Mexico.
Cuba.
France.
Australia.
These are all amazing vacation spots and I know a lot of people take advantage of these warm locales during the winter months.
But there is something special about summer.
Summer is for visiting your own backyard.
Taking part in the Spirit of Manitou tour last weekend, fourteen stops meant for over 80 artists showing their amazing Saskatchewan based work.
And that was just one small part of a very large province.
However, we do not seem to think of trips like these as tourism stops.
I am a firm believer in being a tourist in your own backyard.
I noticed it when I was living in Nova Scotia.
I was two things when I was out there; I was a tourist but also an import.
I had the best of both worlds. Days off were spent being an explorer of a new world while at the end of the day I had an apartment to go home to.
It was better this way.
I had that enthusiasm that tourists have instead of the nonchalance of a local.
Speaking with local people and asking them about different local historical sites or buildings, I got similar responses every time: “I have never been.”
One example that sticks out is an amazing island in the middle of Halifax harbour that has been open to the public since the 1700’s.
I got involved with the organization that takes care of it and got to go over several times before moving home.
Even with it being an island, it is very easy to go to with water taxis available for a reasonable price.
Taking the ferry over on a large group trip, again also reasonably priced to go over and back, many people I had talked to lived in Halifax their whole lives and never once looked into going over to see it.
Nova Scotia is a big tourism area with historical sites dating back 200 years or even more, especially in the case of this island.
Saskatchewan is different when it comes to the attractions and availability of historical sites but we have a lot that we can see within our own backyards.
According to Statistics Canada, when it comes to inter-provincial travel, Canadians make 316,254 trips around the country accounting for 1.6 million jobs in Canada in 2012.
According to industrymatters.com, the Saskatchewan economy had a $2.15 billion boost in 2014 from the Saskatchewan tourism industry with more than 12.5 million visits to and within Saskatchewan.
So what do we know about our own attractions?
How often do we travel within our own province?
How many people have been to Original Humboldt? Lucien Lake? Or Manitou Beach?
Check it out. You may be pleasantly surprised with what you can find in your own backyard.
With supporting local tourism and local business, you may also be surprised as the benefits your own community will receive.
