Sunny skies and the Ides of March are on their way. For locals, it means more traffic, new construction projects, folks gawking at sights we see everyday and crowded festival after crowded festival.
It also means tourism for many of our businesses. For those who haven’t noticed, many of our entrepreneurs, neighbors and friends rely quite heavily on the warmer months of the year to continue their ventures here.
Tourists are just like any other customers — if you treat them right and provide a service or product they can use, they’ll be back.
If, say, they’re staring open-mouthed at the Norwegian scene in Poulsbo, preparing to take in the sights in Kingston or even driving at a crawl to soak up Port Gamble, and we’re “less than friendly” — they’ll remember that, too.
They’ll remember if an impatient driver honks their horn and yells at them or if a resident scowls at them as they cross the street just as much as they will if they get a hamburger with a bug in it.
During this time of year — and all others for that matter — we must strive to be courteous, gracious hosts to everyone visiting North Kitsap.
It will make their trip here full of fond memories and as a result, they will be more likely to call on us again. We must keep this in mind as they pass through here for the day, whether for a shopping visit or a celebration.
For some in our community, tourists are an annoyance. For others, they represent a lifeblood of sorts, an opportunity that carries the numbers through the tough times — we must keep this in mind as we continue to support our local businesses. There’s much more to helping your neighbors out than patronizing their establishments, although that is a great place to start.
As a community we should also realize that the friendly image we portray is just as important as the products our businesses sell.
Just something we should all keep in mind as we enter North Kitsap’s annul season of celebrations. We hope you’ll all join in those, too.
And as you do, let everyone you meet know what a great place this is to live, whether they’re your neighbors from across the street or across the state.
