Utilizing the Product Club Approach for Birding Trail Planning

Abstract

As bird-watching gains popularity, ecotourism planners are using various techniques to attract birdwatchers. One method of drawing birders to a specific region is the development of a birding trail. Although numerous birding trails have been created with varying levels of success, there is little research on how birding trails are designed, implemented, and managed. One new and potentially viable approach is to implement and manage birding trails as tourism product clubs. A product club is an association of tourism service providers working together to deliver an integrated service. This study first explored internet birding blogs to discover what birders desire on their trips. We then conducted semi-structured interviews with key people connected to existing tourism trails. We eventually chose as a case study site the Essex and Chatham-Kent County area of southern Ontario and an advisory committee of key stakeholders was set up to assist with trail planning. This paper provides a brief synopsis of the results.