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Originally Posted by Gravity Wins
I agree that Winnipeg needs to do more to embrace what it is that makes the city unique. But I think the lack of self-awareness you're talking about is actually quite common. It seems that there are two sorts of travel destinations: the popular spots that get as much tourism as they can handle (or more) and the less popular spots, which are always a little surprised and even skeptical when any tourist makes it their way. I saw a great clip on YouTube recently that showcases this. A Brazilian tourist meets the President of Bulgaria without knowing who he is. When the President learns she is from Brazil he asks in surprise "What are you doing here?!" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8XxW79ze0U)
Most Winnipeggers ask tourists "What are you doing here?!" because most Winnipeggers ask that of themselves. To feel that you have a city worth visiting, you have to feel enough love for it yourself, first. Most people I've met in the 'Peg list their reasons for staying as something like: cheap housing, nice people, and not Toronto. But there are lots of places out there that have nice people and aren't Toronto. The cheap housing might be becoming a rarity, but it's not going to attract a lot of tourists.
I guess what I'm saying is, maybe you get as many tourists as you believe, deep down, that you should be getting. Disney Land is sort of an over-crowded tourist trap. But they call it "the Happiest Place on Earth" and millions of people flock there every year. Winnipeg might be a hip spot with its own cultural identity. But we tell people "Go to the zoo, we've got polar bears. And don't walk North of Portage, it gets sketchy" and we wonder why there's not an endless crowd of tourists arriving every day. |
This is a good take. Winnipeg is obviously never going to be a major destination with a Hardrock Cafe and a thousand shops selling bobble-head Louis Riels. Nor should it. But by embracing what makes Winnipeg unique it could become the kind of offbeat place serious travellers seek out--something like Tirana or Tbilisi.
The best part is, by understanding itself better, Winnipeg would become a better place to live. People comfortable with the city could then give real reasons for staying like the hotpot multiculturalism, the first nations communities, and the laid-back neighbourhoods north of Portage.
You're right that a lot of people are totally checked out about the city. They just want their house in the suburbs. In and of itself, that's fine--things go wrong when they interfere in the city that they don't know--but think of them as the first wave of tourists.
We've all seen the promotional posters for Downtown, where there's some suburban family pointing at something. What are they pointing at? Who knows. Maybe they're amazed a city exists at all.
In a city that knew itself and was at peace with itself, they would point at something in an African market in Central Park, or Thunderbird House, or Granite Curling Club, or a shinny game on the river.
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Originally Posted by GreyGarden
Haha the same friend I was referring to above had the exact same reaction to pickerel. He couldn't believe it wasn't on more restaurant menus.
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Pickerel makes me think. I liked fishing well enough; I was never into it enough to go drop a bunch of money on gear, but I have an in-law who's an avid fisher and I always liked going fishing with him every couple of months and, of course, eating what we caught.
But if I hadn't known him, I wouldn't have gone fishing. There's no good reason for that, though. Why doesn't anyone offer fishing day trips out of the forks? Summer or winter, hop in a truck full of all the gear you'll need and your guide takes you out to the lake. That would be a great business for a friendly retired guy who loves fishing. It would be a score for tourists, but it wouldn't depend on them--lots of locals like fishing occasionally too.
There are lots of things like this in Winnipeg: everyone assumes you know someone or can do something yourself, and it makes a lot of things utterly inaccessible. Europeans love hearing about curling, but I've never actually been curling. Meanwhile, I hear curling clubs are struggling. Why can't curling be more like bowling--open to people who aren't already somehow connected to it?
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Originally Posted by steveosnyder
Literally every Saturday at the Club Services in my old city they would do a meat draw. The club was a little more bourgeois than a Winnipeg legion, but it brought back memories.
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That reminds me, I talked to an Australian friend here about just that. She also told me about bush parties and bud-spud-and-steak nights, but with stupid names like bush dersh and sudzy sizzlers (or something), and I was like, our people tell the same stories.
Ah, the colonies.
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Originally Posted by drew
If only there were some ex-Winnipegger in Europe that had this personal knowledge of that real, authentic Winnipeg scene - that they could base a new targeted tourism business on...
Opportunity knocks biguc!
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If you meet some Germans asking where to find zhe Voodbine or zhe Boy Who is Being Fat, you'll know who sent them.
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