Dam Good Reason for Newcastle Bridge

I published the email below on an earlier post and realized it needs to stand alone.  This is about money. It is about paying for Nanaimo's $65 Million Dam & water treatment.  I am having trouble explaining the connection.   Can anyone do a better job?  Please Susan....:)

From: "Volker Grady" <v.grady@coasthotels.com>

Date: December 2, 2011 9:31:29 AM PST

To: "Jim Routledge" <jim@jimroutledge.com>

Cc: "Bill Merrilees" <bmerilees@hotmail.com>

Subject: NEWCASTLE ISLAND ACCESSIBILITY

Thanks Jim

 

I wonder what mandate the Newcastle Island Society has.

I am very disappointed and concerned about their attitude towards accessibility to the Island. 

Ferry access has never worked and never will and that is why we need the bridge.

Ask how many locals have been on the Island and you will be shocked.  We have become a very lazy and spoiled society and can't be bothered with the hassle of dealing with yet another ferry.  

 

What good is "status and appeal" if nobody ever goes over there and how do you take that to the bank anyway?

I have traveled a lot and have catered to tourists for 37 years in my career to learn that the attention span of visitors (thanks to technology) is getting shorter and their craving for more exciting experiences is getting more intense.  Therefore if an attraction is too cumbersome to access it drops off their itinerary like a hot potato.  Ferries are too vulnerable for many reasons and reputable tour operators can not include them as they pose a huge liability.  So if that isn't a show stopper I don't know what is.  We may as well move on right now and not waste another 12 years before the political will learns again the hard way that they should listen to experts in tourism if in fact they are sincere about wanting our economy to improve.

 

Why am I bellyaching you ask? I see Newcastle as one of the most promising attractions we desperately need in order to draw more tourists into Nanaimo.  

More tourists means more Hotels will come and everybody wins at the end since that is what seems to concern the Mayor the most right now.

We must be a tourist destination first before we can expect any serious conventions to book our Conference Centre.  Our industry, specialists and the City's own expensive studies told politicians that a decade ago, but they know better of course.  Anyway, give tourists a good reason to come and we'll need more Hotels, earn the "destination" status and conventions will follow.  It's that simple.  If that isn't prudent economic development then I don't know what is.  

 

Newcastle is potentially to Nanaimo what Stanley Park is to Vancouver and we are missing out on serious traffic the Island is liable to generate.

I am all about sustainability, which is why I suggested that the bridge must be controlled.  It must not be free, except for locals who get certain privileges of sorts. 

Tourists have a perception that if it is free it can't be any good so they stay away and look for serious experiences and bragging rights elsewhere. 

No point having a bridge though without the infrastructure that first and foremost protects and celebrates the natural, historical and cultural attributes Newcastle Island offers.

That is why access must be controlled, otherwise you'll have bunch of "occupy Nanaimo" activists pitch their tents over there before too long.

 

Sorry for being so blunt today, but after being subjected to 12 years of political arrogance I am not going to hold back any more.

 

Best regards,

 

 Volker Grady

General Manager

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