Tourism Related (Academic) Resources & Research
Resources
Unama’ki College has been a vibrant part of CBU for more than forty years. The faculty and staff offer an environment that embraces the knowledge, wisdom and traditions of the Mi’kmaq. Academic courses are delivered in Mi’kmaw communities. Currently, CBU is the home away from home for more than 300 Indigenous students, as well as the alma mater of close to 1,000 Indigenous graduates. With research opportunities, engaging programs and a strong community, Indigenous students come to CBU to build rewarding futures and career paths.
The Kji-keptin Alexander Denny L’nui’sultimkeweyo’kuom (Mi’kmaq Language Lab) is located on CBU’s campus and operated under the umbrella of Unama’ki College. This language lab shares Mi’kmaq language learning resources that are available throughout Nova Scotia.
The L’nu Resource Centre (LRC) is a repository of documents housed on the CBU Campus related to Mi’kmaq history, culture and language. The Centre houses books, doctorial theses, articles, reports, pamphlets and academic papers, as well as audio and video materials. The MRC has a collection of items representing Mi’kmaw material culture over the past hundred years and an Oval Room where researchers and students can gather to discuss and discover the Mi’kmaw culture.
The Beaton Institute is the official repository for historically significant records of Cape Breton University. Additionally, the Institute is a cultural heritage archive mandated to preserve the social, economic, political and cultural history of Cape Breton Island. It hosts and maintains significant searchable digital archives and on-line collections and databases. Whether on-site or on-line, the Beaton Institute is a dream resource for researchers, students and academics searching a plethora of topics including, but not limited to tourism, industry, folklore, history, music and more.
The Boardmore Playhouse is both a wonderful material asset on CBU’s campus as a 337 soft seat theatre as well as a host to teaching and developing community theatre. The Boardmore Playhouse proudly hosts an annual season of plays including shows for young audiences and emphasizes new play development.
CBU’s Art Gallery is a hub for visual arts activity and education on Cape Breton Island. The first and only full-time public art gallery on the island, the CBU Art Gallery is committed to promoting arts appreciation, visual literacy and critical scholarship. The Art Gallery acts as an academic resource, a curator of high-quality programming and a seeker of diverse educational opportunities, and is home to an impressive art collection.
Cape Breton Island Tourism: How to Build a Masterpiece by author, Keith G. Brown, examines the development of the Cape Breton Tourism Cluster through direct investments by DEVCO and ECBC. Large scale infrastructure is juxtaposed with small, community-based projects and support of culture and entertainment. The move into market research-based developments and the first international marketing campaigns are explored. Golf development was a consistent theme from the earliest days and is now a significant driver in the industry. Cruise and Indigenous Tourism are explored. The text concludes with “Tourism by the Numbers”, which examines the economic impact of the sector on Cape Breton and the impact of COVID-19.
Research
Cape Breton University is always looking for new community and industry research partnerships. From the Purdy Crawford Chair in Aboriginal Business Studies to the World Tourism Institute, there is a wealth of tourism information and resources available for researchers.
One of the goals of CBU’s World Tourism Institute is to contribute to the expansion and creation of new knowledge through the application of both basic and applied research, to be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, industry fora and colloquia.
Current and past research chairs with a commitment to tourism and hospitality interactions can be found at: https://www.cbu.ca/wti/research-chairs/
At Cape Breton University, student research is encouraged and supported. A wealth of knowledge can be found in the applied research programs of the MBA CED program.
