Windsor-Essex needs to do more than cater to thousands of birdwatchers coming to Point Pelee this spring. It needs to invite them back.
“You might not do it this time because you’re really focused on what you’re doing here but we want you to come back,” Lynnette Bain, vice president of tourism programs and development with Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, said Tuesday at Point Pelee National Park.
The tourism group launched its spring 2016 birding guide which this year tells visitors what they can do outside the birding zone such as visiting wineries, cycling and sport fishing, and asks birdwatchers to enter a survey contest to make next year’s season better. That should help tourism officials get a better idea of the economic impact of birdwatching.
Bain said tourism officials hope to attract novice birdwatchers back since they may also be interested in the cycling, water sports and wineries in Essex County. Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island will be at Devonshire Mall April 29 and 30 to show off the birding guide and encourage local people to take part in the festival too.
Tourism officials held a workshop Tuesday at the park’s visitors centre to give businesses a better idea of what birders need for a good experience. The group heard if birders are up at 5 a.m. then businesses and restaurants may need to open earlier to accommodate them.
Lynette Bain, vice president of Tourism Programming and Development at Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, introduces the Spring 2016 Birding Guide during a workshop to increase spending and retention during the Festival of Birds while at the Point Pelee National Park Visitor Centre, Tuesday, April 19, 2016.
Professional bird photographer Ethan Meleg, who is originally from Essex County, said it would be helpful for businesses to have printed out the latest email updates of what birds are being seen in Point Pelee. Tell visitors about other local birding sites, wine tours and restaurants serving local perch, he said. If visitors stay longer, they will be spending more money here.
“There’s so much to offer here,” Meleg said. “There’s plenty to keep busy for more and longer stays.”
The Festival of Birds is April 29 to May 18.
Point Pelee National Park, which is known to have recorded 42 of the 55 warbler species in North America and has been called the warbler capital of Canada, attracted 37,693 day visitors in 2014 for the spring birding season. That number rose to 41,315 in 2015. The spring birdwatching season attracts birders from around the world.
Cathy Baskin, owner of The Woodbridge House in Kingsville, said the appetite for our area is greater than our ability to meet it. She told other business owners to tell birdwatchers what else they can see when they come back for the Kingsville folk festival or the fall hawk festival at Holiday Beach.
“Plant the seed of coming back and coming back,” she said.
