A group of municipal and community partners, including representatives from the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, Town of Antigonish, St. Francis Xavier University, the Antigonish Chamber of Commerce, Destination Eastern Northumberland Shores, and Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation, is working with consultants Group ATN (GATN) in partnership with Tulle Tourism Consulting to develop a tourism strategy for Antigonish.
Outreach and community engagement will be a critical step in gathering information and input for this strategy. A focus will be placed on community consultation with one-on-one interviews and engagement sessions.
“We are hoping to collect input from as many tourism partners, stakeholders/operators, and residents as we can,” says Laurie Boucher, Mayor for the Town of Antigonish. “This is very much a collective effort, and we want the community’s feedback to ensure we have an effective strategy.”
GATN and Tulle Tourism Consulting were hired in the Spring of 2022 to develop a tourism strategy for Antigonish. The strategy will provide recommendations for the creation of a governance structure with representation of local stakeholder groups, will include opportunities to increase shoulder season capacity, identity opportunities of growth for local operators to create an environment that leads to increase in visitor yields, and explore opportunities to collaborate with industry partners to further enhance tourism potential. Included with this strategy will also be a three-to-five-year action plan that focuses on collaborative tourism leadership, branding, and marketing.
“Antigonish has the potential to become a world-class host of major events. We know we have the venues, capacity, and resources to do more in the tourism industry and attract more events,” says Owen McCarron, Warden for the Municipality of the County of Antigonish. “We need a strategy to help combine and coordinate our resources to become a destination of choice for travelers.”
“Antigonish has all the key components to become a top destination in Nova Scotia and in the Atlantic Provinces,” says Stephen Coyle, VP Research and Strategy for GATN. “It’s a beautiful region with lots of activities and special events, not to mention the infrastructure and venues to attract special events. A cohesive strategy with clear strategic directions and an action plan will provide the guidance needed to enhance what is already happening in the community.”
The final strategy will be presented to the working group of municipal and community partners in the Spring of 2023.
For more information on the community engagement sessions, please visit: https://antigonishcounty.ca/antigonish-tourism-strategy/ and https://townofantigonish.ca/antigonish-tourism-strategy.html.
