To give an example of what I’m talking about below, consider this statement from MacGillivray, explaining away a $2 million loss at Trade Centre Limited:
“Obviously, the business last year was softer than we anticipated,” said MacGillivray, president and CEO of Trade Centre Ltd. “And certainly there’s no question that with tourism issues, with people travelling less, it is having some effect on business.”
He pointed specifically to a lack of travellers from south of the border.
Got that? When the trade centre loses money, it’s the tourists’ fault. But who do you think gets credit when they turn a profit?
It’s the same deal with tourism promotion: when tourism tanks, it’s the soaring loonie, high gas prices, the crappy weather. But when tourism goes up, it’s the brilliant bureaucrats who are to credit.
Bureaucrats deserve credit when all goes well. Blame someone else when things go sour.
This article appears in May 1-7, 2008.
