To the Editor,
We at the Cumberland County Heritage Network would like to bring to your attention a serious deficiency regarding tourism and visitor information being provided within various accommodation sites throughout Cumberland County.
It is true that most hotels and motels do provide racks for brochures, but they are not actively promoting the information provided and will only provide very limited in-room information on those services, such as pubs and restaurants, willing to pay for ad space which can run as much as $700 per accommodation site. Most of the twenty-three heritage and cultural sites within our network have very limited budgets and are incapable of providing funds for these outrageously priced ads.
We feel therefore that some form of awareness campaign should be initiated that would draw together the resources needed to better inform the visitor. This may take the form of a listing of all heritage and cultural sites within Cumberland County which could be provided to each hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, cottage/cabin/vacation home, filling station, corner shop and campground.
All the citizens of Cumberland County are proud that we are the Gateway to Nova Scotia, but far too many visitors are just slipping through that gateway unnoticed. Enticing visitors to stay for an extended period of time can only benefit the greater economy of our County. In other words, if the spokes of the wheel are strong, the wheel as a whole is stronger. By working together, each individual business and person can make all the difference. The motto Cumberland County Heritage Network is, "Building your Heritage from the Ground Up;" but we can only do this if all can see the benefits that promoting our heritage can bring.
Donald Agnew, Heritage Marketing Co-ordinator, Cumberland County Heritage Network
