Rethinking tourism and hospitality: shaping a Manitoban identity through the design of an interpretive nature retreat

Abstract

This practicum project explores the design of an interpretive nature retreat located at Pineridge Hollow on the outskirts of Birds Hill Provincial Park, Manitoba. As the tourism industry is continuously expanding in the twenty-first century, the negative environmental and cultural impacts are also growing exponentially. Hospitality typologies including hotels are becoming less and less site-specific. Therefore, the nature retreat proposed here is a response to these growing problems, by acting as a catalyst to achieve sustainability between the toured and the tourist. The retreat provides tourists with an experience that is uniquely Manitoban. This particular hotel is a solution that is specific to Manitoba, but the same concept can be applied to similar hospitality typologies throughout the world.