north america 1. describing north america as a realm consists of canada and usa (hawaii excluded) 2

North America

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2

Describing North America as a Realm

Consists of Canada and USA (Hawaii excluded)

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Major Cities of the Realm

Canada

Toronto

Montreal

Vancouver

Ottawa

USANew York

Los Angeles

Chicago

Washington D.C.

Dallas

Philadelphia

Houston

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The Emerging Megaregions of North America

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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)

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Physical Geography of North America

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Economy in North America

Canada• high-tech industrial

society• US's largest foreign

supplier of energy• $1.77 trillion GDP

USA• largest and most

technologically powerful economy in the world

• world leading high-technology innovator, second largest industrial output in world

• $15.65 trillion GDP

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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 %

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Population Pyramids in Comparison

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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)

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Tourism Geography of North America

USA• one of the world’s leading

destinations• 6% of the GDP in tourism

industry• 7.9 million people employed

in tourism sector

Canada• 5% of the GDP in tourism

industry• 10% of the employed

Canadians work in the tourism sector

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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

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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

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The Demand for Tourism (USA)

• Inbound Tourism:– 63 million arrivals/year – Almost a third from Canada– Others from

» Mexico» Japan, South Korea» Western Europe

1. UK

2. Germany

3. France

4. Italy

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The Supply Side of Tourism (USA)

• Transport– private car– air transport– bus– trains

• Accommodation

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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

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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

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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

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Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado

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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (Montana, Idaho)

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Death Valley National Park, California/Nevada

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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

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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

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Yosemite National Park, California

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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

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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

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The Demand for Tourism (Canada)

• Inbound Tourism:– 16 million arrivals/year– biggest part from the

USA– less than 10% from

Europe

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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

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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

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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

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The Rocky Mountains (Canada)

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Banff National Park, Alberta

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Niagara Falls State Park in USA/Canada

• American Falls

• Bridal Veil Falls

• Canadian Falls

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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

• http://www.worldbank.org/• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html• http://www.unwto.org/• personal database