Tourism Begins At Home

Winnipeg Trolley Company. Gary drives this beautiful piece of history.

Tourists seem to know more about cities they are visiting than locals. Locals know that the train station is over there, but they’ve never taken a train before and never looked up to see the murals on the ceiling.

Were you born in New York? Have you ever been to the Statue of Liberty? Locals can be forgiven for not knowing their cities as well as tourists. They are too busy driving to work, taking the bus and dropping off kids in school, whereas tourists are there precisely for looking and learning. Touristy places also tend to have a hefty price tag, locals cannot afford.

But, City Hall must also take the blame. Mayors have their vacation in the U.S. or Bora Bora , a resort I learned from a Nigerian movie, starring Desmond Elliot. City Hall is also the culprit because it allocates funds for tourism, but there are no ads on TV that target locals. “Your city, one weekend at a time” is a possible ad. Shout-out to the school system. Teachers regularly put kids in the school bus and take them to the museum and other places of interest.

City Hall can also design ads that feature independent tourist operators like the Winnipeg Trolley Company. You can’t miss it, parked outside major hotels. Simply put, City Hall has tourism money, use it to promote ‘know your city’ tours. Government workers don’t like thinking outside the box now, do they?

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders