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| Rural Tourism at its best: Sleigh rides are a hit at the Beaver Creek Ranch in Lumsden, Saskatchewan |
(originally published in the Rural Councillor)
There has never been a more exciting time to consider agritourism initiatives in Saskatchewan than now. I am not an agricultural producer, but I earn a living through the tourism industry partly by collecting a commission on sales of agritourism products to guests from France, Great Britain, Belgium, the U.S., Korea, Switzerland and Canada, among many countries.
My company has made a specialty of selling the Great Plains region. Not by throwing massive advertising dollars against Niagara Falls or Disneyworld, but rather, by proposing exclusive products that capitalize on the distinctive features of the resources we have access to, and by building the kind of international partnerships that effectively take our products to the right consumers.
Wherever they originate from, travellers are becoming more discerning about the way they choose to spend their leisure dollars. They do their homework, and as a result they increasingly seek out those tourism experiences that are authentic in nature. Nothing leaves a memorable impression among guests like a stay at a guest ranch; a horse pack trip; the ability to participate in a cattle round-up; a small town rodeo or a fowl supper.
One of the most comprehensive surveys of travel consumer preferences in Canada—the Travel And Motivation Survey (TAMS) conducted by the Canadian Tourism Commission—suggested a few years ago that there was an increasing demand for hands-on types of tourism experiences among travellers both in Canada and the United States. This is only likely to intensify, given current population trends that point to more aging travellers remaining physically active and independent longer.
In a special analysis of TAMS in 2002 that focused specifically on Heritage Tourism Enthusiasts, many travellers shared with investigators they had taken in local festivals or fairs; general history museums; historical replicas of cities/towns; western theme events; historic sites; farmers’ fairs or markets; pick-your-own farms or harvesting activities in the past. Moreover, emerging market segments such as cultural, adventure and culinary tourism allow the creation of new product formulas that can really connect with rural destination seekers.
The truth is that more than ever, travellers are expressing a genuine interest in visiting destinations that are off the beaten path. We have all seen RVs with German, French, American and Canadian travellers pulling into town for no apparent reason other than just to see what it was like. What if we had been prepared for them? What do we need to do get them to tell their friends to come as well? We need to increase the diversity of local offerings and products; and we need to let our tourism marketing organizations know about it so they can keep consumers and the travel trade informed of developments.
When I look at the variety of value-added agricultural products on display at Saskatchewan Made stores and among the operators of the Saskatchewan Fruit Growers Association, I become convinced that we are truly at the dawn of a new era. One which will increasingly see tourism industry partners become part of the value chain of agricultural producers—an era that will bear witness to the emergence of regional “flavours” of the land that consumers will seek in supermarkets, as well as in their travels. After all, tourism regions are as compelling as their products.
How do we connect this value chain with the consumers? By formulating unique selling propositions that are richly endowed with local identity and a local “sense of place.”
Since 1998, my company and I have been invited by rural communities across Canada, Colorado, Alaska and North Dakota to help develop and package their tourism potential. Our survey of current trends leads us to conclude that the kind of economic prosperity through tourism that we hope to engender will not occur unless mechanisms are put into place to ensure the host community is engaged in the process. One of the most innovative concepts to address this which has emerged in the last 30 years is the ecomuseum.
An ecomuseum is a type of museum without walls focused on the identity of a place, and largely based on local participation. It aims to enhance local community development. It has also been described as a dynamic tool with which communities preserve, interpret and manage their heritage with a view to sustainable development.
Simply put, instead of focusing strictly on collections, ecomuseums focus on heritage in a holistic sense; on environments and local populations over a defined geographical territory. There are ecomuseums in Italy, France, England, China and South Africa. Some focus on river valleys settlements; villages with common traditions; or on a particular landscape where communities share common economic traditions like mining or agriculture. It would be quite legitimate to think of establishing an ecomuseum of railway towns, for instance.
While the process rather than the museum product itself is seen as more important in ecomuseum development, economic regeneration remains a central goal and responsible tourism development is almost always seen as a desirable outcome.
There are 300 operating ecomuseums in the world, about 200 of which that are in Europe and a few in Canada. What a fortunate turn of event it is that there seem to be more opportunities for farm operators to access funds to acquire new skills and proficiencies at the moment than there has been in a long time. Why not consider tourism training in the form of product development workshops as part of an ecomuseum initiative?
If agriculture is an inescapable part of the fabric of our Saskatchewan identity, and if we want to convince our population that there is a bright future around this evolving sector of our economy, what better marketing tactic can there be than to create market-ready packages of rural tourism offerings for the unfulfilled souls who long for the kind of experiences only you can provide.
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