Introduction

Tourism potential is a very complex and subjective term and it is difficult to define. The
central focus of this research project was the creation of a Geographic Information System (GIS)
model that will help define the tourism potential of crown lands within the Annapolis Valley. The case
studies presented in this section are collections of various models meant to assist in the formulation of
tourism potential and help narrow the focus of a workable methodology for a GIS model. Such a
model will effectively determine or emphasize tourism potential within the crown lands present in the
Annapolis Valley. Each of the selected models addressed tourism potential using differing
methodologies and data. Research has determined that tourism potential can be strongly linked to
concepts of environmental sustainability and carrying capacity of the land. This link was perhaps why
the first case study, from British Columbia, views potential as being determined through something
called a tourism capability model.