It appears that Tourism Wells Gray continues to move in the right direction to promote the local tourist industry.
That seemed to be the gist of comments from tourist operators attending Tourism Wells Gray’s annual general meeting on April 6 in Clearwater Legion Hall.
Tourism Wells Gray got its start back in 2005 when consultant Jennifer Houiellebecq developed a tourism plan for Wells Gray Country, recalled board chair Ted Richardson. One of her main recommendations was the formation of an organization to represent the tourism industry of Wells Gray Country (Area A) and what is now District of Clearwater.
Today the association is well supported and well resourced, Richardson reported.
The main funding comes from District of Clearwater and Wells Gray Country.
According to the association’s budget, the District contributed $49,000 in 2010 while Area A chipped in another $32,000. Other funding sources brought total revenue for the year to $106,000.
“People come here and say, ‘This is the Canada I dreamed about,'” tourism and marketing manager Heather Steere told the meeting. “We need to get the word out more. We’re competing with small towns all around the World.”
Tourism Wells Gray is working with Thompson Rivers University to develop a tourism product inventory, she reported.
“In order to market your product you need to know what your product is,” Steere said.
The inventory will be geo-referenced for use with Google Maps and the North Thompson Watershed Map being developed.
Improving the much-admired Tourism Wells Gray website continues to be a priority.
“If you don’t have a website you don’t exist,” said the tourism and marketing manager, “but a poor website is worse than nothing.”
Approximately 95 per cent of travelers research destinations online and approximately 70 per cent of travelers are influenced by peer-reviewed material, she said.
Integrating the website with social media such as Twitter and Facebook also continues.
Photos are highlighted on the website, with a photo of the week being featured.
Quick Response Code, a barcode-type design on local brochures and so on, is proving a success. Users can scan the code with their cellphone cameras and be taken immediately to information about local attractions.
Tourism Wells Gray is working with local tourism operators to develop quick, attractive and affordable package deals, she said.
Tourism Wells Gray’s priorities include implementing a two per cent hotel room tax, assisting in the application process to get UNESCO World Heritage status for Wells Gray Park, and ongoing web development and integration with social media.
