Kensington tourism kicks off Heart of PEI plan, hope to extend fall shoulder season

Tourism operators in the Kensington area of P.E.I. hope to grow the number of visitors by promoting the region's shoreline and agriculture, especially in the fall shoulder season.

The Central Coastal Tourism Partnership and Kensington and Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a roundtable Wednesday focused on the Heart of PEI initiative, part of the region's new five-year tourism plan.

"We're pretty fortunate in that we have some fantastic shoreline and and agriculture," said Don Quarles, volunteer chair of the initiative.

"So both land and shores is something we want to ensure that we can celebrate."

• Heart of the Island Initiative aims to bring tourists to the Kensington area
• Kensington groups creating plan to draw more tourists

Heart of PEI encompasses a large geographical area, including Kensington, Malpeque, Darnley, Freetown, French River, Park Corner, Stanley Bridge and Bedeque.

"Authentic experiences are really what we are hoping to promote more of," Quarles said. "The fact is we have water on both the north and south shore in this area, we have farmland throughout and some amazing and talented operators within this community."

The roundtable session included presentations from organizers from Fall Flavours and the Harvest Festival. 

"With the exercise that Kensington has gone through in the last year or so, there's been a lot of focus on extending the tourism season," said Peggy Miles, tourism development manager with the Central Coastal Tourism Partnership.

"Some of those efforts are related to culinary offerings and it's important to note there's so much agriculture and fishing in this general area, so there are a lot of opportunities."

Miles said the central coastal tourism area has a "bounty" of tourism products to promote, including food, attractions and "L.M. Montgomery, of course."

Miles said the tourism association will keep tabs on whether the new Heart of PEI initiative is delivering results by tracking accommodation numbers and gathering testimonials about increased revenue or numbers of customers. 

Julia Cameron, executive director of the area chamber of commerce, said they want people to work together to advertise that "they don't need to leave this area to get things."

Cameron said there are some challenges, including smaller, staff-challenged businesses that can't stay open as long into the shoulder season as others.

"I don't think it would be an issue staying busy if we can solve some of those little problems," she said.

The tourism group is planning other roundtable sessions to share more ideas.

"We're also going to help support them with sessions that can help promote their businesses," Quarles said. "We are also going to help cross-promote some of our partners and [introduce] operators that didn't know each other existed."