Visitors entering Canada via the international bridge here soon will see a new spiffed-up look as they arrive, the Rainy River District Municipal Association was told Saturday.
Geoff Gillon, with the Rainy River Future Development Corp., presented an ambitious plan at the RRDMA’s annual general meeting in Devlin to convert the information centre currently located just east of the bridge into a “Gateway to Canada” concept, complete with interchangeable murals depicting the history and ecosystem of Northwestern Ontario.
The purpose of the project, Gillon explained, is to attract more American visitors to Canada. According to RRFDC research, more Americans from outside of Minnesota take their vacations there rather than make the extra step across the border.
“Recent studies indicate only a small percentage of Americans who are interested in outdoor wilderness recreation visit Canada,” Gillon said.
“Many more vacation within two hours of Canada in northern Minnesota resort communities. It’s those people we’re after,” he added.
The other objectives are to make the initial experience of entering Canada as pleasant as possible and to overcome the perceptions that prevent Americans from visiting here.
Furthermore, the reader board and displays are calculated to increase visitors’ knowledge of the sustainable management of the distinctive ecosystem of the area that’s not found anywhere in the U.S. Midwest.
The concept came about as a result of the initiatives of several groups and organizations, including the Fort Frances Sport Fishing Centre feasibility study and the “Re-inventing Fort Frances” feasibility study.
In both cases, it was discovered there’s a considerable amount of misconception regarding what Northwestern Ontario offers visitors.
The program will divided into several parts. The first part will see a reader board and a series of signs on the bridge and on highways in northern Minnesota promoting the unique vacation opportunities available here.
In addition, there are plans to replace current the tourist information centre with a Canada Discovery Centre located closer to the end of the bridge so visitors will have a one-stop information facility available.
It’s hoped various groups, from aboriginal and business organizations to municipalities, will participate in the project.
Gillon said $37,000 already has been allocated for the reader board and additional $78,000 for improvements to the bridge.
It is hoped the provincial government will get involved in a future partnership to develop and promote the proposed Canada Discovery Centre.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
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