Unlike most local government functions, Shuswap Tourism provides substantial economic paybacks. In 2010, tourism contributed $1.73 billion to the regional (Thompson Okanagan) economy. According to the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA), key reasons why visitors come here include opportunities for sightseeing, nature experiences, wildlife viewing and visiting friends and family; however, other additional activities commonly participated in while here included shopping, hiking, and visiting wineries.
So while people may be initially attracted to the natural attributes of our region, this evolves into participation in other activities with economic paybacks.
Partners in Shuswap Tourism include: Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Enderby, Chase, and CSRD Areas C, D, E and F. Involvement of multiple partners enables leveraging of dollars, expertise and resources to achieve more than any partner could on its own. Some of the accomplishments of include:
• Significant increases in demand for highly popular Shuswap Tourism travel guides including 15,000 trail, 40,000 vacation, 8500 cycle, 5000 motor touring, 5000 farm tour, and 2500 nordic/snowshoeing guides in 2015. Vacation guides are projected to generate $50,000 in revenue in 2015, which is then re-invested back into Shuswap Tourism. If you haven’t seen these guides, please pick them up. They’re excellent!
• Increased use of the outstanding Shuswap Tourism website from 42,332 users 2011 to 114,887 users and 581,368 page views in 2014.
• Eleven media tours with 35 participants in 2014. An expenditure of $19,000 from Shuswap Tourism and another $19,000 from partners, generated over $110,000 in media coverage; a pretty good return-on-investment. This media coverage produced hundreds of thousands of exposures in Canada, USA, Europe, India, and Japan to The Shuswap.
• Personal contacts with over 25,000 people at events such as the Roots & Blues Festival, Adams River Salmon Run, Vancouver and Calgary Outdoor Shows and the Edmonton Motorcycle Show.
• And as a regional tourism organization, Shuswap Tourism receives annual grants of $21,000 from TOTA and Destination BC, and in-kind contributions of $25,000 annually from other organizations. These grants would not be available if Shuswap Tourism did not represent a regional tourism strategy and organization.
Shuswap Tourism is a clear example of how a collaborative regional initiative can be successful in generating significant and greater economic paybacks than what any individual partner would achieve. We look forward to seeing further growth in our tourism sector as new initiatives from Shuswap Tourism are rolled out in the years to come.
-Paul Demenok is the Area C Director for the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.
