New Approach to Tourism

Annapolis County is cutting to the chase this year in tourism development. It's dispensing with studies and consultations and employing a 'get it done' strategy that could see creation of a handful of tourism products and a means of promoting them all in one fell swoop.

And Community Economic Development Officer Cody Joudry isn't re-inventing the wheel either. He's taking what already exists, enhancing it, and getting local retail outlets to plug local experiences to tourists passing through.

"Our area was a prime tourism destination years ago," said Joudry. "We think it can come back. We have a lot to offer."

Joudry is looking for more experiential tourism activities. It could be visiting a llama farm, shearing the wool, dyeing it, and then hooking it into a rug. Or going out on a fishing boat -- or watching or helping a fisherman build lobster traps. In Joudry's eyes, the possibilities are as endless and varied as the people and occupations in Annapolis County.

"The idea is to come up with more ideas to reach a broader market," Joudry said.

Joudry's plan centers on two distinctive approaches that complement each other. First, he wants to take a small group of tourism operators and aggressively work with them to create at least one new product per participating organization or owner. He'll provide the necessary tools, people, and information.

A second group of owners of such businesses as corner stores and gas bars will send at least one customer service representative each to a one-day information session on key tourism opportunities in Annapolis County. As point of first contact, they'll 'sell' the new and existing tourism products to tourists passing through and looking for something to do.

The county is also looking at a five-day gathering filled with discussions and workshops with presentations on tourism product development, product packaging and delivery, funding, and business plan development. He also wants to set up a support network and a means for additional tourism product development.

Joudry notes that for every two hours of travel, tourists spend four hours enjoying activities. He said part of the existing problem is that there is already a lot to offer but maybe it isn't marketed well enough, the proprietor may not have a business plan, or may not even realize their operation could be considered experiential. If 'experiences' were developed and marketed properly Annapolis County has more than enough to offer for that four hours of activities tourists are looking for.

In the end, he hopes to have seven new secondary tourism products developed for the 2012 tourism season and three primary products, or major experiences, developed before the 2013 tourism season. He also wants to develop at least five new partnerships among local tourism operators.

But Joudry said his timelines aren't set in stone, they're objectives. "The focus is that a new tourism product is developed," he said. "The traditional approach is that they teach you something and send you on your way. This is a different spin to get people to develop a product -- and follow up on it."

Joudry is looking for action oriented people willing to follow through and the sectors he hopes to participate are everything from agriculture, fisheries, and the arts, to gardening, landscaping, and forestry.

Anyone interested in participating in either product development or in point of first contact can contact Joudry at 902-532.1445 or 902.526.2590 or by emailing cjoudry@annapoliscounty.ns.ca.

Story by Lawrence Powell

The Annapolis County Spectator

January 3, 2012