PARRSBORO, N.S. – Tourism operators spend a lot of time preparing their product and communicating with tourists, but do they get enough opportunities to get to know each other?
Taylor Redmond, project facilitator for Cumberland County, doesn’t think so, and she is planning a Neighbourhood Meet and Greet for that purpose at Fundy Geological Museum on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
“The idea is that this is our neighbourhood,” she said. “When you live in the city, you know what your neighbourhood has. So, this is our neighbourhood and sometimes we forget what we have. There is so much struggle going on, you forget we have a lot and we’re doing pretty good.”
The meet and greet will invite tourism/business operators from along the Parrsboro shore, from Advocate to Five Islands, to meet each other and gain more awareness of what others are doing in the area. A second event is planned for the Joggins-Maccan-Minudie area at the Joggins Fossil Centre on Feb. 13.
Each operator will be allotted four minutes to introduce themselves and their operation, while Redmond will prepare a coinciding slide presentation. The Parrsboro event will take place from 2-4 p.m.
“It’s kind of a focus group,” she said. “If you have a visitor staying with you, you can’t possibly run a business and run out and find out what everybody else is doing. But you can give up two hours and find out.”
It is the same spirit that us behind the annual Parrsboro Shore Trade Fair held each spring, and Redmond hopes to also discuss plans for that event at the upcoming meet and greet.
She expects about 20 participants in the Parrsboro event, and hopes that will include some that are new to the area.
“We have a couple new business owners in town, and I thought this would be a good opportunity for them to get to know who’s who,” she said. “They can learn what services are offered in the community, and also get to know a bit about each other.”
Although some seasonal operators are not here at this time of year, Redmond is hoping as many as possible will send a representative to the event. She has been trying to reach everyone, but encourages anyone she has missed to contact her at 902-254-4098.
