By John Francis
Back in the day, when Brownies or Cub Scouts did something difficult, they got a badge to sew on the sleeve of their uniform. Tying a reef knot. Building a campfire. Did you get a badge for sewing a badge on your uniform? I forget.
When you walk the Bruce Trail from end to end, you get a badge you can sew onto your knapsack.
Badges are much the same as trophies; they just don’t take up as much space on your wall. And taxidermists don’t come cheap.
In 2020, most people don’t get badges they can sew on their knapsacks, they get selfies and post them on social media.
Badge selfies.
The Bruce Peninsula has always thought of itself as a “No Frills” destination, cheap and cheerful. It was where everybody went when they couldn’t afford Muskoka. “Our No Frills vacation is bogged down on the Bruce Peninsula; the weather has been acceptable.”
I think we need to change the way we think about tourism. We need to think of the Bruce Peninsula as a badge destination. More correctly, we need to think of the Bruce as a whole bunch of badge destinations.
It’s not a totally new idea. When Parks Canada placed limits on the number of visitors who could be on Flowerpot Island at once, it changed the game. It made Flowerpot a less easily attainable goal — a badge destination.
When they limited Grotto access by limiting the parking at Head of Trails, they turned the Grotto into a badge destination.
Next time you’re at either of those places, take a close look at the crowds. Most people aren’t looking at the gorgeous water or fascinating limestone; they’re taking selfies.
When Parks Canada cut the quotas at both locations to 50% for 2020’s pandemic, they increased the value of the badges.
They also improved the experience of visiting those locations because they’re no longer crawling with people.
Kayaking by the flowerpots on a recent weekday, the “Friday Kayak Group” were delighted by the sparsity of people on the shore — it looked much more pleasant than anything we’d seen in recent years.
We need to frame Bruce Peninsula destinations with the precept that the value of an experience varies with the amount of effort (or money) required to get that experience.
Getting to Flowerpot or the Grotto is more valuable when it’s more difficult.
In 2020, getting to the actual “Grotto” has become the stuff of legends. The “chimney” access is blocked by a large rock because there is no way to sterilize the many surfaces people have to touch to descend the chimney. So the only way to get to the Grotto is to swim there. But before you can swim there, you have to get a parking space and they’re all booked until September.
Does this reduce the value of the experience? I don’t think so. Do you?
Getting to Lion’s Head lookout or McKay’s Harbour would be a lot more valuable if it weren’t easy. The “attraction” would benefit from being more difficult and more expensive.
Let’s make it both — more difficult and more expensive.
Special bonus feature: the further people have to walk, the less likely they are to bring barbeques and coolers full of beer, so it will also be easier to clean up after them…
Think of the value of getting to Cabot Head lightstation if you could only get there the hard way — on foot, by bicycle or by charter boat. Think of how grateful the residents of Dyers Bay would be to not have thousands of extra vehicles blowing through their village every day. Think of the savings on the municipal budget if we don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands to fix Cabot Head Road.
I have a hard time seeing this as anything but a win-win situation.
Would it be worthwhile to install paid parking equipment at parking lots around Northern Bruce Peninsula?
Dyers Bay? Borchardt Road in Cape Chin North? Cape Chin South? 40 Hills Road? The arena in Lion’s Head? You get the idea.
We need to find an alternative to cheap and cheerful. The cheap and cheerful places are getting trampled.
