To the Editor,
Re: Nanaimo needs new tourist attractions, Letters, May 20.
In my letter I made the suggestion on how to use the hotel tax collected which was by investing in tourism product development and not in advertising and marketing. The headline you gave the letter misses the point completely.
We, Nanaimo, are the attraction – we just need to make that even more interesting by working on what we already have, not on building an attraction like a casino, the tallest hotel on the Island or the biggest waterslide from the top of the Colliery dams to the ocean; although that would be an exhilarating ride and a great attraction.
If you don’t know what we have, just step out of the office and stroll the beaches, the parks and the waterfront for a starter.
Leo BoonNanaimo
To the Editor,
Re: Nanaimo needs new tourist attractions, Letters, May 20.
I volunteered for many years at Tourism Nanaimo and served tourists from all over the world. I answered countless questions but cannot recall anyone decrying this town’s lack of tourist attractions. I never tried to sell what we don’t have. People do come here to golf, fish, beachcomb, scuba dive, kayak, and enjoy our incredible waterfront and many parks. Tourism Nanaimo promoted the idea of Nanaimo as a base, its central location giving ease of access to so many points of interest.
I lost count of the number of locals who called in at Beban House seeking things to do. I’d run off a list of places of potential interest and was so often staggered by how little some Nanaimoites knew of their own town.
Bill Gardvia e-mail