Be a local tourism ambassador
I love travelling the South Shore from Yarmouth to Chester, and one of the things I enjoy most is having the opportunity to talk to strangers whom I’ve identified as tourists.
It’s often easy to recognize tourists at this time of year as they wander the streets of our wonderful communities or sit in local eating establishments reviewing maps and other printed material. Strangers scouting out buildings, pointing at various attractions and chatting amongst themselves are often sure signs tourists are in our midst.
There is no better way to make these people feel welcome than to strike up a conversation and it has been my experience that most of these visitors welcome a friendly chat with someone from the local area. Tourists especially like it when you can help them identify certain points of interests and attractions.
The best way that I’ve found to gauge the importance of the tourist industry in our region is to talk with the tourists and listen to their observations. I try to do that whenever the opportunity presents itself, and that’s usually on the streets, at one of the many museums and attractions in the region, or at a local coffee shop or restaurant.
I always start the conversation by asking these people where they’re from, how they got here and, invariably, we usually end up talking about their views on the area including what they like and don’t like about the province, and more specially, the South Shore. While we all like to hear about the positives, I believe it’s also important we hear about the things that need improvement because if we don’t talk about those issues, then nothing will change.
For the most part, the visitors I’ve spoken with have had few complaints about the province except for those that we’ve heard in the past such as poor signage, the lack of designated safe rest spots along the roadside, insufficient public washroom facilities and the bad road conditions, primarily potholes and the dense foliage that sometimes make for hazardous driving conditions. But overall, the feedback has generally been positive.
Here in this part of the world, we take a great deal for granted but one of the most common things I hear from visitors about the South Shore is their love and appreciation for the natural, unspoiled environment we get to enjoy every day. Visitors also tell me they like the food, which they largely describe as delicious and sometimes unique.
They also point out they like visiting museums to learn about our history and culture. They also enjoy participating in activities that give them the “real” Nova Scotian experience, such as going on a deep sea fishing excursion, exploring our forests and other natural spaces, taking guided tours of our communities, going to our many wonderful beaches or enjoying a whale watching tour.
There really is a great deal to see and do in Nova Scotia but one of our most popular and bankable assets is the people who live here. One of the most common attributes on which many visitors seem to agree is that the people in this region are extremely friendly and helpful. Now
that’s an area in which we all can make a contribution to this important industry. We can do that by becoming tourism ambassadors.
People in our region are known to be naturally friendly, but some of you may be apprehensive about approaching a stranger in your town. I understand that, but usually, when you see a person, a couple or a group of people roaming the streets of your town, with a handful of papers and perhaps even appearing confused, generally these people are looking for something and will usually welcome your help.
Take this incident as an example. A few weeks ago here in Liverpool while I was driving one of the back streets, I noticed a woman wandering along the sidewalk scanning a paper she was carrying and looking about as if searching for something. I could tell right away she was a visitor and I could also instantly tell that she was having difficulty locating whatever it was she was looking for.
My first thought was to pull over, get out of my car and ask her if she was lost.
“Well,” she kind of stumbled, almost embarrassed that she might need a bit of help. While referring to a paper that outlined a historical walking tour of Liverpool, she finally admitted that she was looking for the monument that marks the graves of James (1760-1841) and Jedidah Gorham (1764-1849).
The Gorhams were early settlers and benefactors of Liverpool who made many contributions to the infant settlement located on the Mersey River. In fact, the philanthropists, who were patrons of education, the congregational church and the temperance movement of the 1830s, worked for the betterment of their town and its people.
The efforts and financial support of the Gorhams brought about many developments in the early years of Liverpool, including the construction of the first public school in the area, the Gorham College and the Temperance Hall. I told her right away that I could help her and promptly took her to the monument.
I’m sure this woman would have eventually found the historical landmark on her own accord, but she was thankful and impressed that I would take my time and go out of my way to help her, a perfect stranger visiting from New Jersey.
It was no problem, I assured her, and inquired if she needed help with anything else.
She asked if I could recommend any place locally where she might be able to have fish and chips for lunch as she had heard so many positive things about our food. I quickly told her about several local establishments that are known to make a good helping of seafood. The woman was overjoyed and promised that she would check them out.
With that, I went on my way, but I will admit it felt wonderful knowing I had done something good for someone else. It wasn’t much, I’ll agree, but in the end I’m sure this visitor will remember that stranger in Liverpool who went out of his way to help her.
When I say we all have a role to play as tourism ambassadors for our communities, this is the type of thing I’m talking about. It’s free, easy and gratifying to know you can help someone find his or her way, or at least that’s the view from here.