Tourism in Richmond County

Another week closer to the opening of the peak tourism season and I have been busy trying to get updated on what is new and exciting around the island. It is impossible to make stops at every tourism operation in the time allotted for the Destination Cape Breton Association Familiarization Tour. This year our tour took on a slightly different appearance with the tourism councillors traveling around the island by bus. This was not just a practical way to get the operators around the island, it was also a great way to get the most out of the travel time by having guest speakers on the bus filling our councillors in on what was happening in their areas. For example: Lloydette MacDonald and Ida LeLievere boarded the bus and travelled with the group from Membertou to Louisbourg, giving our councillors a presentation on Louisbourg ‘s Old Town- the story of the old Town, the first expropriation, the second expropriation, plans for Louisbourg’s 300th anniversary in 2013. Other presentations on the bus were given by Pearleen Mofford on what would be happening with Right Some Good , the culinary adventure on Cape Breton Island this season, and Katherine MacDonald from Golf Cape Breton made a presentation on the six signature golf courses on the Island. Alex Poulette did a presentation on Native Culture and on the Goat Island Project. Presentations on packages and events were also held at different locations around the island from Membertou, Louisbourg, St. Peters, Inverness, Chedicamp, Iona and Baddeck. It was a very enlightening trip and gave us an opportunity to meet with tourism operators and do some networking. The St. Peter’s Visitor Information Centre (VIC) will be opening for the season the 10th of June. Anyone wanting to make vacation plans are invited to stop in at the VIC and pick up our new travel guides. Also anyone wanting to advertise their festivals and events are asked to stop by the Centre and drop off your flyers and posters. The Visitor Information Centre’s around the island will be updating community events on our computer system to make sure that visitors to the island will not miss out and will be able to make the most of their vacation. Giving visitors the feeling they have had the best visit possible is the key to repeat business and getting great word-of-mouth. The staff of the St. Peter’s Visitor Information Centre would like to express our sincere condolences to the family of the Late John Boudreau, Warden of Richmond County. John will be sadly missed. He worked very hard for the best interests of Richmond and was a staunch supporter for the tourism industry.