Central Nova Tourism Association
With a name like Central Nova Tourism Association (CNTA), it's essential to tell tourists that the region isn't simply an inland location. Their new slogan - Two Distinct Coasts, One Incredible Experience, should take care of that.
"We promote both the Bay of Fundy and the Northumberland shore," says Executive Director, Joyce Mingo. "It's a phenomenal area," she says. "We've got the highest tides on earth on one side and the warmest waters in Nova Scotia on the other."
CNTA has been promoting the region which includes East Hants, Cumberland and Colchester counties for 25 years, although not always with the same resources. When Mingo first started her job ten years ago, she and a part time administrative staff were the only ones in the office. The Association has since grown to four full time staff including a member services coordinator, a visitor services coordinator, and a marketing coordinator.
Mingo says that marketing has been essential to their growth.
"More consistent marketing and promotion has greatly increased the numbers of tourists visiting the region," she says. "At one time, it felt we were deemed as a drive-through region of the province, but we're really building recognition of what we have to offer."
Mingo notes that the area is probably a bit more raw and natural than some of the other regions of Nova Scotia.
"It's kind of an undiscovered area of the province. Even people in Nova Scotia don't know everything that's available here,” she says. “We're trying to change that and get the word out."
CNTA went through through an exercise in branding and identity which led to the new slogan. It's also resulted in the recent focus on the coasts of the region, rather than the routes you could use to tour the area, including the Glooscap and Sunrise Trails.
"What we found was that tourists have usually heard of the Bay of Fundy, but they haven't heard of Glooscap," says Mingo.
The new strategy draws tourists in by the lure of Fundy and its notorious tides and then teaches them about the Mi'kmaq people who first lived there.
American visitors are some of the recipients of these innovative marketing ideas. Recently, CNTA launched a new series of pilot ads airing on both the National Geographic and Discovery channels. The ads lead viewers to a website called fundyfun.com, a shared project with CNTA's neighbour on the Bay of Fundy - Destination Southwest Nova. Their aim is to raise the profile of the Bay of Fundy as a natural wonder of the world and an area that has the potential to be a "star generator" for tourism in Nova Scotia.
Initial results indicate the ads have been incredibly successful.
"When the television commercials air, we get dramatic spikes in hits to the website," says Mingo. "That speaks to the potential volume of American visitors to our area."
It's not just the Bay of Fundy that people are interested in. Tourists and Nova Scotia residents alike are attracted to the increasing number of festivals and events, including the dynamic Dutch Mason Blues Festival in Truro. The annual concert, featuring major blues stars like this year's headliner Bonnie Raitt, attracts blues fans from around the world to the area. Other festivals with draw include the Wild Blueberry Festival in August and the 30-year old Oktoberfest which sees upwards of 3,000 partygoers descend on Tatamagouche each September.
According to Mingo, the organization is only as strong as its members and she's happy to report that the membership of CNTA is incredibly active and engaged.
"We have a lot of dynamic members - people who donate their time by volunteering on our Board of Directors or on various committees and who really see the big picture," she says.
She also explains that the tourist association has a number of partnerships and funding arrangements that help sustain it. Provincially, they work closely with the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, while they also receive support from the nine municipalities in the area.
Of special note is the partnership agreement they have entered into with Millbrook First Nations. CNTA manages the Glooscap Heritage Center on Millbrook land just outside of Truro, and also shares office space with them.
"It's a really unique partnership between natives and non-natives," she says. "It's been very successful and our staff work very well together."
Of course, other monies come from the members of the organization including tourism based businesses, not for profit museums or galleries and the local community development associations which make up the region. These CNTA members are afforded some special perks of belonging including a bi-monthly newsletter, the provision of statistical data and more affordable advertising opportunities in regional magazines, television, and other media.
However, Mingo reports, the membership model is being reviewed by their Board of Directors and the organization may move towards a stakeholder model which would be more inclusive of all facets of the region.
"There would be more fair representation, as well as more diverse opportunities for tourists," she says.
In the new system, for instance, all campgrounds in the region would be listed on the CNTA website, not just the ones who paid membership dues.
That's not the only change on the horizon for CNTA. Its Board has also approved an "amalgamation in principle," with two of the neighbouring Northumberland shore tourist associations in Pictou and Antigonish.
"We all promote parts of the Northumberland Shore and it makes sense to do some joint marketing efforts," says Mingo. "To the visitor, our regions are seamless and we have so much to offer, there's no use duplicating efforts."
For Mingo, who was born and raised in Tatamagouche and still lives there, this area of Nova Scotia is special indeed.
"The Central Nova region is so diverse," she says. "From amazing wine and cuisine to sea kayaking and river rafting, we have it all.”
There's nothing she enjoys more than promoting the province that is her home.
"When you love something, it is so much easier to sell."
