Radford University
AC-5: Immersive Experience

Tourism Institute This course will provide invaluable information and experience in environmental-based tourism, which has become one of the world’s most popular tourism industries. Specific topics covered during this course include tourism management, sustainable tourism, service industry response to demand, coastal tourism issues, protection of a diversity of experiences, and attraction and provision of tourism settings. Last year the whole research project was on climate change. We interviewed about 16 different tourism providers in Gatlinburg, TN, Asheville NC, and Kiawah Island, SC, then followed up with a survey on climate change. We received 8 responses - two from each state.  Questions were on topics including beliefs of causes and main impacts of climate change, revenue lost due to climate change, etc. The year before the study focused specifically on Sustainability in the Bahamas. Lead faculty member, Dr. Josh Carroll, presented the findings with nine students at a national conference and then published a paper on it with an RU undergraduate.

Published Report on Sustainable Tourism in the Bahamas: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/jti/vol8/iss1/2/ Wilderness Institute https://www.radford.edu/content/cehd/home/rcpt/get-involved/wilderness-institute.html Wilderness Institute Wilderness Institute incorporates a broad overview of the field of outdoor recreation. Emphasis is placed on land management agencies and the social and environmental issues that influence management policy as well as different organizations and movements that deal with environmental issues. Students, after being exposed to a variety of examples, are given the opportunity to develop their own environmental philosophy and land ethic. Radford University's Wilderness Institute is a four-week intensive course, offered in the summer term, that uses the outdoors as its teaching environment. The course is designed to utilize experiential learning to promote the development of an individual's leadership skills and ability to work within a group. The Wilderness Institute also exposes its participants to a variety of adventure activities while developing sound outdoor living skills.