Heritage Regions®

“Heritage Regions is about people: people caring about their place, talking to others about its value and working with others to conserve it. It is also about money: generating revenues that will sustain the community and protect its investment in heritage.” François LeBlanc, Hēritage magazine.

The Heritage Regions^® program was launched by the National Trust in 1988 as a means to counteract the impact of changing socio-economic conditions – such as the loss of an important traditional industry like fishing or mining – on Canada’s rural regions. The National Trust undertook 10 successful regional pilots across Canada.

Heritage Regions^® takes an integrated approach to a region’s economy and culture and leverages the resources of multiple communities within it, with an emphasis on tourism. The key to the success of this strategy is that it is driven by local citizens. Participating communities identify their cultural assets and come together to find ways to leverage these assets and meet shared goals. Cultural tourism development and marketing are at the heart of the program, which stresses a comprehensive and balanced approach to product identification, product enhancement/development and marketing.

Interested in starting a Heritage Regions^® program or learning more about the Heritage Regions approach?

The National Trust can provide support services and training on a fee-for-service basis throughout the development and implementation of a Heritage Regions^® project. We call on a national stable of experts who have years of experience to draw on and share with Canadian communities.

Heritage Regions^® is a registered trademark of the National Trust for Canada.

For more information contact Jim Mountain, Director of Regeneration Projects, at jmountain@nationaltrustcanada.ca or 613-237-1066 ext. 226.