New NOTL chamber of commerce president talks strategy
For the new president of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce, there is work to be done to bring the town into the 21st century, but not at the cost of the essence that has made it a world-class destination.
“NOTL is a mature destination,” said Eduardao Lafforgue, who took over the reins of the chamber from former head Janice Thomson.
He brings with him decades of knowledge in developing tourism destinations at home and across the pond in Europe.
The town, he said, is much like other destinations he has worked with. It is rich in heritage and natural features coupled with the rolling vineyards that have grown over the past 25 years to make it an internationally-recognized wine destination. It’s a classy, mature image of wine country.
“We need to keep that essence,” said Lafforgue, adding, “that manicured nature is our landmark.”
That essence, he said, does need to be brought into the 21st century however.
“We are the old town of Canada, and if we barricade behind that it is very frail,” said Lafforgue, who views maintaining the brand while forging ahead with modern marketing and social media engagement an act of balance.
“Strong communication is the first thing,” said Lafforgue, who hopes to engage a wider swath of chamber members, fostering cooperation between the core tourism industry and the other sectors in town. He was quick to note, with tourism being a primary economic driver, almost all business owners are tied into the tourism game.
That, he said, will be a constant fight in terms of maintaining the brand — keeping out gaudier attractions that eat up vineyards and ensuring vineyards continue to do what makes Niagara a wine destination, producing wine. There’s a danger, he said, of wineries expanding their attractions at the expense of their actual wine operations, eventually reaching a tipping point where the production of wine that entices visitors in the first place is no longer present.
Moving forward on strategy and communication, Lafforgue is preparing to move on a series of “lunch and learns,” meeting with small groups of chamber members to engage them personally on their thoughts.