1. North America

2. Describing North America as a Realm
Consists of Canada and USA (Hawaii excluded)

3. Major Cities of the Realm
Canada
USA
Toronto
Montreal
Vancouver
Ottawa
New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
Washington D.C.
Dallas
Philadelphia
Houston
Selected by population in metropolitan area  see next slide: map of megalopolis!

4. The Emerging Megaregions of North America
Red colored: megalopolis BosWash (Boston to Washington D.C.)  total population: 45 mil. people
Light orange: Chipitts (Chicago to Pittsburgh) also with parts of Canada! All together: population 54 mil people
yellow: SanSan (San Francisco to San Diego)  total population about 36 mil people  three biggest and most important mega regions of North America

5. North America: Climate (Köppen/Geiger)
Canada and Alaska mostly: humid cold climate (D)
Northeast of US: humid cold climate (D)
Rest of US: dry to humid temperate climate (B, C)

6. Physical Geography of North America

7. Economy in North America
Canada
USA
high-tech industrial society
US's largest foreign supplier of energy
$1.77 trillion GDP
largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world
world leading high-technology innovator, second largest industrial output in world
$15.65 trillion GDP

8. North America: Population Facts
Category
Canada
USA
Population
34,586,211
316,668,567
Median Age
41.2 years
37.1 years
Population Growth Rate
0.784 %
0.9 %
Life Expectancy (at birth)
81.48 years
78.49 years
HIV/AIDS Rate
0.3%
0.6%
Unemployment Rate
7.3%
8.2%
Population below Poverty Line
9.4.%
15.1 %
Canada has no real poverty line, measured by comparing to same economically developed countries

9. Population Pyramids in Comparison
Birth Rate; Canada: births on a population of 1,000 and USA: 13.7 births on a population of 1,000
Death Rate; Canada: 8.09 deaths on a pop. Of 1,000 and USA: 8.4 deaths on a pop. Of 1,000
Net Migration Rate; Canada: 5.65 migrants on a pop. Of 1,000 and USA: 3.62 migrants on a pop. Of 1,000

10. North America’s Capital Consumption in Comparison to the World
Rostow’s Model (Stages of Growth)  Canada and USA: Stage 5 (Age of High Mass Consumption)

11. Tourism Geography of North America
USA
Canada
one of the world’s leading destinations
6% of the GDP in tourism industry
7.9 million people employed in tourism sector
5% of the GDP in tourism industry
10% of the employed Canadians work in the tourism sector

12. The Demand for Tourism (USA)
Domestic Tourism:
limited time for leisure available for most Americans of working age
workers in the US on average have 19 days of paid annual leave (including public holidays) compared to 24 days in Europe
Trend: short weekend breaks:
before Memorial Day in late May
after Labor Day in early September
Thanksgiving in late November
Average working week in the US: 43 hours (compared to 38 hours in the UK)
Other events for short trips: theme park visiting, sports tourism, shopping tours, health tourism/spas, outdoor recreational activities like fishing, golf, skiing

13. The Demand for Tourism (USA)
Outbound Tourism:
Only 18% of the trips are to foreign countries
58 million people travel outside of the USA
Over 50% of outbound travels are to Canada or Mexico
Major overseas destinations: UK, Japan and Italy and the Caribbean
Caribbean mostly for leisure like cruises

14. The Demand for Tourism (USA)
Inbound Tourism:
63 million arrivals/year
Almost a third from Canada
Others from
Mexico
Japan, South Korea
Western Europe UK
Germany
France
Italy

15. The Supply Side of Tourism (USA)
Transport
private car
air transport
bus
trains
Accommodation
CAR: USA has the highest car ownership in the world, nearly 80% of holiday trips are taken by car
in the 50s the Interstate Highway System was developed  provides a nationwide motorway network and makes it easy to travel
AIR TRANSPORT:
10% of holiday trips taken with airplane
fares are quite cheap due to the big competition between the airlines
BUS:
Greyhounds, major bus company  less than 3% of holidays taken with busses  down-market
TRAIN:
Amtrak Trains  affordable and huge network all over the States
they also provide “Historic routes” like the “Empire Builder” from Chicago to Seattle right now: California High Speed Rail is a project with a new upcoming railroad network
ACCOMMODATION:
hotels, motels, resorts, themed hotels like in Las Vegas, B&Bs, or trailer parks for recreational vehicles

16. Regional Examples for the Supply Side in Tourism (USA)
Business Travel to Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco
Coast of Maine  sailing, fishing, canoeing, historic seaports
New York City
Atlantic City and Las Vegas
NYC: earn about 25 billion dollars/year in tourism and supporting jobs
world class cultural attractions, sports, range of restaurants and fashion metro pole
Atlantic City and Las Vegas: boardwalks, gambling, themed hotels (Las Vegas has about 10% of USA’s hotel capacity)

17. Regional Examples for the Supply Side in Tourism (USA)
Florida: “The Sunshine State”
Constant flow of tourists all over the year
Retirement area
Orlando: over 35 million visitors/year
 World Disney World (theme park capital)
White sand beaches and sport facilities
Florida also very attractive in winter  Tourist arrivals from USA, Canada, Latin America, Western Europe

18. Regional Examples for the Supply Side in Tourism (USA)
Great Lakes:
Lake Erie
Lake Huron
Lake Michigan
Lake Superior
Lake Ontario
Rocky Mountains
Great Canyon
Great Lakes: fine beaches, shoreline of spectacular riffs (20% of world’s fresh water supply)
 recreational area very close to megalopolis (fishing, boating, relaxing at the beaches etc.)

19. Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado
Hiking, Watching Wildlife, Fishing, Swimming, Rafting

20. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Helicopter Tours, even Hiking, Climbing

21. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (Montana, Idaho)
Hiking, Camping, Picnicking, Do Ranger Programs, Bicycling, Boating, Fishing, Wildlife Viewing, Horseback Riding and Llama Packing

22. Death Valley National Park, California/ Nevada
One of the lowest, driest and hottest locations on earth
Hiking, Backpacking, Camping, Biking, Wildlife Watching

23. Regional Examples for the Supply Side in Tourism (USA)
California  “The Golden State”
Warm sunny climate and a variety of its scenery
Northern California
Yosemite National Park
Monterey  Beaches and Aquarium
Calistoga  Spa Area
Napa Valley  Wine Region
Redwood Forests
Lake Tahoe and Sierra Nevada Mountains  Ski resorts
Northern California: slightly cooler than the rest of California, very comfortable for outdoor recreation

24. Regional Examples for the Supply Side in Tourism (USA)
Los Angeles:
Santa Monica and Venice Beach
Disneyland
Hollywood
San Francisco:
Fisherman’s Wharf
Cable Cars
Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz
Beautiful shoreline along the Pacific, beach resorts
Disneyland (birthplace of America's theme parks)
Hollywood: film studios as attractions….exclusiveness and luxury
San Francisco: most scenic and European of all north American cities
Tolerance of lifestyles
Although California and also Oregon and Washington have some problems with earthquakes etc. because of the Pacific Ring of Fire…tourism is booming!

25. Yosemite National Park, California
Refer to National Park Paper in Class!!!
UNESCO world natural heritage since 1984
Famous for mountains, glaciers, wildlife, waterfalls, clear streams
Popular tourist activities: Hiking, Climbing, Skiing in winter times and watching wildlife
 USA AND CANADA care very much about their National and State Parks….very good protection programs to keep the nature and environment as natural as possible!!!!!!!!

26. The Demand for Tourism (Canada)
Domestic Tourism:
far larger in volume and expenditure than inbound or outbound tourism
British Columbia and Prince Edward Island  most favored holiday destinations for Canadians
as in the USA

27. The Demand for Tourism (Canada)
Outbound Tourism:
10 million/year people travel outside of Canada
mostly to the US but also to Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and East Asia
US-American border: New York, Vermont, Michigan and Washington most visited
Florida in winter time
Canadian winter is the main reason for Canadians to travel outside of the country
Florida, especially for retired people, spend several months there..will increase because of aging society

28. The Demand for Tourism (Canada)
Inbound Tourism:
16 million arrivals/year
biggest part from the USA
less than 10% from Europe
safe cities, same language and familiar culture makes Americans feel more comfortable and secure in their environment

29. The Supply Side of Tourism (Canada)
Transport
problems for vehicles and road maintenance in winter
VIA Rail
domestic trips by car
air travel (AirCanada)
Accommodation
major cities are linked to world’s longest national road (Trans-Canada-Highway)
ACCOMMODATION: luxury hotels all over the country, like Chateau Frontenac, Quebec or at scenic locations like at the Rocky Mountains at Banff and Lake Louise popular homes: cabins or cottages
adventure seekers: camping of course!

30. Regional Examples for the Supply Side in Tourism (Canada)
Winter Recreation Activities
Business Travel in Ontario, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montréal
Summers in Southern and Western Canada: outdoor activities incl. beach tourism and water sports, boating, canoeing, hunting and fishing
Northern Canada: polar bear and whale watching
Ontario: one third of Canada´s hotel capacity  easily reached by road from NY or Michigan
Montréal in Québec: very appealing because of French charme, little restaurants, nightclubs, cafés etc.
Le Souterrain (underground shopping mall to protect people if winter is too hard and long)  served by an efficient metro system
Vancouver: especially appealing to visitors from Japan, China and other Asian countries

31. Regional Examples for the Supply Side in Tourism (Canada)
West Edmonton Mall, Alberta
Victoria on Vancouver Island
Banff National Park
The Rocky Mountains
Niagara Area
West Edmonton Mall: largest shopping mall of North America, for 23 years even largest in the world)  31 million visitors/year
Bungee-Jumping, swimming pool, theme park with inside roller coasters, ice-skating and IMAX inside!!!
Victoria: holiday resort and retirement area (very appealing to people from the West Coast)
Niagara Area (including waterfalls, theatre festivals and wine area)

32. The Rocky Mountains (Canada)
Hiking, Watching Wildlife, Fishing, Swimming, Rafting

33. Banff National Park, Alberta
Most popular area, 4 mil. Visitors/year
All-year-resort: skiing, water-rafting, boating, hiking, also restaurants, golf courses and other facilities
near of the park: heli-skiing and heli-hiking

34. Niagara Falls State Park in USA/Canada
American Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Canadian Falls
Picture taken from Canadian side

35. References
Boniface, B.& Cooper, C. (2009). worldwide destinations: The Geography of travel and tourism (5th ed.). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann
de Blij, H.J.& Muller, P.O. (2004). Geography Realm, Regions, and Concepts (11th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley& Sons, Inc.
(2002) Diercke Weltatlas Ausgabe 2. Braunschweig, Germany: Westermann druck
personal database