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Columbia Valley Tourism action plan in works
Local governments and industry are working together to explore new ways to promote the Columbia Valley to visitors.
The Columbia Valley Community Directed Funds Committee and the Columbia Valley Tourism Marketing Committee are working on an action plan for tourism marketing and branding in the Columbia Valley.
The idea and consensus for the plan came out of a forum of valley tourism industry players held on January 15 and 16, where participants explored the concept of collaborating on tourism marketing and branding.
An important first step in creating the plan involves understanding what sort of tourism marketing is already occurring, and possibilities for working together. The two committees have created a survey that will collect important information to contribute to the action plan.
“We’re really encouraging any valley businesses and organizations that advertise or communicate to visitor markets to participate in the survey,” said Andrea Tubbs, Chair of the Columbia Valley Tourism Marketing Committee.
“The Columbia Valley Tourism Marketing Committee has demonstrated that multiple organizations working together can create great results,” said Wendy Booth, Chair of the Columbia Valley Community Directed Funds Committee and Regional District of East Kootenay Electoral Area F Director. “We hope the action plan project brings more players to the table and increases our capacity to attract visitors to the valley.”
The action plan will include:
1. Identification of all organizations participating in tourism branding and marketing in the Columbia Valley, including their purpose; annual budget; and indication of their willingness to collaborate.
2. Model for working together: a proposed framework for all key organizations to collaborate around common goals, including leadership; governance and required budget/resources.
3. An action plan, including process and timeline for how to achieve a consistent message for the Columbia Valley given current realities/challenges.
The survey can be viewed online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/cvtmarketing.
The Columbia Valley Community Directed Funds committee gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Regional District of East Kootenay and Columbia Basin Trust, which supports efforts to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin.
RDEK
