TOUR 423 Tourism Planning and Policy

An iconic back country, West Coast Trail (Petersen, 2021) is a multiday backpacking trail which has been a bucket list challenge for many. This multiday back country hike might bring even the most experienced hikers to their knees. Only those who are well prepared physically and mentally, well equipped come away successfully. The 75km long west coast trail is included in the National Park Reserve as a recreational hiking trail where about 7500people come to hike every year. The backpackers come here every year to walk the path of those who came before them to explore the beauty and to explore the challenge it presents. The WCT is reservable and is open only from 1^st May to 30^th September each year. It remains inoperable from October 1^st to 30^th April due to incessant rain, heavy tides and waves accompanied by strong winds.

Trail description: Travelling the west coast of Vancouver Island, WCT consists of rough trails, boardwalk sections, coastal walking on sand, gravel and boulders. There are ladders in and out of deep gorges with bridges and cable cars across the major waterways. It takes roughly 7 days for people to hike the west coast trail. Transportation is one of the most challenging parts of planning a visit on the West Coast Trail. The trail heads are all in the remote parts of Vancouver Island so it would be the best choice to figure out the mode of transportation in advance. On the way to the trail every participant needs to be self-sufficient and one must carry everything one needs for the trip.

In-spite of being breathtakingly beautiful, West Coast Trail can be unpredictable and might as well be dangerous due to its terrain, weather and wildlife. If something were to go wrong, a careful investment, entry planning can add a huge difference between a successful hiking experience and the unexpected. The three T’s that must be followed before heading out on an adventure are: Trip Planning, Training and Taking essentials (Boyd, 2017).

Trip Planning

Trip planning (Panyadee, & Wetprasit, 2018) begins involving some basic question and it is very important to complete the trip plan. A trip plan illustrates the destination, travel route, the equipments as well as the proposed return time. The trip plan must satisfy all the basic cross examination questions which is at times known as the 5W’s and H. these questions will be asked by the authority who I initiating the research.Give a detailed description of the participants, their medical conditions, if any, the gears they are carrying, the person to notify and so on.Provide details about the trip and when you are planning to return. Your late return at the intended time of the day would suggest a mishap and generate a response first from the person you have handed over the trip plan and then the SAR.

This can prove to be a vital information in case one does not return at the intended time. So, if you leave the trip plan (Panyadee, & Wetprasit, 2018) to someone you trust then it can assist the authority searching for you in case of emergency. You can never be rescued if no one even knows that you are missing at the first place. As planning a rescue or search starts with suspecting the lost subjects, destinations and the most probable route and location therefore, if you stick to your trip plan and are close to your intended route then the probability of being found becomes even more. For an efficient trip planning, you must:

• Plan your route
• Know the course of your route and the conditions
• Check the weather
• Always complete the trip plan.

Training

In order to reduce the frequency, asperity of SAR awareness must be spread through targeted outreach. One such training is given by AdventureSmart, which is a national program dedicated to encourage to learn how to survive outdoors. You must:

• Not go over your limit. Try staying within your known limits.
• Hone some skills and gain some knowledge before heading out (Campbell, McBride, Etcher, & Deming, 2017).

Taking the essentials

While Identifying the essentials for any outdoor adventure must depend on the hours or day to which it lasts. You must carry the equipments depending upon your chosen activity or camping trip. The main goal on this trip should be to stay warm and dry. One must aim to carry only the essential equipments (Mills, 2018) the contents of the backpack should not be too heavy. A few basic equipments, which in case if you miss, are as follows:

• Headlamp, Flashlight and batteries: One of the most common reason why someone gets lost is simply because the person ran out of daylight and was unable to get back the trailhead. This unplanned overnight may be prevented by including a headlamp or flashlight in the list. As moving at night without source of light can be dangerous.
• Garbage Bags
• Lighter: A lighter must be included along with waterproof matches and candles.
• Gaiters and hiking poles: Some hikers must find it handy to have a staff when moving across irregular terrains.
• Sleeping Bag: Sleeping bag must be kept in a waterproof bag and it must be placed inside the backpack. Sleeping bag with synthetic fills are preferred over down bags as it loses warmth when wet.
• A First-aid kit: A first-aid kit includes the personal medicines and other medications for injury. Also include moleskin and insect sting protection.
• Pocket knife: Pocket knife is one of the most important survival tools and can come in handy when building shelters, making a fire or for other various thing.
• Sturdy boots: High quality sturdy boots with ankle support are required to provide good traction on the slippery conditions. Sandals or running boots are not ideal for trekking, only best suited to be worn around camps.
• Warm clothing and waterproof jacket: Do not forget to bring durable rainwear which will keep you warm when wet and it must also be quick to dry.
• A signaling device: An emergency signaling device increases the chances of being seen or heard, when lost. A signaling device is vital for search and rescue item, makes it one of the most recommended items to be included in the list.
• Cash: Cash must be available with you so that, you can meet any unexpected emergencies effectively. It is the most essential resources which everyone must have to meet any kind of emergencies.
• Other recommended equipment includes synthetic rope, toiletries, warm hats and gloves, repair kits, cellular phones, water-purification equipment, sunglasses and sunscreen (Mills, 2018).

The West Coast Trail is best suited for those who have intermediate to advanced backpacking experience as group leaders will not be able to compensate for inexperienced ones. This should not be someone’s first ever backpacking trip as this demanding trail needs someone who has the capability to move through rough terrains carrying backpack with all the essentials.

This trek should not be undertaken by those who are at risk of reinjury or those with serious health condition such as heart problems, asthma, and injury to the ankle, back or knee. Hiking with a small group is preferred over larger group. However, the maximum group size must not be more than 10.

Things to expect from this hike?

Any participant in the group must be prepared for a demanding lost distance hike of a week to eight days for a wilderness experience. It can be physically challenging but yet also visually rewarding due to its unique majestic beauty and appeal. Be sure to expect slippery muddy trails, uneven wooden surfaces, boulder shorelines alike. This is a wilderness area where you are required to cross steep slopes, irregular trails or even climb ladders.

The weather is that of a temperate rainforest with heavy rainfalls which is even more frequent in May and June. Rainfall averages to 330 cm and the floodwater might as well delay the hikers for days in and days out. So, a prolonged period of rain might make West Coast Trail an unpleasant experience where incidents of hypothermia and physical injury may increase. With the adverse weather conditions and terrain, muscle ache, soreness, are prevalent: It must be noted that one might not receive medical attention within 24 hours as it takes time for help to be notified.

Transportation

Hikers going into the West Coast Trail must make their own arrangements for the transportation services and must make the necessary reservations for the transportation.

To get to the WCT heads, there are a number of ways:

• To get to the Panchena Bay Trail Head, near five kilometers south of BamField:
• You can get there by driving on the gravel logged roads from Port Alberni or Duncan which will take 2 and 3 hours respectively. Or, you can get there by the WCT bus from Victoria or Nanaimo: Or, you can board a ferry from Port Alberni.
• To get to the Nitinaht Lake, 80kms southeast of Port Alberni: We can get there by driving on the gravel paved road from Port Alberni or Duncan. You can also get there by Nitinaht Water taxi which makes only a single schedule trip for the day between the village and narrows on the West Coast Trail.
• To get to the Gordon River 5km North of Port Renfrew: drive on a logging road from Victoria via highway or Duncan which will take approximately 2 hours and 1.5hours respectively. Or, you can directly board West Coast Trail Express from Victoria.
• Between Port Renfrew, Nitinaht Village and Bamfield: You can get there by bus, by travelling on the gravel logged roads with the WCT Express.

Importance of Emergency Planning

What matters the most is the action taken in the initial moments after an incident takes place. The actions determine the extent that how disruptive the aftermath will be. Keeping this in mind, a plan for potential incident must be taken into account. With the advent of technological evolutionary advancements, the emergency planning has become easier. Adventure Smart is one such tech solution.

A Tool for Emergency Planning: Adventure Smart

Adventure Smart is a trip planning tool which aims on educating and reaching out to Canadians and visitors who are seeking to participate outdoor activities. It aims to reduce the number of severity of search and rescue incidents in Canada. It is a national prevention program which combines online and onsite awareness with targeted outreach (Fahad, Nazari, Bhavsar, Jalayer, & Karimi, 2019).

Designing of an emergency Trip Plan

Enter the participant information using the credentials- Name, Email, Gender, age, medical problems, if any. Add the departure and return time of the trip plan. You must provide your departure date and your proper date and time of return. Plan the duration of trip properly before heading out. The date the trip location and purpose including all the necessary details and descriptions like starting location of the trip, starting province, and the trip route. Also, include the ending location and province of the trip. Mention the activity of the trip whether it is going to be a hiking, camping or any other activity. Identify the equipments and supply that you are going to take with you. Add any equipment specific to your chosen activity and any other equipment which you think is appropriate. Lastly, provide any miscellaneous information for your contacts explaining why your return date and time is uncertain, if any. After the proper trip planning, give a copy to a responsible person before finally heading out for the trip (Patel, & Padhya, 2020).

Conclusion

A conclusive plan to deal with emergency can prevent incidents. The lack of such plan could lead to severe incidents and so preplanning is necessary to avoid such incidence. The urgent need for rapid decision is vital as the stress of the situation can create a cause for poor judgment resulting in amplification of the probable adverse effect. A well thought out emergency planning can help to meet such incidences by finding out probable solutions for it. To ensure safety and to avoid a situation of emergency, risk assessment and preplanning the emergency is a must.

References

Boyd, S. W. (2017). Heritage trails and tourism. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 12(5), 417-422.

Campbell, J. C., McBride, A. B., Etcher, L., & Deming, K. (2017). Robert Wood Johnson Foundation nurse faculty scholars program leadership training. Nursing outlook, 65(3), 290-302.

Fahad, M. G. R., Nazari, R., Bhavsar, P., Jalayer, M., & Karimi, M. (2019). A decision-support framework for emergency evacuation planning during extreme storm events. Transportation research part D: transport and environment, 77, 589-605.

Mills, E. (2018). Seasonal Round Travel Routes and the Cost of Mobility.

Panyadee, T., & Wetprasit, P. (2018). Gap year tourists’ motivation and travel pattern in Thailand. Journal of International Studies, Prince of Songkla University, 8(2), 26-52.

Patel, K. A., & Padhya, H. J. (2020). Sustainable Tourism Planning for a Coastal Region: A Case Study of Dumas in Gujarat State in Western India. IJRAR-International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR), 7(1), 798-801.

Petersen, C. (2021). The South West Coast Path Health and Wellbeing Assessment Report 2020.

Are you in dire need of assignment help in the UK? Can’t figure out who can help you whenever you find yourself thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if I could pay someone to do my assignment?” With Myassignmenthelp.co.uk, you can fulfil your desires without any hassle.

Send us your requirements, and our paper writers will take care of your assignment worries quickly. So now, you don't have to worry about, "Where can I find someone to do my assignment for me in the UK?” Instead, let our experts provide you with the best assignment help in London, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool and more!