Chaleur municipalities team up to create tourism office

The City of Bathurst has eliminated two full-time jobs in the tourism sector to make way for a new regional tourism office, supported by the Chaleur Regional Service Commission.

The office was approved in November when 100 per cent of the commission's members voted in favour of creating the office, which has one vacant position — a regional tourism director — that will be filled by the end of January.

"Our corporate communications director is our liaison for the city in tourism," said Bathurst Mayor Paolo Fongemie.

The city recently hired someone to the brand new position, a first for any municipality in the region.

The regional tourism director will work with communications director, employees from other Chaleur communities, and individual tourism operators.

Sense of urgency

In contrast to the Acadian Peninsula next door, the Chaleur region is often overlooked by tourists as a destination.

Instead, many drive right through the region.

"There's a branding exercise that has to be done with the word, 'Chaleur.' That's really important. Our tourist operators are waiting for us," said Fongemie

"We have no online strategy. If you look at Millennials or Gen Y, they use all the tools, their phone, Twitter and Foursquare ... we're not there. We have to develop a strategy and we have no material. [The communications director] is struggling right now to find banks of pictures of our region. We don't have anything."

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The City of Bathurst invested $52,000 into the regional service commission in 2016 to create the tourism office, though Fongemie said it won't cost taxpayers any more than before.

"The overall budget for regional service commission is only $14,000 dollars for taxpayers because we made the decision to put the tipping fee for recycled goods at zero dollars. We reduce our expenses at one end to increase our services at this end."

'We have a lot to offer'

Petit Rocher, one of the smaller villages in the Chaleur region, kicked in approximately $5,000 to the project, which reflects village's small tax base.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Petit Rocher's Festival des Rameurs, a rowing festival which centres on a race across the Bay of Chaleur from Bonaventure, Que., to Petit Rocher.

The village also hosts a blues festival, which was well-received last year in its inaugural year.

"We have a lot to offer but it's not well-known. It's not well-planned. We have to package it and sell it." said Luc Desjardins, mayor of the village.

"We want them to come to the Chaleur region as a destination, not only a drive through."