For the Town of Louisbourg the Spatial Plan means creating a seamless tourism destination encompassing not only the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, but also the lighthouse area, the waterfront and fishing industry, the Old Town Trail area and the modern-day Louisbourg. The Spatial Plan recommends infrastructure investment and identifies improvements to visitor services, such as wayfinding, to avoid duplication of effort and provide clarity to the customer. The plan borrows from lessons learned on other related best practices and models of sustainable tourism. The Spatial Plan describes and illustrates the components of the vision and sets an implementation strategy for realization of the dream.
The planning process involved broad-based stakeholder consultation and public engagement sessions. Residents and business owners understand that tourism numbers are in a state of decline, but see hope with the new vision and actions taken by Parks Canada to “bring the Fortress to life”. There is overwhelming support for the Spatial Plan strategy and the proposed visitor experiences.