The new designation is a “consumer friendly way” to promote the area as a destination, said Larry Peach, tourism development manager with the South West Shore Development Authority, one of the speakers who went over the plan during its Oct. 2 launch.

The Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region covers the area from the Sissiboo River to the Yarmouth/Shelburne county line.

The traditional Evangeline and Lighthouse routes remain intact while the new designation is more specific in terms of the area it represents.

Product development remains a priority for tourism officials, with the sea identified as a natural theme around which to develop new attractions and enhance what’s already here.

Speaking about the importance of offering visitors “something authentic and real,” Paul Card of Bristol Communications – another of the day’s presenters – said, “Nothing is more real than your connection to the sea.”

Last week’s launch of the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores tourism development plan was held more than a year-and-a-half after tourism industry people and business and community leaders held a meeting to discuss how to reinvigorate the struggling tourism sector. It was noted then that the area lacks a major, signature attraction that is unique and that will draw people here.

Identified during that session in January 2006 as the top-priority item to be explored was the feasibility of establishing in the Yarmouth area an aquarium/marine centre of excellence.

The study has yet to get off the ground and the idea now is to broaden its scope to look at other potential tourist attractions for the area such as a casino.

Also on the priority list was Acadian product development and – as pointed out to those attending last week’s launch – local Acadian festivals took a more coordinated approach to holding their events this year and the plan is to build on this, enhancing the Acadian product in both Yarmouth County and Clare.

Total Market Readiness, a quality improvement program, was identified as a priority as well and 41 operators are taking part in it.

Promoting this end of the province as a golfing destination was on the priority list too and this is the focus of one of the sample print advertisements that were available for people to see during last Tuesday’s event. (Another ad highlights the arts, while a third focuses on the dining/seafood experience visitors will find here.)

Through the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores tourism plan officials hope to attract more people from the Halifax area and other parts of Nova Scotia, a market this end of the province has missed out on, Card said in his presentation.

“You’re not getting your fair share,” he said.

The problem – or at least one of the problems – officials say, is that people in Halifax, for example, don’t know what southwestern Nova Scotia has to offer. One of the goals of the new plan is to change this.

“We’re going to have to develop some new strategies,” said Peach.

Having mentioned at the start of his presentation how the area’s municipal units have come together on the tourism issue, he closed by reiterating the importance of this type of approach.

“In the field of tourism it’s all about partnering,” he said.

The launch was held at the Western Branch of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.