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Dr. Robert E. Pfister

pfisterr@viu.ca

  • Ph. D.   (Recreation and Tourism Geography)
  • M. Sc.   (Resource and Community Development)
  • B. Sc.   (Parks and Recreation Management)

Teaching Area: Entrepreneurship; Recreation and Tourism Businesses; Community Development; Tourism Marketing; Heritage and cultural travel

Areas of Special Interest: Sustainable Business Development; Entrepreneurial Communities; Marketing; Ecotourism Practices

UNIVERSITY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

  • University College Professor
    Department of Recreation and Tourism Management
    Faculty of Management
    Vancouver Island University

  • Associate Professor
    Health & Human Performance, East Carolina University, USA
    Faculty of Management, Northern British Columbia, Canada
    College of Arts and Sciences, California State Univ.- Pomona, USA

  • Assistant Professor
    College of Arts and Science (Geography), Univ. of Victoria, Canada

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • Branch Director
    Research and Policy Development, Labor, Province of B. C.
    Research and Program Analysis, Parks Branch, Province of B.C.
  • Vice-President/Owner
    O.R. Recreational Resource Consultants, Ltd. Victoria, B.C.
  • Board Member &/or Officer
    Tourism Vancouver Island (Vice-Chair)

    Tourism Prince George (Board member, Vice-President and then President)
    San Bernardino Tourism Council, CA
    Tourism Educators Council (Chair, of University Committee)
    Editorial Board,  Tourism Geographies Journal

SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES

Books and Book Chapters

Pfister, R.E. and P. T. Tierney. (2009) Recreation, Event, and Tourism Businesses: Start-up and Operation. Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics. 284 pgs

Pfister, R. E.  2000 Culture as a Tourism Resource: Aboriginal Views on the Privileges of Storytelling. (Chapter 6) in Tourism and Development in Mountain Regions. (Eds. P.M.Goode, M.F. Price, and F.M. Zimmermann) CAB International, pp 115-136.

Pfister, R. E.  1993 The Concept of Ethnic Identity: A New Avenue to Understanding Leisure Behavior. (Chapter 12) in Culture, Conflict and Communication. (Eds. Deborah Chavez, Alan Ewert, and Art Magill) Westview Press. pp 53-68.

Pfister, R.E. 1979 The Park and Recreation System (Chapter 14) in Vancouver Island--Land of Contrasts. (Ed. C.N. Forward) Victoria, British Columbia: University of Victoria Geographical Series. pp. 265-287

Articles, Monographs, Book Reviews, and, Proceedings

Wang, Y. and R.E. Pfister (2008) Residents’ attitudes towards tourism and perceived personal benefits in a rural community. Journal of Travel Research, 47(1), 84-93.

Pfister, R.E. and Y. Wang (2007) Social Exchange Theory: an examination of personal benefits and resident attitudes towards tourism. Abstract for the 2006 National Recreation and Park Association Leisure Research Symposium. October, 9-11,  Ashburn, VA: NRPA.

Pfister, R.E. Tourism Planning for communities-in-transition. An examination of Resident Values.  Abstract in International Conference on Sustainable Tourism. Crete and Santorini, Greece. April, 22-25 2010.

Pfister, R. E. (Book Review) Contemporary Tourism: Diversity and Change. (Eric Cohen, 2004) In Tourism Geographies, February, 2006

Pfister, R.E. Perceptions of Innovations Among USFS Personnel. (2005) Report for Wildland Research and Urban Cultures, USDA Pacific Southwest Research Station,  Riverside, CA.

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/recreation/update/u_oct2005.html

Lankford, Sam, R.E. Pfister, Kathy Scholl, J. Lankford and A. Williams. 2005  Cognitive Mapping: A Management Application, USDA Northeast Recreation Research Station, General Proceedings of the 2004Northeast Recreation Research Symposium.  May.

Lankford, Sam, R.E. Pfister, Jill Knowles, and A. Williams  2003. Impacts of Tourism on Outdoor Recreation Experiences. Journal of Parks and Recreation Administration. Vol.21:1 (Winter)

Pfister, R. E.  2002. Collaboration Across Cultural Boundaries to Protect Wild Places: The British Columbia Experience. Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-26, Wilderness in the Circumpolar North -Search for Compatibility in Tradition and Ecotourism Values.  October, 2002

http://www.valemount.org/village/Documents/Pfistereport.pdf

http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_p026/rmrs_p026_027_035.pdf

Pfister, R.E. 2002. Tourism As a Community Economic Development Strategy: The Village of Valemount Experience. Monograph prepared for Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia.  (Prince George, University of Northern British Columbia Press: Northern Land Use Institute), October,  50 pg.

http://www.valemount.org/village/Documents/Pfistereport.pdf

Pfister, R.E., C. Wainwright, C. Suessmilch, and D. Milburn-Krebs. 1999. Annotated Bibliography of Research Projects in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. (UNBC: Northern Land Use Institute),  35 pgs. (with CD-ROM)

Robinson, David, R. E. Pfister, J. Shultis, and E. Stafford 1997. New Directions in Resource Recreation Management: A Response to the Educational Challenge In Schole  pp. 27-35 

Pfister, R.E. and A. W. Ewert 1996. Alternative Worldviews and Natural Resource Management: Introduction and Overview.Trends (33)4: 2-8  (Washington, D.C.:U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service and National Recreation and Park Association).

Pfister, R.E. and T.C. Swearingen 1995. Environmental Dilemmas and Ethical Reasoning Between Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Forest Visitors. Proceedings of 2nd Social Aspects of Recreation Research Symposium  (ed. Deborah Chavez), Pacific Southwest Forest Research Station,  San Diego, CA.

Spencer, T. and R.E. Pfister 1995. Using Challenge Cost-Share Partnerships to Communicate with Ethnically Diverse Recreation Users in Southern California.Proceedings of 2nd Social Aspects of Recreation Research Symposium(ed. Deborah Chavez) Pacific Southwest Forest Research Station, February 23-25, 1994  San Diego, CA.

Dahl, Rene and R.E. Pfister 1995. Effects of Work Experiences on EcoTeam members: Self-Efficacy and Sense of Confidence. Cooperative Research Report of Pacific Southwest Research Station. USDA Forest Service. March 36 pgs.

Ewert, Alan and R.E. Pfister 1992. Changing Forest Recreation Environments: The Influence of Demographics, Culture, and Ethnicity. Proceedings Berichte Comptes Rendus Actas. ed. International Union of Forestry Research Organizations, . August 31-September 4, Berlin-Eberswalde, Germany. 529-541.

Pfister, R. E. 1991. Land Ethics, Ethnicity, and the Evolution of a ‘Land Ethnic’  Trends 28(3):21-24. (Washington, D.C.: National Park Service and NRPA)

Pfister, R. E. and A. Ewert 1991. Cross-Cultural Land Ethics: Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors.  Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, (Washington, D.C.: Wildlife Management Institute) pp. 146-151.

Pfister, R.E. 1990. Participation and Management Policy: Backcountry Recreationists' New Preferences. Leisure Today (Journal of American Association for Recreation and Leisure) April, 60-63

Pfister, R. E. and D. E. Simcox 1990. Hispanic Values and Behaviors Related to Outdoor Recreation and the Forest Environment on the Angeles National Forest. Cooperative Research Report of Pacific Southwest Research Station, Berkeley, California.  145 pgs.

PROFESSIONAL/ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIP

  • World Leisure Organization (2006 to date)
  • Community Development Society (2003 to date)
  • Canadian Association of Geographers CAG (1994 to date)
  • Association of American Geographers AAG (1972 to date)
  • Royal Canadian Geographical Society (1983 – date)
  • Resort and Commercial Recreation Association RCRA (2000 to date)
  • National Association of Interpretation NAI (1986 to date)
  • National Recreation and Park Association NRPA (1971 to date)