Travel to Nova Scotia

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At this time of the year thousands of Canadians have booked their travel arrangements to Thailand, the southeast Asian country that’s beautiful, cheap and has hundreds of miles of beaches. However, this year a public protest has forced the Thai government to close the airports and suspend flights.

This prompted angry tourists, who were stranded in an airport terminal surrounded by demonstrators, to stay where they were. All the while the world was watching the scenes on all major networks as Thai resorts and luxury hotels are getting ready for their peak travel season. With this situation getting out of hand the multi-billion dollare tourist season is in serious jeopardy.

The protesters want the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawa, a man whose main support comes from the rural areas and who the protestors complaint does not represent all the people of Thailand. The protest is slowly fizzling . . . for now. But what about in January? Or February?

With the world traveler suddenly getting cold feet about going to non-traditional places like India and Peru the mainstays like Thailand are becoming unstable because their government structures are unraveling. And add to this the economic instability and soon people will stay close to their own borders rather than risk being stranded anywhere.

Remember the tsunami? Well, the travel industry was just getting over the effects and now the Thai incident flies in the media and a dinghy-full of gunmen has one of the largest cities in the world, Mumbai, in sheer terror.

The point is, with the thousands of flights going to destinations every year the chances of tsunmais, terorosts and angry protesters is quite miniscule. It’s just that the media brings it right into the travel agencies. Let’s hope some Great White Sharks don’t begin a feeding frenzy off the shores of Nova Sotia or thousands of camera crews will descend upon us and beam the pictures all over the world. And then watch the tourism dry up!

The people of Thailand have proved their point. I don’t think this will happen again because they cannot afford an economic collapse  even if they hate the leader. Look for more strikes in June.

airport terminal, great white sharks, largest cities in the world, munbai, peak travel season, thai resorts

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With the economic woes in the U.S. a reality, and every television channel in the world spouting off doom and gloom, North American ski hill operators are bracing for more rocks than snow. Skiers who were used to travel long distances every year to try out new hills are suddenly getting cold feet. And this has nothing to do with the temperatures at the skill hills.

This reality puts ski hill operators between a rock and a hard place. Financing and credit woes have already kicked a few resorts, especially ones that were heavily indebted. An with skiers and snowboarders looking at staying close to home the far away places will not be able to give as many options because they won’t be able to hire the staff. Some operators re putting off opening gondolas to runs to save money and this means cutting jobs so desperately needed.

In addition, the resorts will lose in their hotels accommodations and food services as those skiers who do come will be looking for cheaper ways of having a holiday. This means motels and bed-and-breakfasts instead of luxury accommodations on the hill.

The kicker is that most of these people have jobs and the money. They are just watching the gray forcasts on the media like a person who is told they will be getting sick and, in a psychosomatic trend, actually does.

After 9-11 the Bush administration told the nation that the best thing they could do was to go ot and spend to keep the eceonomy from taking a hit like the towers did. Th new president should be telling people to do the same thing. Buy cars and take holidays because this will do a lot to both stimulate the economy and to gain trust in the stock markets.

The only bright spot is the increase in seasons passes for ski hills where there is a large local population. These people might not want o go south to mexico or the Caribbean for a vacation when they can ski all winter for a a fraction of the cost.

bed and breakfasts, doom and gloom, economic woes, luxury accommodations, ski hills, snowboarders, snow skiers

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“The protection of our natural resources is crucial for tourism,

as these regions represent the best of our tourism product.”

- Danny Morton, Chairman, Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia

For two centuries Nova Scotia was known worldwide for a large game animal called a “moose.” American baseball players, movie stars, kings and princes have all taken part in bagging the large-antlered animal. As Nova Scotia became more populated the mighty moose was seen less and less until the local residents began a move to protect the species.

Chignecto Game Sanctuary was established in 1937, primarily for the benefit of the Nova Scotia moose. This sanctuary was put aside so that the breeding stock would be viable and the species would not be exterminated.

Dale Wilson, an award-winning photographer who grew up next to the Sanctuary recently wrote, “Somehow, between then (1937) and now, we have permitted Chignecto Game Sanctuary to become less of a wildlife refuge and more of a forest management area. It would appear the bureaucratic psychology of the Department of Natural Resources has drifted from allowing ‘game of all kinds (to) live their lives as nature intended’ to a measuring a sanctuaries worth in board feet and metric tonnes.” In other words it has become okay to cut timber and that, somehow, the animals won’t be affected. Huh?

Keeping the 22,000 hectares of the Chignecto area free of saws is not only beneficial to the wildlife it is vital to Nova Scotia’s tourism industry. The Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia has jumped in on the side of the Sanctuary because the group realizes that wild areas attract tourists.

When is a Sanctuary Not Like a Sanctuary?

But why is there such an outcry now? Well, unlike a national park there is limited trapping and hunting allowed in Chignecto. Not only that, there is no provision for keeping out clear-cutting operations, open pit mining and other development. So this doesn’t sound like any protected area I’ve ever encountered. It really sounds as though this area is only protected when the government of the day wants it protected.]

Now the government has given a Calgary seismic company permission to test for natural gas in the region. Seismic almost always includes blasting, which is not good for the mental stability of animals.

There are different groups who are banding together to fight this incursion and if you want to join they have a Facebook group: Don’t Drill for Oil at the Chignecto Game Sanctuary

So join up and support this great cause. Your kids will be glad you did.

department of natural resources, game sanctuary, tourism industry association, tourism industry association of nova scotia, tourism product

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Judging by the name of this tour outfit, Kiwi Kaboodle, you have to believe that at least one of the people involved is from New Zealand. And you would be right. Greg Inglis is from the south seas and has brought his many years of travel expertise up here to Nova Scotia. He and his wife Trudi own and operate a tour, travel and event planning company based in Mahone Bay. It is seasonal, opeating in the summer but in the off-season by request.

In addition to all these activities the company also runs daily shuttles during the summer season connecting the South Shore as far as Lunenburg to Halifax and the airport. So for travelers to Nova Scotia this is a welcome relief from the cumbersome and not-so-user-friendly bus routes.

A custom tour operator  is a tough business in which to get a foothold but the Petersens have it covered in that they can do almost anything requested of them in the name of travel and events. They will even arrange a wedding for you if you need one! In addition, if you are relocating to Nova Scotia they will pick you up at the airport, arrange for an apartment and even help you get a mortgage! (I might use this service!)

Anyone can hang out a shingle and claim to be a tour guide. I’ve seen lots of people do it and then learn the job on someone else’s nickel. I know because I’ve done it, although I did have some prior knowledge from a friend who was a guide. However, Greg has not only traveled (You’d have to in order to get from the South Seas to here!) but truly far and wide. This includes a long stay Africa where he was a tour guide. Now, I’ve never been to Africa but anyone who can be a guide there can guide for anyone anywhere!

The point is that Kiwi Kaboodle has the experience. And this is necessary when people are putting their holidays and their very lives in your hands. People Spend a lot of money for vacations and don’t want to end up with a bush league driver with a rusty van. KK’s vans are licensed by the utility board and are well-maintained.

Their newest operation is a backpacker’s hostel just outside which keeps them busy the whole year round.

So on your next trip get hold of Greg or Trudi and let them help you plan the entire Nova Scotia vacation. Whether its a bus-load or just you I’m sure you’ll have a great time!

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As much as we would like to believe that the car was responsible for the falling fortunes of the passenger train it happened a lot before that. Passenger trains were doing a booming business for both the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railroad) and the CNR (Canadian National Railroad) until 1914. The First World War put such a demand on the trains that the government of the day advised passengers not to take the trains unless absolutely necessary. This policy sunk two smaller lines, the Canadian Northern Railway and Grand Trunk Pacific because, although the demand was up, the government didn’t pay well.

The Second World War actually came along when passenger trains were slowly going down. And even tough the government paid well this time the war just reversed, for a while, the sagging fortunes.

At the end of the war the Canadian National Railroad began switching to diesel locomotives and the industry completely changed. Fireman to stoke the boilers were no longer need nor were the huge roundhouses and maintenance sheds. And even though the railways saved huge amounts of money on this end it could not stem the sagging demand.

At this juncture t would have taken a political will to change things around, like we are seeing today with the promotion of hybrid cars. The automobile industry had huge lobbying power and planes got passengers to where they wanted to go faster. Gas was cheap and almost everyone in the 1950′s could afford a car.

Again we are at a junction in the country’s history. We have a huge country and every large city has a light-rail transit or commuter train system. So, what would it take to extend this from coast-to-coast? It would take a huge advertising campaign to get people used to the idea and a lot of seed money.

The question is for us: Are we willing to make the sacrifice for long-term gain?

automobile industry, canadian national railroad, canadian northern railway, canadian pacific railroad, grand trunk pacific, hybrid cars, light rail transit, passenger trains