Vancouver Island Nature Tours

I have been doing a monthly column for the Alberni Valley Times, the local newspaper. It focuses on generally on Tourism. This particular column is pretty relevant to this blog, so I thought I would post it here.

Five years ago Tourism Vancouver Island commissioned a study to be completed by Malaspina University College. It was an in depth survey of visitors to Vancouver Island. Students were given questionnaires and sent to all parts of Vancouver Island in each season of the year starting in the fall of 2002 and continuing through the winter, spring and summer of 2003. A tremendous amount of information was gathered. I won’t bore you with any of it. But if you are interested, you can try this website and get all the reports - http://www.tourismvi.ca/research/index.php.

The point I wanted to make was that the most popular outdoor activity for visitors to Vancouver Island is hiking, by a country mile! In every season it out-ranked every other outdoor activity including fishing, golfing, whale watching, and wildlife viewing. However wildlife viewing is second. In third place came “Other”, whatever that is. Next, astonishingly, was bird-watching!

So from that point of view, we here in the Alberni Valley need to pay attention. And I don’t mean just outdoor adventure companies and stores need to pay attention. Hotels, motels, B&Bs, and local attractions do too. So do local governments. If we are going to diversify our local economy, outdoor tourism will be an obvious part of it. It is fine to have our hotels full, but we need to give them things to do. Attractions like the McLean Mill, museums and the Water-bombers are part of the mix. (Isn’t it wonderful that I can confidently include the water-bombers!). Fishing is another solid and traditional activity too. But it rates only 6^th overall, and 4^th in the summer, in popularity, according to the Malaspina study.

Fortunately, the community is beginning to pay attention to this. For a number of years mountain bike trails have been proliferating near Coombs Country Candy. These trails make pretty decent hiking trails, but few of them are marked. There are also a few ATV trails being built. But these trails are not being made by any organized groups. On the other hand, the Alberni Valley Enhancement Association, the Outdoors Club, The Friends of the Log Train Trail, and Hupacasath First Nation have had a hand in trail building and maintenance lately. As well, the Alberni Environmental Coalition has revised and reprinted their trail guide. So money is beginning to come into the valley to support these efforts. And more is forecast as well - some from local government and some from the Provincial Government. The efforts a small crew of dedicated and visionary residents is beginning to be realized.

A vibrant and well-maintained trail network in the valley will have great long-term benefits for people in the valley. Such a trail system can be the reason why people come here. Not only visitors, but permanent residents may be attracted. And not just people retiring here but you active people who like to get out and explore. It is a marketing hook that is different from other communities on the island. We may not have beaches and vast expanses of ocean, but we do have a large variety of forested areas, rivers, lakes, and mountains virtually at our doorstep and at the doorstep of the people who visit here. A hiking and walking lifestyle is a healthy lifestyle. We have all heard and read stories about how many of us are packing around too many pounds around. A well-connected and maintained trail can change other people perceive our community.

I think the perception of many people with our community is that people who hike aren’t spending money here. Not true! Hikers and walkers will stay in motels, buy meals, and souvenirs. They will fish, golf, visit museums and other attractions, and take tours too. If a visitor spends an extra day or afternoon hiking, that’s more money circulating in the community. So we need to make it easy for them.

And it’s not easy for them, yet. The trail guide is a wonderful help, but it is a small piece of the puzzle. A lot more needs to be done. The guide provides very good directions to a sample of the trails in the valley. But from a tourist’s point of view, it is difficult to be sure you are at the trail head when you arrive at it. There usually isn’t a sign. And there are few signs indicating that you are on the right track as you drive to it. Also, nowhere near all the trails that are in the valley are in the guide. There are many wonderful trails that couldn’t be included because of a lack of space. And finally, maintenance of these trails is often an afterthought. In fact there are more trails being built as I write this, but no plan for a regular maintenance of them. I remember there was a trail along China Creek when I first came to the valley. It was a very nice trail with interpretive signs along it. Now it is grown-over and completely unused. With the wind storms of this winter, there are many trails that have suffered extensive damage including downed trees and washouts. Despite efforts to clean up the damage, there is still a lot to be done. Visitors will stop at these obstacles and it will leave a negative impression for them.

For too long the community has relied upon the help of volunteers to make and maintain a trail system. Some of them are getting pretty old and worn out. The trails they are maintaining are investments; investments in the tourism infrastructure of this valley. The same as investments in museums, sawmills, railroads, and water bombers. It is also part of who we are. We should recognize them as such and realize that any investment needs maintenance and enhancement. We should recognize the reason that people come to Vancouver Island is for the outdoor experience. And to keep them coming back, we need to protect our investments with stable and continuing funding.