Peggy`s Cove, N.S.

TOURISM
Somesaythe provinceshouldprovide
morefinancialsupport,sinceit reapsthe
benefitsof tourism and taxes from the
village.Otherwise,in the words of one
resident,it could lose "the callin! card
of'NovaScotial' RogerCrooks,a Peggy's
Cove fisherman,says:' !.Thegovernment
is just taking money out and putting
nothing backi' SOmelocalshaverecom-'
mendedconstruction of a visitors' centre, more public washrooms,and roadsiderestareasoutsidethe coveto easetraffic congestion.But these haVen't been
built. Existingpublic washroomshavenot
had major upgrading in 15 years. i'I
alwaysthink the tourist-sare beingc[eated
(of facilities),'1says.Roger'swife Sheila.
Like,most residents, she says the
cqve'stourismand fishing industriescom.
plementeachother, and she'sconcerned
that a balanceof the two be maintained.
From the outsidelooking in; Peggt'SCove is magicgl and idyllic. Tourismgeneratesfive to ten timesmore
incomethan fishing, accordingto Roger
But thb classictourist villagehas its shareof problemsand
Crooks, but fishingis.wherethe roots of
complexities,most of them createdby the limelight it enjoys
Peggy'sCovelie. SaysDon Crooks: "The
by Heother Conn ing sribstaltial businessto the village's only sensiblething is to leave Peggy's
ike many of. the 47 permanentres- restaurant, five gift shopsand art studib. Coveasit is - a fishingvillage.We don't
I
I ldentsof Peggy'sCove,N.S., Russell It provides at least 150 jobs, increases want more gift shopsand art studio,sand
hMorash oweshis iob to tourism. He's .churchdonations and.giveshshermen a thingslikethat. Otherwise,it just bec'rmeS
spent the last sfo summers.asa parking chance to make direct whaifside sales.
To ensure that tourist operators
attendant'in the compact fishing village, Tourism also brings new fac6s,friendship
wouldnrt exploit the cove, the provincial
somehow finding space to squeeze'in and
' activity to the otherwisequietvillage.
However, the cove's popularity has government of Robert Stanfield in 19:62
2,000 tour busesand 200,000tourists
designateda five:kilometrestretchof land
everyseason.He houndsvisitors for lit- helped to ^createa misconception thal
asthe Peggy'sCove PreservationArea and
teringj'warns them.about speedingand residents find disconcerting - many
the Peggy'sCoveCommission.
Peeev'sCove
Cov6 is established
obligingly fields their questionsand com- tourists now believethat Peggy's
-Locals say they're grateful for the
plaints. Often, he's so busy he doesn't not areal vitlage.Inistead,theythink it's
a government-run
sovernment-runpark
oark whoseinhabitants commission:it haspreventedan influx of
evenhavetime for lunch. Morash will tell .a
hotel chains and litter-prone hot dog
youhe's grateful for the May-to-O'ctober rent out the quaint houses.duringtourist
employment,but at the sametime he's seasonto lend authenticity to the setting. stands. However, many are concerncd
glad when the tourist r.ush'isover.
Somethink the boatsand wharvesarejust about its structure. The commissioners
"We've seenit all ourlives and westill proppedup astourist attractions. In reali- are appointed, not elected,and they hold
can't believe how many people come ty there are 12 fishermen and five Cape closedmeetingswith no input required
herej' he says.,"When the sun's.going Islahd boats working from the cove, dnd from the community. At presen!,three
down, ydu can't evendrive around the all the residentsown their own homes. of thi sevencommissionels,including
Many sharea concern that public ser- chairman York Manuel, arePeggy'sCove
cove.becauseof all the camerasand
tripods set up down there. It's unreal." vices haven't kept pace with increased residentb,b'utthis hasn't alwaysbeenthe
evokethe am- tourism. "We don't have enoughsecur- case.There is no bylaw to ensureihar
Morash's'commentS
biguousrole tourism playsin Canada's i t y , " s 4 y s M o r a s h . " W e n e e d n e w residentshaveequalrepresentatignor hny
at all.
mgst celebratedfishing village,the tiny bathroomsand fhere should be a wheel- representation
This was a main reasonsome.locals
cove40 kilometreswestof Halifax. Since chair ramp to the lighthouse.It's unfair
formed another group rn 1963- the
the turn of the century, its inhabitants to atl the people.who come here.'1
Peggy's
has
chahged
CovePreservationSociety.Wiih
grown
have
The
face
of
tourism
with
tourism
and
have
up
learnedto toleratethe lossof privacy by t h r o u g h t h e y e a r s . I n d e c a d e sp a s t , an annuallyelectedexecutive,the society
it's temporary. visitorswould board with residentsfor seeksto maintainthe benefitsoliourism,
remindingthemselves.that
Touristshavepeeredat them, pickedtheir severalweeks,make lasting friendships, but.to minimize any detrimental effects
g a r d e n f l o w e r s a n d b l o c k e d t h e i r and return every year. Today, there are on thewayof life. Most would like to see
d r i v e w a y s .S o m e h a v e e v e n w a l k e d no guesthomesleft in the cove.A tourist's the two groups work together, to gain
through their home's.They'vecome'with averagestay there now is one hour and more clciut with government, but it's a
and,.onoccasion,with in- 45 minutes,accordingto a 1983planning catch-22situation:the powerof thesocicameras;easels
ety liesin the handsof the commission,
ane questionssuch as "When do you report by the Nova ScotiaCollegeof Art
which at presenthas no manafremr.nt
d e f l a t e t h e - r o c k s ? " T h e y a r r i v e i n and Design.
With no young children left and a strategyin place for the cove.
busloadsfrom 7:30a.m. to l0 p.m- and
However,the peopleof Peggy'sCove
visit the popularSou'WeSter
Restaurant, third of the inhabitantsin their 70sand
wheremore than 1,000mealshavebeen 8 0 s , t h e r e ' s c o n c e r n f h a t , w i t h o u t aredeterminedto havea savin the future
servedin a day. "If it wasthis way year- repopulation,the covecould becomethe o f t h e i rv i l l a g e .I n t h e w o i d s o f R u s s e l l
round,peoplejust couldn'ttakeit,"'says museum.comrnunitymany tourists al- Morash:."Ithink the fellaSin thegovernaboutwhat
ownerJackCamobell."But
ready believe it to be. As a solution, mentwho makethedecisions
Sou'Wester
grown up residentswould like to seeyoung families shouldand shoulCn'tbe hereshouldconre
the peoplewho live herehav-e
w i t h t h e t o u r i s t s .T h e v k n o w w h a t t o move.in,But with property valueshigh and try to take a drive down heresom€
and no housesfor sale.the coveis unable time in the summer.Then they'd knou,
what it's like,"
Tourismclearll,hasits benefits,bring- to attract many newcomers.
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