Tourism industry – we need help

As witnessed last week when the tourism group met in Yarmouth there is a great deal of concern in this area about the future of the industry.

And, as we have been repeatedly pointing out in this corner for a while now, that concern is well founded.

Those directlty connected to the tourism industry have brought their concerns to the floor and have expertly articulated them.

This is an issue that has wide-spread ramifications on this area and, as the saying goes, we have to make a lot of noise.

Obviously, as detailed in one of the stories we have on page 5 in this issue with the official government statistics showing a more rosy picture it stands to reason that our local concerns might not be seen as being so devastating to those in Halifax calling the shots.

Month after month the official figures paint a picture far different than the one we are seeing in Yarmouth and surrounding area.

That being the case it is incumbent upon the affected parties—those most directly hit—to stress to our provincial representatives the seriousness of this matter.

The province cites figures that show a province-wide improvement and officials likely rely on those figures whenever someone suggests it’s not booming down here.

Yarmouth has long been a big player in the tourism industry. People from here arguably created a tourism industry for the rest of this province to enjoy; we have marine connections with the New England states going back generations. Older residents still recall the Boston boats, as they were called, that brought people from Boston to Yarmouth. We truly were the gateway to Nova Scotia and the industry owes a great deal to the efforts of those who forged an industry where there was none.

While we can’t forever rely on our history we should be able to rely on the government to take a serious look today at what’s happening to our end of the province and do whatever needs to be done to ensure tourism is not just an industry everywhere in this province but here.

Time, as the folks directly connected to tourism in Yarmouth can tell you, is running out.