Members of an Inverness Co. environmental group say $18 million for an airport could be better spent, and they’ve got a plan for how.
Neal Livingston, the co-chair of the Margaree Environmental Association, says an aquatic centre and gymnastic facility would keep tourists in the area longer than an airport.
He says they’re asking municipal councillors in Inverness Co. to write Premier Stephen McNeil to ask him to withdraw support for airport funding.
Livingston tells The Hawk the airport proposal would have visitors spend less time in the region, while an aquatic centre and gymnastic facility would give people a reason to stay.
“That proposal, if you read it closely- and it’s only five pages long- says one of the rationales is to have people spend less time in Cape Breton, not more, if they can land closer to Inverness,” he says. “You’ll find that tourists go to those locations and spend more time in those areas because of those facilities- the whole development of tourism in the last 20-25 years has been ‘How do we get people coming to Cape Breton to stay longer?'”
Livingston says the facility would help people in the community as well as tourists.
He says government officials have already given loans to Cabot reps to develop golf tourism in the region.
“If the government would have been interested to direct $15-$20 million to some other kind tourism development in Cape Breton, we obviously would have seen a lot of growth in that as well.”
Livingston says he and Brian Peters, his co-chair with the MEA, will present their plan to Inverness Co. councillors Thursday.
