Achievements

• Aboriginal Tourism Canada
• Agriculture Institute of Management in Saskatchewan
• Alberta Economic Development
• Atlific Hotels and Resorts
• Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions
• Canadian Capital Cities Organization
• Canadian Farm Business Management Council
• Canadian Museums Association
• Canadian Tourism Commission
• Chief Electoral Officers of Canada
• City of Regina
• Communities of Tomorrow Inc.
• Dickinson Convention and Visitors' Bureau (ND)
• Dickinson State University
• Farm Credit Canada
• Heritage Canada Foundation
• Ontario Department of Tourism
• Nebraska Deparment of Economic Development
• North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association
• North Dakota State University
• Québec City Region Agri-Food Development Council
• Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
• Southwest Alaska Economic Conference
• Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities
• Saskatchewan Culture, Youth and Recreation
• Saskatchewan Outdoor and Environmental Education Association
• Saskatchewan Watershed Authority
• United States Department of Agriculture
• Western Colorado Horticultural Society

Comment from previous clients:

"Your knowledge of the area is amazing and you present it with such enthusiasm"

By Laureen Snook and Roger Green, Regina

This is just a quick note to thank you again for your presentation & tour of the back (...and front lanes) of the regina Downtown. Your knowledge of the area is amazing and you present it with such enthusiasm that I am sure our Board of Governors went home with a better appreciation of Regina and its history & built environment. Thank you as well, for arranging the room and meal at Alfredo's. By taking care of that, you made the evening even easier for us.

"Thanks again for all your help - you were an excellent adventure guide for us"

By Andrea Bilash, CTV Toronto

Thanks again for all your help - you were an excellent adventure guide for us - and just plain fun to have along on our shoot. We'll be sure to send you a copy of the show once it's all put together.

"Great Excursions has a knack for making the "out-of-the-way" gems..."

By Kevin O'fee, Regina

Great Excursions has a knack for making the "out-of-the-way" gems that one would normally "stumble across" by chance into the main course.

"Through Great Excursions I have discovered the diversity, exoticism and magic of Saskatchewan"

By Gordon Lawson, Oxford, UK

What I especially like about Great Excursions is the extremely knowledgeable and entertaining proprietor/tour guide Claude-Jean Harel. Claude brings his passion for Saskatchewan (its history, landscape, flora/fauna, people) and adventure to every excursion to make a truly memorable experience, which is enhanced by sharing the journey of discovery with a small, intimate group of like-minded individuals who are seeking the kind of exacting experience that is offered. Through Great Excursions I have discovered the diversity, exoticism and magic of Saskatchewan.

"Regaled by tales of local lore"

By Sandra Bobyk, Regina

Claude Jean Harel was a genial, knowledgeable guide. He regaled us with tales of local lore and encouraged us to revel in our natural surroundings. His enthusiasm for both the curious and the commonplace was positively contagious!

"Thank you again for sharing your enthusiasm for this fascinating place"

By Krista Page, New York

What a wonderful time I had exploring the Big Muddy Lake area and the St. Victor Petroglyphs with Great Excursions! The scenery alone would have made it a memorable day, but your extensive knowledge of the area - historical, geological, archaeological - provided a context and perspective that made the experience truly unforgettable. Thank you again for sharing your enthusiasm for this fascinating place.

"Great Excursions chief guide, Claude-Jean Harel, makes the journey more important than the destination"

By Larissa Lozowchuk, Regina

Great Excursions chief guide, Claude-Jean Harel, makes the journey more important than the destination. With charismatic style, humourous charm and a contagious laugh, he never fails to entertain travellers with his genuine interest in Canadian history and local landscape.

"Regina is seen as the best-preserved example of the prairie railway town layout"

By John Brandon MA, Edmonton

You might know Regina Archaeological Society member Claude-Jean Harel for his cheerful promotion of great Saskatchewan places on CBC radio and as the owner/operator of Great Excursions Travel Company.

His training in anthropology and interest in spaces led him to study the layout of Regina and its effects on the perceptions of her inhabitants and visitors. He recently graduated from the University of Leicester with an MA for which he prepared a thesis on this subject.

He argues that Regina's layout was created for the convenience of the CPR with the streets oriented in a highly regular grid designed to channel traffic to and from the railhead. He also examines the smaller arterial systems such as back alleys and, at a finer level yet, the distribution of fences throughout the city at certain time periods (it's not as simple as the differences between commercial and residential properties).

The unexpected ways in which this grid system prepared the City for the 1912 tornado will be addressed. He also offers an inference that this event must have had a devastating effect on the city's horses.

Today, Regina is seen as the best-preserved example of the prairie railway town layout. It is a paradox, he notes, that over one hundred years ago townspeople made every effort to get railways to come through their towns. By 1971 when the Trans-Canada Highway was being upgraded, every effort was made to bypass the city.

Claude-Jean will show that archaeology, while the study of human behavior through material things, needs not be limited to artifacts small enough to put in a bag.

Activities that enrich and transform

The Great Excursions Company is the only travel company that has actually established as part of its mission to spearhead an exploration of Regina's sense of place through a number of projects:

• We are a founding member of the organizing committee of the Regina Downdown Ice and Fire Carnival, a very powerful placemaking agent, of which we are also a sponsor.
• We undertake original research and make it possible for our staff to act as guest curator for Regina Plains Museum exhibits.
• Most noteworthy in 2006 was the exhibit titled "A Window into the Regina Tornado of 1912" , which also lead the the publication of a Virtual Museum of Canada exhibit.

Activities that harness the authenticity of the host cultural landscape

If cultural landscapes are the expression of a relationship between a territory and those who inhabit it, they can also reveal how that relationship evolves over time. Cultural landscapes can help us bring out the authentic character of yards, parks, riverbanks, neighbourhoods, businesses and cities as a whole. Interpreting cultural landscapes can foster a sense of place and an increased awareness of our collective identity as a community.

Around the world, ecomuseum initiatives have helped bring to the surface and preserve some of this local identity. Is it feasible to articulate business models applicable in Plains settlements that can both contribute to tourism revenue generation and cultural heritage preservation? Are there new, responsible, yet compelling experiences that can be staged as economic offerings that have the potential to enhance appreciation for cultural/ heritage resources among visitors and inhabitants?

The team activities we propose often turn your participants into community researchers and agents of positive change in the communities that we visit. Your organization will be able to take pride in knowing it is contributing to the improvement of the local quality of life -- making a difference socially, economically and environmentally.