Cultural Routes and Heritage Trails - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 52

felt they had achieved some of the objectives established in the beginning.
The limited success was believed to result from several constraints, including
funding problems, lack of focus and unwillingness on the part of some part-
ners to participate fully. Only 79% of the service providers demonstrated
some satisfaction with the program. These were very preliminary results,
but according to several Portuguese tourism websites, the BWR is still func-
tioning well and acts as an important tourist attraction in Portugal.
Beer and whiskey trails
Wine is not the only beverage of interest to pathfinders. One of the best
documented beer trails was the Ale Trail in Ontario, Canada. This circuit
was located in southern Ontario and was a self-guided tour of six craft brew-
eries in Waterloo, Guelph and Elora, an area well known for its German
immigrant population and beer production. The Ale Trail was open only on
selected weekends between April and October, and its planning committee
consisted of a chairperson, a general manager, brewery representatives and
representatives from the province's tourism ministry and human resources
department. This route provided opportunities to taste different beer types,
chat with brew masters, tour brewery facilities and learn about different
kinds of beer. During its first year, the trail saw 10,000 visitors (Plummer
et al. , 2005: 452). Despite its admitted success, the trail was disbanded only
three years after its inception for a variety of reasons associated with per-
ceived economic costs and a lack of collaboration between breweries
(Plummer et al. , 2006). This will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter 5
which discusses the impacts of trails.
Since the demise of the Ale Trail, others have taken the initiative fur-
ther and created the Ontario Craft Beer Route, which spans a larger geo-
graphic area and includes 29 microbreweries in five craft brewing regions
of the province, including the Kitchener-Waterloo region of the original Ale
Trail (Post-Trib.com, 2009). Likewise, the city of Stratford, Ontario, also
recently picked up where the Waterloo region's Ale Trail left off and is now
offering the Bacon & Ale Trail, combining the region's pork and beer
heritage. Visitors purchase tickets and meander between 10 pubs and
pork shops to taste local products. According to the Stratford Tourism
Alliance (2012: 1),
Bacon and ale - two of life's greatest creations. Stratford - home to the
Ontario Pork Congress for close to 40 years with an amazing array of
celebrated pork producers as well as a brewing history that first began in
the 1870s - makes the perfect location to launch a trail dedicated to these
two tastes . . . Take a hike on the Bacon & Ale Trail on a self-guided tour
of food shops and pubs. From Beer BBQ sauce, to pork terrine wrapped
in smoked bacon, to bacon-flavoured toothpaste, you'll gain a whole
new appreciation for your favourite obsessions.