Editor:
The George Hotel says its profile wouldn't appear very high.
Naysayers claim the height of the hotel would obscure the landscape. But height isn't the main problem the hotel would bring to Gibsons. Rather, it's the scope of the hotel and its conference facilities. A large conference hotel of any height on the waterfront would change people's perception of Lower Gibsons.
Today visitors say they love Lower Gibsons because "It's is a quaint seaside village." (http://www.charterworld.com/index.html?sub=location-guides&ocation=Sunshine
+Coast+%26+Jervis+Inlet-382)
If The George were built in its current configuration, who could call the village quaint? Convention centre's don't fit with the "quaint" mindset. Instead, you might hear: "Lower Gibsons is a town near the water that's trying to make money from tourism."
Granted, Gibsons does want to profit from tourism, but a blatant architectural statement of such removes the "quaint" from the town. Perception equals brand. Do we really want to kill our brand? That's what brings visitors here in the first place.
Let's follow the lead of other seaside villages, such as Key West, Florida, and LaRochelle, France, that have enjoyed enormous success from tourism. They've maintained their brand by keeping their waterfront quaint. They do have large convention hotels like The George, but they require them to be a very long walk from the water. Gibsons could do so too.
Elizabeth Rains
Gibsons
