The impact of tourism on the economy of Manitoulin Island is hard to overstate. Each of us is impacted by the tourism dollars that flow into our local economies and those dollars are not easily replaced.
While like many regions that depend on tourism dollars, there is an odd counterintuitive response among many to resent the impact of seasonal visitors to our communities. Complainants note that tourists fill the roads and, in the case of boaters, can cause the bridge to swing when we are in a rush to get somewhere on or off-Island. They traipse across the landscape and, in the very odd case, trespass in ways they would never consider doing in their urban communities.
But those are small inconveniences when placed against the tremendous impact our summer visitors have on our local economies. Rare is the business or service on Manitoulin Island that does not depend on the seasonal business to change their bottom line colours from red to black.
Thanks to the economic boost each of our communities receive from tourism dollars those businesses are here to provide groceries, clothing and hardware year-round. Very few, if any, could make a go of it if they had to only depend on the relatively sparse market provided by year-round residents.
When outside dollars, which tourism dollars by definition tend to be, enter into an economy, there is a multiplier effect which tumbles from hand to hand as much as seven times before slipping away from our shores. The tourist dollar spent in a local restaurant pays a local server who in turn also buys goods and services from local businesses; the dollar spent on a cabin at a local resort flows to local plumbers and carpenters who in turn hire helpers and labourers.
The population increase inherent in the arrival of tourists and summer residents helps justify the medical services available to residents all year long.
So although someone might think that tourism does not benefit them directly, indirectly all of us benefit from the boost they bring to our economies.
In that vein, each of us has an inherent responsibility to help boost tourism on Manitoulin and to make our visitors as welcome and provide as enjoyable a time as possible.
This is an approach that The Expositor takes very seriously and we do our best to walk the talk.
In addition to producing two tourism publications, the tourism lure book This is Manitoulin, aimed at enticing tourism to the Island, and Manitoulin’s Magazine, aimed at showing visitors once they arrive that there is no shortage of things to do here on Manitoulin during the summer season. Last year we instituted a new event on the Island, the Manitoulin Expositor Salmon Classic fishing derby, which promotes the local sports fishing industry, and this year, in response to a locally identified need, The Expositor has produced a free map of the Island detailing highways and byways along with points of interest for local businesses to hand out.
In conjunction with This is Manitoulin we have also produced a beach towel that features a map of the Island and many of its points of interest for locals and visitors alike.
Each of us can do our part by supporting local initiatives and events that provide that distinctive “Islander” flavour to our communities and by going out of our way to make Manitoulin Island as welcoming a destination as possible.
This is not to suggest that most of those who call the Island home don’t already do just that, because every season there are letters appearing in our mailbox reporting some outstanding local citizens who have come to the aid of someone in distress or gone that extra mile to make someone’s visit here memorable.
Tourists should feel welcome in every corner of our Island, not only because it is the right thing to do, but in the end, each and every one of us profit from their custom.
The next time you meet a tourist, thank them for coming to visit, direct them to a local business that can provide for their needs and invite them to come back again next year. We owe them a lot.
