Sealing the deal at the front door
The challenge
The Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Steveston is one of the most atmospheric heritage sites you’ll ever visit—an enormous 1894 industrial building perched right over the Fraser River. But the very things that make it authentic—its size, its odd entry points, its slightly hidden location—also make it hard to draw casual passers-by through the door. Visitor numbers had stalled, gift shop sales were flat, and the leadership team was worried that too many people were treating the Cannery as a public washroom rather than a destination.
My approach
The executive director didn’t want another grand interpretive plan—they already had one. What they needed was a fresh set of eyes, and a pragmatic, affordable way to turn curiosity into ticket sales. I dug into their existing research, comment cards, online reviews, and strategic plan. I walked the site with staff and mapped the visitor journey from sidewalk to paywall. Then I delivered a set of prioritized recommendations: simple, durable fixes that would immediately strengthen the “sense of arrival” and help staff feel set up for success.
Lessons learned
Sometimes the biggest barrier to success isn’t inside the galleries—it’s at the threshold. Heritage sites often underestimate how much first impressions matter. Clearer signage, better wayfinding, a more intentional welcome zone: these aren’t glamorous line items, but they’re the things that turn “just looking” into “let’s go in.” For me, the Cannery project reinforced a core principle of visitor experience planning: if you can’t get people confidently through the door, nothing else you’ve built inside really matters
