(Originally published in TOURISM)
Touring trails are becoming a visitor lure for the less-travelled regions of Canada. In fact, there are so many recipes for cooking up touring trails that sometimes just choosing the right ingredients can be a little daunting. TOURISM looked at two routes in development to get a measure of what can be involved: Le Chemin du Roy along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River between Montréal and Québec City, and Alberta’s Cowboy Trail.
If you have ever travelled along the eastern slope of the Alberta Rockies, you have likely asked yourself how people got around this challenging territory in past centuries. Surely even scenic beauty did not make up for the hardships of travel over rugged terrain. Motorized vehicles have long since replaced carriages as the preferred mode of transportation, but the legacy of skills and traditions shaped by living in the west remain, making up what is known as "cowboy culture".
Some key players in the local tourism sector have high hopes a cowboy‑themed touring route will entice a greater number of travellers to go beyond the Calgary Stampede to re‑connect with the world that inspired it. Nine years ago, Chuck Lee, manager of the Southwest Alberta Business Development Centre in Pincher Creek, felt a need to give greater exposure to the tourism products available. He started to spread the idea of developing a scenic corridor to showcase what could be experienced along Highway 22 and south, between Cardston and Mayerthorpe.
“How do we differentiate ourselves? What makes this corridor different from something located in BC or on the Prairies? We looked at our communities from an outsider’s viewpoint and identified what we saw that was unique. We found it was our location in Alberta’s prime ranch land country, and thought this should become the major focus of what we want to do.”
Lee believed a consortium‑based approach would give smaller operators access to trade shows that were too costly to attend on an individual basis, allowing their marketing dollars to go further. The Cowboy Trail had some pretty compelling attractions to work with: the Bar‑U Ranch National Historic Site; the Remington Carriage Museum; Frank Slide Interpretive Centre and Head‑Smashed‑In Buffalo Jump (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
Duncan Daniels is head of regional marketing for the southern part of the province at Alberta Community Development, Historic Sites and Cultural Facilities. His office looks after the three latter properties (and others) that together draw 170,000 visitors each year. Daniels would like to see surrounding communities benefit from the Cowboy Trail. “The trail really helps from a brand perspective. Calgary is well known as the home of the Stampede, and Alberta is known for its western heritage; the cowboy trail has just taken it further and it has helped different operators large and small work together to promote and cross‑market the different experiences along the route.”
Kevin Crocket is director of product and destination development at Alberta Economic Development. He is watching with great interest how the Cowboy Trail evolves. “Touring routes tell a story that unifies a community, region or destination in the traveller’s mind. Routes give visitors a reason to come, stay longer and spend more money. They are a call to action. They let visitors know what they can do next; and they create strength in numbers by linking together communities, attractions and operators.”
Photo: Office du tourisme et des congrès de Trois-RivièresWhat more can be asked of a destination than for it to earn recognition as a reference‑point in its field? Half‑way across the country, another touring route inspired by past lifestyles is making waves. Le Chemin du Roy bills itself as North America’s earliest “carriageable” road; the touring route has its origins in early 18th century efforts to establish a royal roadway linking Montreal to Québec City. Since then, dignitaries of all stripes – from Pope John Paul II to Charles de Gaulle – have been treated to the splendours of the landscape and the built environment on this portion of the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.
Le Chemin du Roy had been vaguely recognized for years as a scenic by‑way that takes visitors through various villages, offering a slower paced alternative to Highway 40. What tourism stakeholders wanted was to add some value to the historic roadway through product development. (Le Chemin du Roy crosses parts of the Québec, Mauricie and Lanaudière tourism regions).
“At the heart of the touring route is local built heritage,” says the general manager of the Trois‑Rivières Visitor and Convention Bureau, Marilie Laferté. “Using heritage as an axis for development enabled us to impart a long‑term vision to our project. For instance many of the municipal governments we were dealing with hadn’t yet established heritage conservation policies, therefore we identified early on a need to foster a general awareness about the value of heritage. The tourism experience and heritage conservation efforts are closely intertwined; there is barely a kilometre along Le Chemin du Roy where there is not an inventoried or designated heritage resource.”
But because of the shear length of the touring route—250 kilometres or so—there are long stretches where heritage value is less visible and sections with fewer buildings and unfenced junkyards call for creativity. Laferté explains: “Then we work with features within the landscape or we try to build‑in an interpretive element about the contemporary environment. One of the key marketing tools we use is a map where the tourism product is clearly identified. We also propose a Rallye du Chemin du Roy during the summer, a touring game made up of a series of questions about some of the attractions along the way. Gift baskets filled with regional products are drawn for throughout the summer, from those who drop off or mail in their completed forms.”
There have been Chemin du Roy‑themed exhibits along the way; themed menus in restaurants; and Chemin du Roy‑themed symposiums. There are postcards, pins, and decals for stores to post in their windows. One of the latest initiatives involves developing an inventory of choice spots along the drive where people can stop for a picnic. Travellers can even buy a Chemin du Roy‑branded plaid blue and white picnic blanket sporting the blue crown that is the touring route's logo.
“Every year we come out with a new marketing tactic. At a more general level, we work with historic properties so that interpretive plaques are unveiled at key sites. All of these programs help but, at the same time, we must also admit that quantifying the return on investment remains a challenge because of the diverse nature of the product we are dealing with. Hotels record the number of guests they get, but the volunteer parish committee of a village church along the way might not.”
Yet, the most difficult hurdles Laferté her and her colleagues have faced in establishing the Chemin du Roy are the challenges around consensus‑building. The small successes are particularly encouraging: “Beyond just the obvious economic benefits generated through tourism, when a community engages in touring route development, it often helps reaffirm local identity. It really nurtures something fundamental.”
It is not surprising, perhaps, to discover along the way that legacy touring routes – meant to be showcases for the benefit of tourists – may bring even greater rewards to local people.
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