• Opportunity for network to put together « tour options » for operators (approved by network) 
  • Tourists ask for « souvenirs » not available 
  • Lack of info and profile re: Black heritage 
  • Hard to get information on Black history in Niagara 
  • Perceived lack of recognition by levels of government and money and unaware of Black history in Niagara 
  • In past, the history was kept with the community – now that there are tourism dollars attached to it, they want to keep it separate (Rochelle to clarify) 
  • Organization structure – lack of 
  • Age 
  • Lack of local leadership to expand and maintain history (Fort Erie) 
  • Need for more leadership from within the community 
  • A lot of competition for tourism dollars and visitors 
  • Smaller sites dwarfed by larger mega-sites 
  • Dollars are flowing to tourism development but don’t make it down to smaller sites 
  • Little involvement / support of local politicians with sites 
  • Want to see through the network win/win situations for members 
  • Province could better target market (not just advertising in Toronto Star) 

Making the Networking Decision: 

Strategic Analysis of the Market 

Growth industry 

How to tap in 

Increase pride in heritage (trend to determining family tree) 

CTC study – #1 factor influencing people to travel was spiritual growth 

Many more opportunities to tap into market 

Need people to do research into history / story of site 

Does tour meet expectations? 

A lot of positive feedback 

Tourists have asked if there is anything they can do to help Develop relationship 

Selecting Possible Partners 

Who?- sites: 

1. St. Catharines BME Church 

2. Niagara Falls BME Church / Norval Johnson library 

3. Bertie Hall 

4. St. Catharines Museum 

5. Griffin House, Ancaster 

6. Stuart Memorial Church, Hamilton 

7. Guelph Civic Museum 

8. Black History and Cultural Museum, Collingwood 

9. Church, Brantford 

10. Wellington County Museum & Archives 

Issue Travel distance between Niagara and other sites i.e. Collingwood – is it feasible to have them as part of network? 

Are we talking about a site alliance or stakeholder alliance? 

Other stakeholders (who can bring resources) include: 

Niagara Parks Commission 

Tour operators 

NET Corp 

DMO 

Suggestion important to share info about sites with bus drivers 

To think about for next meeting: 

Who should be the core members? The 10 sites? 

Should we have Associates Members? 

Who are other stakeholders?