The City of Revelstoke has released their Resort Development Strategy for 2019-2021.
“Our Tourism Vision is to grow into an exceptional and unique all-season resort community in partnership with local stakeholders, by developing and supporting high quality visitor experiences that embrace the authenticity of the community and contribute to the sustainability of Revelstoke,” the report reads.
It outlines growth trends and identifies strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for the community going forward.
There are also eight priorities highlighted in the report.
The first is positioning Revelstoke as a year-round destination by maximizing peak seasons and increasing attractions in the spring and fall.
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Priority two is having visitors stay for more than one day. In order to do that the plan calls for increased awareness regarding activities, increase year-round cultural tourism options and recruiting and hosting key media influencers.
Next is having a recognizable destination brand by creating a consistent destination story through maps, signage and wayfinding that leads visitors through their in-destination experience.
Long term tourism planning is priority number four in the report which will see stakeholders and partners coordinator efforts to develop a long term tourism approach.
Priority five is exceptional visitor service and remarkable experiences. The report calls on stakeholders to ensure that visitors have the best experience possible through proactive servicing and remarkable experiences.
Annual marketing plans are also a priority outlined in the report, which will also see the integration of research and data collection into annual plans.
Priority seven is visitor access, which will see improvement in transportation to, from and around Revelstoke.
Finally, financial stability is also a priority in the plan–securing financial support for the 5-year strategy and ensuring plans are in place to maintain tourism assets.
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Funding for the strategy, from the provincial Resort Municipality Initiative, is allocated for infrastructure and services.
Seventy five per cent of the $2.46 million that is anticipated over the next five years will see:
- wayfinding signage
- transportation within the community
- Williamson Lake upgrades
- visitor experience arrival and parks
- recreation and trails infrastructure
- arts/culture infrastructure and downtown beautification
- water access
The remaining 25 per cent of the budget is for festivals and events as well as an ambassador program.
The strategy anticipates that the wayfinding project will be completed by 2021. Service expansion to the resort shuttle bus will be completed by 2022. Connecting key commuter trails to help people get to key attractions will be completed by 2022.
Upgrades to Williamson Lake outlined in the strategy include an accessible day use building and wheelchair accessible pathways. It is predicted to be done by 2022.
The visitor experience project calls for enhancements to visitor arrival points such as the Visitor Information parking area, the sanitary dump and Woodenhead Park. These enhancements would include washrooms, potable water, picnic tables, parking and signage. It is anticipated this project will be complete by 2020.
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Upgrades to recreation and trails infrastructure includes work to ensure trail integrity and sustainability as well as a focus on building specific bike trails to provide earlier access and increase visitation in the spring. The project will be complete by 2022.
Downtown beautification will include seasonal lighting, infrastructure for hosting events, new exhibits at heritage facilities and other downtown projects. The project is expected to be complete by 2022.
The strategy also calls for enhancing existing water access to the lake and river which might mean staging areas with rants, parking, bathrooms and picnic areas.
Funding will be available on an application basis for festivals and events in the community, with a focus on bringing in visitors during the shoulder season.
An ambassador program is also on the books. It is a program that delivers regional information and offers training intended to build capacity in the local service industry.
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