From Scotia Cruises webpage

During the first of the projected four broadcasts of Live! With Regis and Kelly produced on Prince Edward Island, the province climbed almost to the top of the list of most-searched topics on Google in the U.S.

$1 Million: Not Really a Lot of Money Anymore

For those in the public who do not agree, let me explain this in dollars and “sense.” $1 million is not a lot of money anymore. With transportation and the production staff this amount probably doesn’t cover all the expenses, rather it covers the bases. The real advantage is the ratings the show gets when it is taken to a new location. This boosts television revenues.

P.E.I Regains its Place as a Tourist Draw

When Kelly Ripa came to P.E.I. she didn’t stay in her hotel room. Instead she went sightseeing and horseback riding. Then she told the world about how great the island is on her highly-rated shows. Regis wasn’t idle either. He went on a lobster boat and that little snippet probably gave a tremendous boost to the sagging lobster industry as a whole. And just think of the thousands of people who flocked to the island to get a peak of the dynamic duo.

(Kelly just told the viewing audience. . .”You should get on a plane and come here now. . .This is really that great of a place!”)

Nova Scotia Spin-Offs

For many tourists coming to P.E.I. would include a tour of Nova Scotia as well. So even though this province is not getting the direct benefits of Regis and Kelly the whole Atlantic region is reaping the rewards from the publicity.  This includes secondary markets such as transportation, B & B’s  and hotel rooms. And this is sorely needed when the Nova Scotia tourism industry has taken the hits of a dismantled southern ferry service and a depressed American economy.

The Boston-Halifax Overnight Cruise Ferry Project team is considering several specific cruise ferries for a run from Boston to Halifax. As their website states says:

“Our group remains open to finding the right arrangement and the right partners.  These range from chartering a ship with bridge and engine room crews to purchasing the ferry in a joint venture partnership with the ship owner.  There are many possibilities. It is critical to the long term success of the venture that the team invest time now in getting the right vessel on the right financial terms.”

Unfortunately, it seems that 2011 is the earliest practical date for the service to start.

“The overnight ferry will depart each port in the afternoon and arrive in the morning at the other, with layover in either port during the day.  This will give the traveler a sense of a “floating motel” in which much of the trip can be done while sleeping.  Existing travel services often require hotel links on either or both ends, consuming extra travel time and additional cost.  Should you want to bring your own car, ship layover will also allow vehicles to drive onto the waiting ship, instead of queuing up in assembly parking areas.  Leaving the ship will also be less frantic due to on-board clearances and convenient parking layout.”

The ship will be a downtown-to-downtown service which means that travelers do not have to take a long bus ride to get to where the action is.  The ship has not been chosen yet but will patterned after the successful European car ferry/cruise liners that join the Baltic countries with Great Britain, Germany and Denmark. These ships are small cruisers that feature bands, gambling but can hold up to 400 cars and 44 tractor/trailers along with 1300 passengers.

Will it fly? Well, it’s a good start. It takes the ball ut of the politicians’ hands and rolls it among the people. After a few years of lousy Cat service (and if there is a blank summer with no ferry in 2010 ) they will fill the vacuum.

One Nova Scotian sent this letter that would cause people to beware when sending out packages because it would seem that all postal outlets are not equal in price. In other words someone in the sub-station has his or her finger on the scale.

“I learned something over Christmas that I feel compelled to share with you. This won’t change your life dramatically or help you survive the apocalypse but it will save you some $$$.

I recently mailed two identical packages via Canada Post one week apart.One would think that the postage should be exactly the same….well, let me tell you…

Pkg # 1 was mailed from an actual Canada Post Office. Postage came to $11.74. Since I knew a second identical package would be mailed in about a week’s time, I bought sufficient postage for the second pkg while I was there.

When it came time to mail Pkg #2, I went to the post office in
Shopper’s Drug Mart. I handed the pkg to the clerk to be put in the outbound mail bag, I was informed that I did not have sufficient postage attached. The clerk proceeded to inform me that I needed to purchase and additional $6 worth of stamps. After explaining how I knew exactly what the postage should be, the clerk offered some lame excuse that Canada Post is unionized and they can say and do anything with impunity and if I wished to mail that pkg from Shopper’s then I needed to purchase more stamps.

I told the clerk to stuff it and took back my package and headed to the “real” Canada Post Office, where I would raise hell…

Much to my surprise, the Canadian Postal Clerk took my package, weighed it and tossed it in the mail bag, and it was it’s way….When I asked if the amount of postage I had put on the parcel was right she shook her head and said “Yup, no problem”….

The Truth comes out:

Canada Post Offices charge postage for packages at the published Canada Post rates.Franchise locations such as Shoppers Drug Mart can charge whatever they like.

So remember if you regularly mail packages at franchise locations (ie Shoppers Drug Mart,) you are probably paying too much. Franchise locations are found in shopping malls, drug stores and private businesses everywhere. From now on, all of my mailing will be done from a real Canada Post location.

Still perplexed by what I was told by the girl in Shoppers, I fired
off an email to Canada Post for clarification. This is the reply I got from them:

“Thank you for your message to Canada Post. A postal outlet is not a federal government agency and is not owned or
managed by Canada Post. For example if the postal outlet is within grocery store or pharmacy it would follow the stores working hours, therefore if the store must be closed, so will the postal outlet inside.

“Only Canada Post Depots and Corporate Post Offices are obligated to follow the price of stamps and postal products that are legislated by Canada Post. Any commercial and private establishment may charge extra fees as a convenience to their customers. It is at their discretion to apply additional service fees to products that they sell. We suggest visiting a Corporate Post Office in order to avoid paying additional service charges that corner stores or other establishment may implement on their products.

Regards,
V***** S******
Customer Service”

So, Nova Scotia does not advocate exorbitant postal rates, but when you travel here please look for a Canada Post building with a Canadian flag to mail your packages. And just to be sure, ask if the place is a government-run post office.

For those who either think that a ferry service is a drain on Nova Scotia taxpayers, or who just couldn’t care less, ponder the following:

1.  The South Shore Economy

Without the ferry running people back and forth between the U.S. and Nova Scotia the businesses of the South Shore and lower Annapolis Valley will be directly affected. This includes every business from bed-and-breakfasts to convenient stores. These are enterprises that pay taxes (HST and income), money that goes into the tax and school system.  Without this influx of revenue both Canadian taxpayers and those from the towns in the county  of “I-Couldn’t-Really-Care, Nova Scotia” will have to pony up to keep schools and infrastructure up.

2.  Geography

Take a good look at a map of North America. Nova Scotia is stuck out into the Atlantic. Now look at the major centers and ask yourself, “If a person wanted to come here from the U.S.,  how would would they come in?” The airlines are expensive, and  driving here looks like The Great Trek. The ferry from Bar Harbor or Portland gave travelers more reason to come here.

3.  Gateway to Atlantic Canada

With the ferry to Yarmouth a family from Boston or other parts of the eastern U.S. who wanted to visit Atlantic Canada could take in 4 provinces in one trip. Landing in Yarmouth they made their way up to to Cape Breton and took another ferry to Newfoundland. On the way back they got on another ferry at Caribou and visited P.E.I., then took the Confederation bridge to New Brunswick – where they were on the highway back through new Brunswick and home. This routing makes it more attractive for Americans to visit Newfoundland, a choice that may not be a priority without the ferry.

4.  Foreign Tour Companies

I just mentioned that the routing is best for FIT (free independent travelers) travelers but what about the bus tours? Each year hundreds of buses come across on the ferry system. Without the ferry their plans would be altered and a “Canadian Tour” might miss out on staples like the Cabot Trail or Kejimkujik National Park.  Again, look at the map and see it as if you are a tour designer. The route is not as attractive without the ferry.

5.  Halifax Will be the Sole Entry Point

Although I live in HRM this area is just a part of Nova Scotia. Right now cruise ships have turned seeing Nova Scotia into a half-day trip from the Pier21. Without a ferry this phenomenon could grow so that that more and more tours will be designed using Halifax as the hub instead of part fo the entire tour.

We may not need the ferry in its present form, but we could definitely use the old-style, car-carrying ships that run on a dependable schedule. Because it’s easy to dismiss the ferry when its -10 Celsius but the real cost will hit us next fall when we read about the 2010 tourism statistics and business closures.

For years a key tourism link between Atlantic Canada and New England has been the ferry. The “Scotia Prince” a  car-carrying cruise ship, was the mainstay of the ferry link until the Cat Ferry, a high-speed catamaran ferry, came into service. The “Scotia Prince” was pulled from service in 2004 and now the Cat has broken the link.

Today, the Canadian government announced today that it is looking into investing in a ferry service that will once again join Nova Scotia to the U.S. Peter MacKay, the Defence Minister and leading representative of the governing federal party for Nova Scotia, has commeced a study that is supposed to be ready by February.

What is evident is that there will be a seaborne link to Maine from here. And even though the new NDP government of Darrell Dexter announced that the province is pulling its support the key to the action was the line “in its present form. The Cat was a luxury, a functioning toy that could never replace the “work horse” function of the traditional, car-carrying “Scotia Prince.” It was expensive and its schedule messed up tour operators and accommodation businesses on the South Shore.

Whether he meant to or not, by pulling his government’s support for the expensive and highly-subsized Cat Ferry Darrell Dexter has succeeded in opening up the dialogue and forcing both the South Shore citizenry and the federal government to bring options to bear.

What I predict will follow is a better, most commercially-viable link that will revitalize tourism.

On a dark and stormy Halloween night in 1915, a train carrying 44 passengers and crew left Kamloops Junction destined for the town of Blue River. The train disappeared into a thick fog while passing through Wolfenden and never reappeared. Many have searched, but none have been able to find any trace of the train, the crew, or the passengers… Since the restoration of the 2141 steam locomotive, strange events have taken place around the time of Halloween. Have the spirits been resurrected?

Every now and then I like throwing in a post about what other people are doing to attract tourists to their neck of the woods. In Kamloops, British Columbia a group of dedicated people have kept heritage train running and now it is haunted.

Normally, what they invite you to do is to hop aboard the Kamloops Heritage Railway train and ride a 19th Century, steam-powered locomotive. In 1883 the completed Trans-Continental Railroad turned Kamloops into a bustling community. Thanks to the Kamloops Heritage Railway Society, visitors can learn about the history and heritage of Kamloops and area while roding on an authentic train. All Spirit of Kamloops railway riders should be warned, because Billy Miner and his gang are back to re-enact their famous 1906 train robbery.

However, in October they launch The Ghost Train, a 75 minute evening excursion in open-air cars that will guarantee to scare the pants off you. You will see ghostly figures on horeseback ride along side as train makes its way down the dark tracks. Strange cries and weird figures on the train will also keep you on edge.

For those of you who might be in the area:

Train Runs: October 23, 30, 2009

Celebrate Halloween with a one-hour long ghost train ride on the The Kamloops Heritage Railway’s restored 2141 steam locomotive. This event is not recommended for children under 6 years of age.

TICKETS:

Group of 20 or more adults – $16
See other prices below

Age Range: All Ages

Event Location: Kamloops Heritage Railway

City: Kamloops

 Location Phone: 1-.250.374.2141

Location E-mail: info@kamrail.com
 
Price:

Adults: $20.00
Seniors: $17.00
Students: $15.00
Children: $12.00 

Get Tickets At: Kamloops Heritage Railway

Get Tickets By Phone: 1.250.374.2141

Get Tickets By E-mail:  info@kamrail.com

From January to July the province saw and estimated 1,114,100 visitors, 329,000 of them in July alone. Now, this is not a time to rejoice but to go through the numbers:

1.  Wheeled travelers:  Up 9%  (25% increase in July alone)

2. Air travelers:  Down 15%  (However,  there was a 14% increase in July)

3.  Room nights: Up 1% from last July

4.  Canadian Visitors from other provinces:  58%

5.  American tourists: 8%

6.  European and overseas visitors: 1%

The numbers add up to one thing we already know: Nova Scotia tourism has been shifting from a foreign compliment to a domestic one. In 1999, American license plates were almost as common as the familiar sailboat ones from Nov Scotia and now you’d be hard-pressed to find one in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Of course, there are two main reason for this:

1.  Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative: This is the creation of the Bush administration. However many Americans still believe that terrorists stream across the border from Canada and so they have, in effect, “caged” their own people by putting restrictions on re-entering the U.S.

2.  The Strong Canadian Dollar: In 1999, the Canadian dollar was below 70 cents U.S. Americans not only traveled here but bought vacation homes and made Nova Scotia a home-base for their vacations. Not only that, recreational vehicles roamed the province from Cape Breton to Yarmouth.

The Americans may not come back in the big numbers of the past but by putting on the big events like the concerts, Tall Ships and, in August, The ICF World Canoe Championships Nova Scotia tourism operators may bounce back to the numbers they once enjoyed.

(Kat Gurholt photo)

Trains these days are a novelty vacation, and expensive – a way to get to your destination without taking the usual modes of transportation. So, many people book in well advance to take their “Cross Canada Trip.” This was just what they did for this year on VIA Rail. That was until the short-lived strike.

In the media it seems like everyone is happy that the VIA engineers are back to work. Everyone except the people whose vacations were ruined by the short strike. You see, many of these people scrambled to cancel or make other arrangements and the revelation that VIA is back on track just produces anger. And that’s not to mention the foreign and domestic travel agencies who canceled VIA trips during the past few days and whose clients won’t be rebooking.

Who were the bird-brained wonders in VIA’s office that thought that engineers, the people who drive their trains, should go 2 years without a contract? And why did they play this game of inches with them during a year where every passenger is a gift? And did they even think of the other people besides passengers that might suffer? This would included every level of business that services VIA’s customers.

The engineers, its seems, wanted reasonable allowances like 2 days off in a row. They didn’t want cash. But maybe VIA thought it was not doable. Whatever their grievances VIA – who gets lots of taxpayer’s money – should not have pushed this issue during tourist season. This is bad management.

These are short-sighted people who should not be in such important positions because they have sent a message to the travel agencies around the world that there is a chance that Canada’s expensive rail service is not that dependable and travelers have a chance (even a small one) to have their plans altered. And where was the government in all this? Why did the applicable agency not force binding arbitration? After all we won a lot of the company and out representatives should have acted beforehand.

BTW: VIA is offering short-term deals for its stranded passengers if bookings are made by Monday – 60% off.

So, do engineers not have the right to strike? Sure they do. And although the media calls it an “Engineer’s Strike” they should not field all the blame. These people have been working without a contract for 2 years so where is the negotiating sense with both VIA Rail and the unions?

Both should realize that rail travel is very expensive and people aren’t breaking down the ticket offices to ride such a high-priced mode of travel. So every time there is a work stoppage during the only time of the year people really want to go on a transcontinental trip the urge to go again will probably not be there next year. And who’s to say that another union may not stop the trains?

Tourism is much to important to Nova Scotia to let two sides play out their whims. And now, even if the strike is short-lived, the damage has already been done. On top of the thousands of unhappy passengers left stranded by the strike people are already canceling their trips. And this means less people visiting Nova Scotia.