Suzanne Denbak of Cadence Strategies is the new marketing specialist for the Gold Rush/Spirit Trail partners’ project, announced the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association.
According to a news release from the CCCTA, the trail corridor fundamentally embraces the original First Nations (trading) spirit trails, and communities along what evolved into the venerable Gold Rush Trail. Originating near Fort Langley the corridor contains multiple routes and communities as it meanders northward culminating in Barkerville.
“Ms. Denbak will act as a champion for the Gold Rush/Spirit Trail marketing initiative,” says CCCTA chief executive officer Amy Thacker.
The initiative is being developed in consultation with stakeholders including local governments, First Nations,corporate stakeholders, community members and others within the corridor.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity of engaging with community members along the Gold Rush/Spirit Trail and collaborating together to identify opportunities for sustainable growth and development,” Denbak says. “The region is rich in history and has many engaging stories that can translate into market-ready visitor experiences if we apply a market-driven, community supported approach to establishing a vision, objectives and identifying target markets and strategies to reach them with compelling products and experiences.”
To fortify the marketing of the Gold Rush/Spirit Trail corridor, the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association has teamed up with Vancouver Coast and Mountains Tourism Region, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, Aboriginal Tourism Association of B.C., the Heritage Tourism Alliance and New Pathways to Gold Society.
The group announced an agreement to work together reinvigorating heritage tourism marketing in the corridor at the CCCTA’s annual general meeting held at the Hills Health Ranch on Oct. 14, 2011.
“The CCCTA is proud to act as a leader in this initiative,” Thacker says. “We believe that when we link the creative energies of all the stakeholders, we will market our existing products more effectively and identify opportunities to create new products.”
“The heritage and culture of Mighty Fraser Country in our region has a solid foundation in the days of the Gold Rush and First Nations,” says Vancouver Coast and Mountains Tourism region chief executive officer Kevan Ridgway. “This project is a new beginning to develop sustainable consumer marketing that will attract travellers to explore British Columbia.”
Under the agreement, New Pathways to Gold Society will provide one year of funding for the project. The specialist will work out of the CCCTA office and link with the communities to develop a three-year plan that identifies and markets tourism assets and communities along the entire Gold Rush/Spirit Trail corridor.
Society co-chair Terry Raymond says the partnership is aimed at reviving the Gold Rush/Spirit Trails marketing strategy through completion of a broader, integrated tourism corridor management plan.
