Abandoning Great Lakes Cruising Coalition membership without backup plan poor planning
To the Expositor:
I recently read (with a profound feeling of dumbfoundedness (is that a word?)) that the NEMI council had declined to renew or support its share of the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition (GLCC) membership. Or should I say “failed to invest in the future of the community” by failing to see the benefit of the GLCC membership.
Honestly, I thought this was a no brainer. A $2,000 annual investment which is ultimately advertising the harbour and surrounding community. And you pretty much have a guaranteed return?
So, please correct me if I am in error. There were 22 cruise ship visits to the dock in Little Current. That’s 22 dockage fees. That’s probably a minimum of 2,500 visitors plus family and friends who came to meet them and spend some time with them. That’s also 2,500 potential buyers or seasonal residents. People like a place, they have been known to invest in it. It’s called exposure, which is something Little Current is desperately in need of.
How much money does NEMI invest annually in the area? I don’t mean BIA funds or Circle funds or FedNor, I mean its own. From the outside looking in it strikes me that NEMI relies on independent businesses such as the award winning Manitoulin Expositor and Country 103 to promote the area. Who funds the Christmas decorations in the winter and the flower baskets in the summer?
So let’s do the numbers. Your businesses pay taxes and employ staff. Staff live in community and support community, oh and all pay taxes. And they all add up. Businesses do benefit from these visits but ultimately no business, no taxes, no employment.
Should I also ask the question, “How many visitors are attracted just to see the cruise ships?” This area is so rich in marine heritage and it’s a history you should be proud of and promote. Visits from cruise ships were historically treated with a great deal of fanfare, it was community event, yet now NEMI sends the message of “go away.”
Little Current now has a world class harbour facility with a long boardwalk and finger docking. It also has invested in parklands and other amenities to encourage boaters to visit and ultimately return yet its thinking is too narrow minded to look to the future. Stop patting yourselves on the backs for past deeds.
And really, abandoning this membership plan without a backup plan is poor planning.
Randy Walker
Chesley and Silverwater
