Bay’s treasures in tides, tourism could change local fortunes

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register

Separating reality from expectation about the wonders of the Bay of Fundy is a challenge for tourism industry operators, said Terri McCulloch, manager of the Bay of Fundy Tourism Management Partnership.

Speaking to the October 7 luncheon meeting of the Western Kings Board of Trade, McCulloch said even most Nova Scotians don’t have all the facts on the 270 kilometre-long, vast inland sea, part of the Gulf of Maine. “There are so many myths out there about this magnificent and unique body of water, it’s no wonder that tourists come to our province looking for a twice-daily tsunami, or thinking whales jump on cue out in the bay,” joked McCulloch during her presentation.

Calling the Bay of Fundy “a gem of a natural destination” that has the potential to positively impact Nova Scotia’s tourism fortunes, McCulloch explained how Nova Scotia is eager to develop a tourism partnership with New Brunswick after seeing the impact of that province’s efforts to promote the Bay. She said when a tourism campaign focused on the Hopewell Rocks “single-handedly changed the fortunes of New Brunswick tourism, Nova Scotia realized, ‘hey, we have the bay on our side, too.’” What ensued was a tourism partnership that seeks to raise the profile of the Bay of Fundy and improve visitor experiences.

In her presentation, McCulloch called the Bay of Fundy a “unique ecosystem with a microcosm of climate and marine currents” - that just also happens to have the highest tides in the world. “That fact still has an incredible international cache, and having the ‘world’s anything’ is always a boost for tourism,” pointed out McCulloch.

Many visitors are drawn to the Fundy coast because they think the 50-foot tides “are just cool. “But there is so much that goes beyond cool, like the fact that the movement of our tidal waters is equivalent to the flow of all the rivers in the world coming in and going out twice daily.”

She said, given the often complicated science behind the tidal phenomenom, it is no wonder Nova Scotians have a hard time explaining it to visitors.

The partnership has developed its own terminology to help tourists understand the Bay. By separating it into three “ecozones,” each of which profile the bay’s unique characteristics, McCulloch says visitors can focus on the opportunities in each zone. Plans are also in the works to develop materials that will help visitors access sites of interest along the coastline.

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The Bay of Fundy Partnership is hoping to the have the bay designated one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, in a contest being run by the Swiss-based New 7 Wonders Foundation, focused on protecting the world’s natural, man-made and cultural wonders.

The Bay of Fundy progressed through the first phase of the contest by being added to the list of contenders. McCulloch says all Maritimers can help the bay make it to next level by voting online. “To become Canada’s entry in the final round, we have to receive the most number of votes between now and the end of the year.”

While seven other Canadian sites are in the running for the title, McCulloch is confident the bay’s “extraordinary coastal environment” is deserving of the designation.

WEBLINKS

To vote for the Bay of Fundy as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, click on the contest link at www.bayoffundy-tourism.com