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The Cadre, December 2, 1975, page 6

Proposal For Change“ to t

Ed's note: we didn't feel the need to add anything to this

because it says it all.

The promotion of Tourism Prince Edward Island style has been a matter of conc— ern and study for our gro— ups for quite some time.

We realize that the tour— ist industry and its future is very important to the Government, otherwise you would not have commissioned the present study by ABT.

The purpose of the Brief is to raise important que— stions connected with the promotion of tourism. It is our belief that tourism needs to be guided and controlled so that it fits into our Island way of life which should be firmly ba— sed on farming and fishing and the spin-off production which meets basic human needs.v Tourism is seem by us as an.extra,‘henCe.ourq concern about its rapid growth.

We are not suggesting that Islanders hoard the beauties of nature. It wo— uld be wrong to keep away people who want to share P.E.I.'s beauty in ways wh- ich are positive, not lux— urious, not unreal or es— capist, not disrespectful

of the needs, 9f: 29.913419 ¥h9§m a

live here all year round. Tourism does have good. points. importance of leisure but at the same time we are ch— allenged to develop in our— selves and others an atti-

tude of caring, sparing, and sharing.

Dep't of Tourism

Looking back over the work of the past year,-thez

PremierI deserires- «estates:- raIEJ ’ 4 “ -a} Islanders;

K . following temples? "Th‘er'e‘:

latioﬁé“i§n (his? takeaway» with land use, 'e'.g. ,- the" FedEral Court case and eff— orts in land use which have inspired the other

We believe in the,.»

premiers. It is our hope that all of this'leads to positive action for the good of P.E.I. However, we wonder just what has happ— ened to the Royal Commiss— ion on Land Use? When can we expect the long overdue land use legislation which is so desperately needed on this Island?

At this point we are compelled to express our concern about the informa— tion on tourism which re- aches the public from time to time. Our concern.is that we may be pushed into a model of tourist develo— pment which is not in the best interests of the Is- land. Indications are that the Department of Tourism intends to continue its promotion of tourism, add— ing frills and expanding I both the seaw andftour+.di

ist faéilitie’éé. waibengr‘t‘f

that the Island is first' and foremost a place for Islanders to return to. Tourism is not meant to be commercial and we must avoid the deception that people are tourists when they are coming_home-for a visit. 'We also believe that it is unwise to pro— mote tourism in these pre- carious.- imessf Retrol- ,. cheiihéi‘iﬁﬁﬁtiégeﬁg géafirifi Z flation, and unhealthy to’ put so much money and en— ergy_into an industry which generates unproductive work. Several messages, e.g., the Labour Day Statement of the Canadian Bishops and indeed some of the Premier's own speeches seem to us to be in conflict with the kind of tourist promotion which is, in our eyes, extravag—

ant and attainments: 6f)"; ’7 we! affair aha m-z -. “'rries concentrated in a

is the high cost to Island— ers of advertising P.E.I. during the N.H.L. playoffs.

he Minist/erIof/Tourism

Many Islanders found it difficult to watch such propaganda and saw no good reason for it. It is over- promotion and one of many examples of questionable methods. There is the ‘ Tourist Information Centre’ at Poole's Corner which

is again unnecessary and -extravagant; there is the recent joint plan of the four Atlantic Provinces and the Federal Government to jOin together to spend even more money on tourist promotion and commit more Island money to advertis— ing; there is the appeal to the rich through prom— otion of special packages including airline flights (this is how international tourism.which benefits a few people begins). Al- though we have no quarrel with the service which

Air Canada is giving to ‘the Island, we are fami4

liar with its tourist pro— motiﬂn policies in other places, e.g., the Caribb- ean, Bermuda and Mexico. There is evidence that the airline has Similar inten- tions to promote tourism

' in the Atlantic Provinces.

This is verified by artic- les in Enroute and other types of propaganda.]

:cher sighs bf’priOrity{”1

for rapid expansiOh Of

tourism are the continued \

suggestions that Island

facilities be overstrain— ed for the benefit of to— urists, e.g., the sugges- tion that children of to— urists attend Island sch- ools; the recent $16,000 study of the Department

of Tourism, Parks and Co- nservation indicating a

T yearly increase of 8»to

10 percentﬁinﬁuse of fe—"

span of two to three mo- nths during the summer . season; the gimmicks and

novelties which are con— tinually being devised to please tourists; the false tourist expectations which are due to unreal adverti— sing, tending to make the Island a kind of fantasy land;,the use of travel .agents and their language 'which in fact promote on- ly the "fast buck" and which talk about "selling' the basic charm of the .people."

False advertising at—' tracted several tourists to the Island in 1975. So— me of them were unable to get adequate accomodations. This has let to frustrat- ions for the tourist and worse still, to the recent comments by the Minister of Tourism that he is see- king DREE funds "to encou— rage creation of accomoda— tions in the areas where they are needed." Is the government unable to see that many Islanders lack adequate accomodations and that their needs have priority? ’

Lite Styles

Tourism as it is now promoted is imposed on our people. It is,seen as over—promoting-the4th+~ :' ings which*Islanders”con=".‘ 'sider- to"be of ieaétqméagxu . rvortance.JSDiscussion withf" IslanderS'reveals:thatﬁwel don't want to change our‘ lifestyle for the tourists. The tourist industry must accept us as we are. Our attitude towards the tou— JiSt is "You're welcome, not for your money. You are a person." Islanders need to,be encouraged to maintain our identity, ’ way of life and spirit of ‘ hospitality as a people. But when the Island is ad- vertised in unreal terms and people are enticed to come, we are forced to re-

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