2010 Adventures – Wasaga Beach Wobbles
In our line of work, the marketing of Canadian tourism, we have come to appreciate many natural features of Canada. We are always learning more about the country and are fast becoming very knowledgeable on every aspect of tourism in this country. Learning and growing is a very positive perk arrived from zig-zagging, back and forth, across the country with pen, lens and computer in hand.
We have learned and documented thousands of adventures and activity destinations. We have traveled thousands of kilometres of varied landscapes. We have visited with thousands of Canadian communities. And yes.. most of it is off the charts filled with beautiful scenery and amazing adventures. But, we have also witnessed the musings of local and regional tourism associations and the individuals who operate within their circles. We have seen and heard the good stories and the not so good of tourism.
Wasaga Beach - Helloooo anyone here!!
On this BLOG we have dedicated ourselves to the positive experiences and unique destinations available to you when traveling Canada. Everything seems so negative now a days, we thought why go there, lets keep it positive and informative and fun. So we have chronicle our adventures, sharing our stories on our BLOG and continue to publish our photos and information on our growing CanadaEH.net Travel Network. It is a small effort on a global scale to inspire more and more people to make their next adventure a Canadian one.
Which brings us to our next story. It is not a happy story. It is a story of misguided dreams, poor fiscal management and a great waste of a great resource. I am talking about what happened to Wasaga Beach?
We visited, stayed awhile, researched it and talked with people. It did not take long to find out it was a beautiful beach in Ontario. However… talking with people, we learned that Wasaga Beach was in financial trouble. People had made promises and they did not come through.
Wasaga Beach is an example of a good resource being mismanaged. How can you possibly boggle a piece of shoreline paradise that measures 14 kilometres long of white sandy beaches. It is one of the nicest beaches in Ontario. Where did they go wrong. Maybe too much reliance was on the beach and not enough thought was put into the development around the beach.
There is so much beach they have divided the beachhead into sections – each section is given a name or should I say a number. How creative?
Beachfront Stores on Wasaga Beach
Main street is a one way lane, with an assortment of restaurants, bars, rental shops and gift stores. Many were closed and boarded up. A new building at the end of the strip stands out – but they went out of business too. It looks god awful – a mix of Vegas and Mexico. Not sure what to do or say. Vendors and beach patrol all had a glum story to tell.
I feel for Wasaga Beach, so much potential. It is a beautiful beach. It is clean. But it was empty on a August weekend. So much sand and so easy to find a private spot and no one around to enjoy it. How sad is that. But do not let the circumstances sway you from visiting because if you like beaches this one is a must. Do not miss an opportunity for some quality beach time staying with good people because of the lack of foresight of a few.
I spent hours walking from numbered beach to numbered beach. Shoes in my backpack, walkman playing some tunes and the sand melting in between my toes. The breeze was light, birds swarmed around me and the sun was hot. If no one else was going to enjoy the beach that day, I had no problem soaking it in all on my own.
Wasaga Beach has an opportunity to make something special. The landscape gives it a big head start. It is never too late to change the game plan. But are the players up to it.
Wasaga Beach could of, should of been an Ontario Tofino, Sidney, Ucluelet style set up with pedestrian walkways lined with entertainment, unique stores, resort villages instead of trying to look big city and cheap with glitz and glory. It needn’t to develop as a destination not a day trip. Now the bulbs are burnt out and trust is low. Lets hope for the best, the people of Wasaga Beach deserve it!
You bring up some very good points. Exactly why we will be bringing our brand of EH Tourism to Wasaga Beach in the near future on our CanadaEH.net Travel Network. We will hopefully do our part to the turn around.
I agree. Wasaga Beach is in an embarrassing category by itself in terms of tourism. I also agree that it has great potential and many people with vision and business owners with hope that it can develop into its full potential. Are the players up to this challenge? Unless voters take a stand tomorrow the answer is a resounding no. The players are not only not up to it they don’t even understand there is a game in play. Clearly, if they did the Beach would not be in the sorry state it is in today from a tourism point of view.
Global competition for tourism dollars has never been greater. At the same time, the opportunities to attract the type of tourist we want to our area has never been greater. Targeted social media campaigns, an understanding of local/mobile search along with a TOURISM PLAN and a strong web presence are a few of the actions required to inspire tourism here.
Unfortunately, the Town Council and Town Administration of Wasaga Beach consistently pay lip service to tourism which is our only industry.
I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to watch the decline of a wonderful tourism location like Wasaga Beach year after year. This area has the potential to be the Gateway to a magnificent Georgian Bay travel experience. instead, it is fast becoming a suburb depending on revenues from residential taxes. Wasaga Beach is in the business of catering to its growing senior population.
So what you saw when you were here is the result of inaction, ineptitude and apathy towards tourism and business in general. Standing up and saying that tourism matters is one thing. Doing something proactive and productive is another thing all together. The Town of Wasaga Beach spent about 60K on tourism this year. Almost half this amount went to the Georgian Triangle Tourism Association of which only a handful of local businesses are members. Given that the Tourism Plan for Wasaga Beach is to ‘hope we have a nice summer’ what else do you expect?
Thanks for visiting and pointing this out. I hope others will take notice and understand that tourism can be something that is manageable, economically rewarding and something the whole community can take pride in.
Laura Snell