, Professor of Rural Development at Brandon University and founding member of the Tourism Research Centre, the Tourism Research Centre has received a three year SSHRC grant (Aid to Small Universities). The value of the grant is $71,000 and will foster research in four areas:

• a. tourism issues in rural and small town environments
• b. developing rural tourism profiles in Western Manitoba
• c. tourism theories and concepts in rural development
• d. rural tourism and rural development in an international context (e.g. Mexico, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, and the USA).

2004

In November 2004, Dr. Doug Ramsey, Associate Professor, Rural Development at Brandon University was named to the Board of Directors of the new Crown Corporation, Travel Manitoba.