Back From Canada
Just got back from a 17-day trip across the U.S. and Canada; hence the lack of any new posts. Incredible scenery in nine states and five provinces. This journey inspired a few friendly criticisms of Port Angeles in particular and American border cities in general.
Everyone is worried that the new passport regulations will ruin the economies of border areas by jeopardizing tourism. Whether or not this is a valid fear, there are things we can do.
Canadian money: Too many Port Angeles merchants don’t accept it. We’re clamoring for more tourists, and we have tourists streaming in from British Columbia and we don’t accept their currency. What's wrong with this picture? Everywhere we went in Canada, people accepted American currency; it didn’t matter if we were in the tiniest hick town hundreds of miles from the border. Maybe we could make Canadian tourists more welcome by accepting their currency. Guilty merchants — you know who you are. Let’s try to be part of the solution.
Customs agents and people skills: hopefully that phrase isn't an oxymoron. I have no way of knowing whether American customs agents go out of their way to keep Canadian tourists out of the country, since they can't very well keep Americans from returning home (can they?). But when we crossed (finally!) the border from Michigan into Ontario, the Canadian customs agents were the rudest collection of arrogant SOBs I’ve ever seen. This doesn’t seem to me like the best way to attract foreign tourists, but what do I know?
I've personally never had a problem crossing into Victoria, but I've heard unpleasant encounters described by other people. Obviously both countries need to keep terrorists and smugglers out, but this can be done without treating every tourist like a suspect. Remember, we want to ATTRACT tourists, not keep them away.
Everyone is worried that the new passport regulations will ruin the economies of border areas by jeopardizing tourism. Whether or not this is a valid fear, there are things we can do.
Canadian money: Too many Port Angeles merchants don’t accept it. We’re clamoring for more tourists, and we have tourists streaming in from British Columbia and we don’t accept their currency. What's wrong with this picture? Everywhere we went in Canada, people accepted American currency; it didn’t matter if we were in the tiniest hick town hundreds of miles from the border. Maybe we could make Canadian tourists more welcome by accepting their currency. Guilty merchants — you know who you are. Let’s try to be part of the solution.
Customs agents and people skills: hopefully that phrase isn't an oxymoron. I have no way of knowing whether American customs agents go out of their way to keep Canadian tourists out of the country, since they can't very well keep Americans from returning home (can they?). But when we crossed (finally!) the border from Michigan into Ontario, the Canadian customs agents were the rudest collection of arrogant SOBs I’ve ever seen. This doesn’t seem to me like the best way to attract foreign tourists, but what do I know?
I've personally never had a problem crossing into Victoria, but I've heard unpleasant encounters described by other people. Obviously both countries need to keep terrorists and smugglers out, but this can be done without treating every tourist like a suspect. Remember, we want to ATTRACT tourists, not keep them away.
6 Comments:
...BUMMER !!!...I JUST WROTE A (3) PAGER "WELCOME HOME" - 'TOM/CAT'....AND IT JUST DISAPPEARED...... ;-( ...
I'LL TRY THIS AGAIN TOMORROW....NITEY-NITE FOR TODAY...
...Paul L. ... ;-) .........
I don't know if it's true but I've heard that most customs agents were previously rejected by other law enforcement agencies. FBI, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, local police departments, etc. Customs agent was their last choice. I don't know if there's any truth to this, but it would explain why so many customs agents are so surly towards tourists.
...Paul L. says:...(to Commenter #2...It's probably justa' "POWER" thing !!!...???...
...Hey Tom - what is the "DRAW" at "AHMIC HARBOUR", B.C. ???...It took me (3) days just to find it on the map !!!...
...So what did you Folks see & do on y'er vacation - that was so FANTASTIC (that ya' can share with us'uns, that is) !!!???... ;-)...
Paul: Ahmic Harbour, Ontario is where my family used to go for the summer when I was little. I've been back there a few times as an adult, but that was a long time ago. It was great to see it again, and the whole trip was really scenic. Once we got East of Bozeman, MT on Rt. 90, every place we went was new to both of us (except for Ahmic Harbour, for me). The Black Hills of South Dakota, Route 2 through Northern Minnesota-Wisconsin-Michigan, Ontario -- fantastic scenery and friendly people everywhere. We came back on the TransCanada Highway -- also fantastic.
It was a great trip but it's also nice to be back. Sounds like there's a lot going on here.
...THANKS, TOM....Sounds like a GRRReat trip......"WELCOME HOME"... Paul L. ... ;-) ...
There was a complaint in the PDN yesterday about Port Angeles shop owners not taking Canadian money. This is going to affect tourism here. If you own a local business and can't be bothered to accept Canadian currency, and you're wishing you had more customers, put 2 and 2 together already.
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