(Re) discover its territory, inspiring initiatives!

Border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have opened up new perspectives for local tourism. In terms of inspiration, residents are called upon to share their best addresses and “hidden gems” more than ever.

Destinations and operators have been forced to turn to local customers, and to put residents at the heart of considerations: raising awareness and involving residents in the development of tourism, taking into account the well-being of the local population (e.g.: Magdalen Islands Tourism) and even a measure of their level of happiness (e.g.: Thompson-Okanagan Region). Inspiring initiatives that demonstrate the desire to develop sustainable tourism that is ever more respectful of host communities.

In this favorite article, let us inspire you with initiatives from destinations that have taken a turn for local tourism!

Our favorites

The Local Counter | A new orientation to strengthen the link with the inhabitants

In the fall of 2019, the Aunis Marais Poitvin tourist office began to think about the place of inhabitants in the territory. These reflections led to a change of direction for the destination and to several new features:

• Brèves de Comptoir: a newsletter for residents with favorite addresses, events, testimonies from local personalities;
• Reinvention of the tourist guide: the traditional tourist guide has been refined, changed its name and format, making way for L'Aunisette. This hybrid magazine between a travel inspiration magazine and a destination guide is suitable for both residents and visitors;

• One website with two entrances with content adapted for future visitors in the planning phase and for people on site (residents, but also visitors already at destination).

Julie Touya, director general of the tourist office states: “We're going to look for locals who are tourists all year round. This makes it possible to spread seasonality and to strengthen the link between inhabitants and their territory.”

The next step will be to redesign the physical space of the tourist information office to better reflect the values of the region in terms of offers and services (e.g.: sale of public transport tickets, art and local products store).

Pays des Lacs Tourism House | A call to artists from the region

It is in terms of the development of the offer for local tourism that this destination stands out. In order to promote less touristy places, the tourist office has launched a casting for local artists and entrepreneurs to find new project leaders who will aim to revitalize the regional tourist economy.

“Each project leader [presented] their offer for 5 minutes by integrating it into a tourist context: within an interior site (cave, museum, etc.); in a natural environment (forests, lake shores, etc.) or even on the square of a village during an event. ” (Excerpt from Press release of September 11, 2020)

The offer must be part of the concept of slow tourism and creative tourism. The selected entrepreneurs will be supported in setting up their activity in tourism and in choosing potential places to host the activity.

A great initiative to connect project leaders who are not from the tourism sector with more traditional tourism players!

Tourism Jasper | Inspiring videos about Jasper residents

Tourism Jasper has launched a new series,” Venture Beyond: The Serie ”, which features some of its most fascinating residents through detailed profiles, videos, and travel itineraries. Each story takes an intimate and profound look at the people who make Jasper such a unique place.

Leave here | A platform to stimulate local tourism

In France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourism will soon launch a collaborative platform. This platform aims to promote original tourist experiences that respect the natural, human and cultural heritage and that have a positive impact on communities.

This project meets a double challenge: it is aimed at regional customers and promotes benevolent and sustainable tourism offers.

What makes this project so interesting is, in our opinion, the way in which the platform was co-created. Indeed, from the start of the project, several stakeholders were involved in the form of public consultations with residents, tourist businesses and public organizations.

Passeport Attractions | Discounts for Quebecers

Since the summer of 2020, the Government of Quebec, Bonjour Québec and Évenements Attractions Québec have launched the Passeport Attraits program, a financial support for tourist attractions to allow them to offer a discount to Quebec visitors who buy a passport up to:

• 20% when buying two attractions;
• 30% when buying three attractions;
• 40% when you buy four attractions.

The Village Square | New third place for Mont-Saint-Pierre

The municipality of Mont-Saint-Pierre in Haute-Gaspésie recently published its Tourism recovery plan. Among the 5 axes of the project, the future Place du Village is intended to be a meeting place for visitors, residents and entrepreneurs since there will be a space dedicated to the discovery of activities in the region, a café-bistro and a business incubator. Although it is not yet known whether all these activities will share the same roof, this project seems strongly inspired by the dynamics of third places. Spaces like these also promote encounters between visitors and locals!

Have you ever heard of third places?

A third place is a space that has several functions and in which a variety of activities are found. They are places of conviviality, exchange, dissemination, sometimes equipped for work or equipped for experimentation (FablLab type). Third-places are spaces that meet the new specific needs of citizens and territories. They are also becoming assets in terms of tourist attractiveness and hospitality for nomadic workers.

Encourage re (discovery) and encounters

These examples show us that the boundaries between visitors and locals are blurring, forcing destination management organizations to adapt. More than ever, it is time to take into account inhabitants as stakeholders in a territory, an experience that is promoted to visitors. It is time, of course, to consider them as potential visitors as well. And it is high time, as paradoxical as it may seem at the time in a world still under the shock of a global pandemic, to promote exchange and encounter, which is essential for the acceptance of benevolent tourism.

So what do residents want? What do they need? What can they bring to the destination?