Elizabeth Halpenny, PhD

University of Alberta’s Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation

Currently working at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, Elizabeth Halpenny received a PhD in Recreation and Leisure Studies from the University of Waterloo in 2006. She teaches and conducts research in the areas of tourism, marketing, environmental psychology and protected areas management. During her time in Alberta, Elizabeth has been fortunate to collaborate with a number of parks and recreation providers including Alberta Parks, the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, the Beaver Hills Biosphere, and Parks Canada. Her research focuses on visitor experiences and environmental stewardship. Current research projects include: (a) the impact of conservation-related brands on travel decision making; (c) the role of recreation in fostering stewardship of natural areas; and, (c) Alberta-based agritourism.

About the Presentation Authors:

Farshid Mirzaalian

B.Eng., MBA, PhD

Farshid Mirzaalian, B.Eng., MBA, PhD, is a researcher in the area of tourism and recreation marketing in University of Alberta, Canada. Farshid’s research interests include consumer behavior, destination loyalty, destination competitiveness, environmental competitiveness, climate change communication, social media analytics, sentiment analysis and opinion mining, predictive analytics, and marketing analytics in the tourism

Mu He

PhD student at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation.

Mu He is a PhD student at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation. Her research interests cover nature-based tourism, communication, visitor experience, and pro-environmental behaviour. Her Master's project about climate change interpretation and visitor leisure experiences has been published in Leisure/ Loisir. 

This presentation reports on mountain visitor’s perceptions of climate change impacts on recreational experiences, their assignment of responsibility for these changes and their interest in taking action to address climate change. Data mined from Trip Advisor regarding visitors' perspectives on the impacts of climate change on Jasper National Park visitors’ experiences will be combined with findings from other mountain destination studies to deliver an overview of visitors’ attitudes and knowledge regarding mountain-recreation related climate change. This information can assist tourism and land managers in the Crown of the Continent region as they work with each other and visitors to co-produce climate change action. In particular, we will draw from a decade of environmental communications and tourism experience research to provide concrete suggestions on how to work with visitors to navigate climate change guilt, anxiety and defeatism, and provide them with knowledge and tools to engage in climate change action, securing safe and fulfilling Crown of the Continent recreation experiences in to the future.