Visitors want ‘experiences’

Some—like rug hooker Vicki Graham, fisherman Terry Farnsworth, and environmentalist Warren Paton—are already making plans for what they will be offering tourists this summer. “There are a lot of other people who have the potential to tap into the tourism market, but just don’t know it yet,” says Kathleen Shea of the Annapolis Digby Economic Development Agency. ‘Experiential tourism’ is what happens when tourists get involved with the community they are visiting. When they return home, they talk about their vacation for years—to friends, family, and anyone else who will listen, she said. “They’ve made memories,” says another ADEDA official Joy O’Neill. “They’ve also acquired bragging rights. They’ve experienced something that most people haven’t.” ‘Hooking by the Sea’ is the name of the business that rug hooker Graham launched in 2007. In cooperation with other Brier Island businesses, she offers tourism packages that include island accommodation, cuisine, entertainment—and workshops for hookers.

The last weekend in May, she’ll be hosting a ‘Wild and Wooly Weekend’ and adding sheep shearing to the mix.

Graham says her original plan was to offer rug hooking classes locally, but after attending ADEDA workshops led by experiential tourism guru Celes Davar, she began thinking bigger.

Graham says she’s recently been contacted by the Black Sheep Inn in Finger Lakes, N.Y., and will be traveling there to share ideas and discuss the possibility of doing workshops with them. “Things have just taken off,” she says. “I keep pinching myself. It blows my mind.”

Fisherman Terry Farnsworth says he is still pondering experiential tourism possibilities. “I’m looking into what’s required by Transport Canada if I invite people onto my boat.”

As well as tourists, Farnsworth thinks there may be students who are interested in discovery projects or science projects.

A storyteller and musician as well as a handliner, Farnsworth says there is also the potential to tell stories and sing songs—“whether it be at a beach or at a lodge.” “I’ve been told not to close doors on opportunities,” he said.

Warren Paton, who had a successful business for many years building and selling wooden toys, is thinking about offering families the opportunity to craft their own toys at his new residence in the former Cornwallis fire hall.

An environmentalist, Paton will also share the 65-acre marsh wildlife area he has preserved just outside of Digby at Saint Mary’s Bay. He has been conducting student tours of the salt marsh highlighting the biodiversity of the area now for 10 years. Last year he began offering tours to visitors.

Paton, who acquired the marshland property piece by piece over several years, was awarded a Visionary Award in 2006 by the Gulf of Maine Council for his environmental stewardship and conservation effort.

A college professor in a previous life, Paton is well equipped to educate, while sharing his appreciation of nature.

Foxton says she’s currently putting together an inventory of experiential tourism possibilities, and her next step will be to sample them. She anticipates that some people will be able to offer workshops at the Pines and others will require Pines guests to visit their locations.

Foxton is also creating a calendar of events taking place at the hotel and in the local community. ‘Experiences’ will be promoted to guests upon their arrival at the resort, and on the Pines Resort website.