resort development strategy: stakeholder engagement summary a_stakeholder engagemen… · city of...

City of Fernie

Resort Development Strategy: Stakeholder Engagement Summary A compilation of the feedback and input from Fernie stakeholder meetings

3/8/2012

1 City of Fernie Resort Development Strategy: Stakeholder Engagement

Table of Contents Background ................................................................................................................................................... 2

Participants ............................................................................................................................................... 2

Stakeholder Feedback ................................................................................................................................... 3

Vision ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Vision Feedback .................................................................................................................................... 3

Vision Summary .................................................................................................................................... 4

Recommendation .................................................................................................................................. 4

Goals ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

Goals Feedback ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Goals Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Goal Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 6

SWOT Analysis........................................................................................................................................... 6

SWOT Analysis Feedback ...................................................................................................................... 7

SWOT Analysis Recommendation ......................................................................................................... 8

Project and Budget Review ....................................................................................................................... 8

Project Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 12

Alternate Funding Model .................................................................................................................... 12

Management and Implementation ......................................................................................................... 12

Management and Implementation Recommendation ....................................................................... 13

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 13


Background As part of the requirements of the Resort Municipality Initiatives (RMI) agreement, recipient municipalities are required to submit a 5-year Resort Development Strategy (RDS), indicating how the municipality intends to spend the RMI funding. The City of Fernie adopted a 5-year Strategy in February 2009. The Strategy was developed through several stakeholder engagement sessions, which took place in late 2008. As part of the updated 2012-2016 RDS, stakeholders were asked to attend a session to provide input and feedback on several components of the plan. Stakeholder engagement sessions took place on February 28th and March 1st at College of the Rockies in Fernie. Sessions were coordinated facilitated by Megan Lohmann, with support in facilitation from Jeff Zukiwsky. During these sessions, participants were asked to: provide feedback on the Vision and Goals; review the original SWOT Analysis; review the proposed budget and project list, and provide input on implementation of the plan. This document compiles the feedback from those sessions, which will be integrated into the draft RDS. First Nations consultation is also required as part of the RMI agreement. Input has been requested from the Ktunaxa First Nation, specifically the Director of the Ktunaxa Traditional Knowledge and Language sector. As of the writing of this document, there has been no response to the requests for consultation. The City of Fernie will continue to engage the Ktunaxa Nation, and will accept input and feedback on the Strategy at any point in the process.

Participants

Over the 2 sessions, a total of 33 individuals attended, representing a wide range of tourism related businesses, organizations and services. In addition, a presentation was made to Council, providing an overview of the proposed budgets and projects for the 2012-2016 Update. The following organizations were represented at the engagement sessions: Fernie Lodging Company Fernie Golf and Country Club Fernie Nordic Society Regional District of East Kootenay Fernie and District Historical Society Fernie Central Reservations Tourism Fernie Fernie Trails Alliance Best Western Fernie Ghostrider Trading Company City of Fernie Council Parastone

Chamber of Commerce IGS Group of Companies Fernie Properties Island Lake Lodge Fernie Alpine Resort Arts Station - Fernie Arts Council CP Catering Shuttle Service Elk River Guides Project Gateway Fernie Snowmobile Association Fernie Heritage Library


Stakeholder Feedback The following sections summarize the feedback gathered from the two stakeholder engagement sessions. There was a wide range of opinions and perspectives, all of which are reflected in this document. Based on the feedback compiled in this document, a number of recommended changes and amendments will be provided to the City for consideration.

Vision

Participants in the stakeholder engagements were asked to review the 2009 Vision, and to provide feedback on a revised draft version of a 2012 Vision. The 2012 Vision was drafted to reflect the local values of the community, and was based on the ‘Provincial Guidelines’ for the RDS.

From the Guidelines: The resort municipality should identify a long-term vision for the development of the resort community. A vision is focused on the future, and is something to be pursued. Example: “Idylica will be an all-season resort destination of choice for visitors and residents, specializing in world-class alpine skiing and recreation facilities with a local historic and cultural focus, nestled in pristine forest terrain and amongst rugged mountain ranges.”

The 2009 RDS Vision was as follows: Provide visitor services and infrastructure that enhance the visitor experience to encourage visitors to stay longer, spend more and return and recommend Fernie again and again. The proposed 2012 Vision was recommended as: Provide enhanced services and infrastructure that offer the best Fernie experience to visitors and residents alike, and are reflective of the cultural, recreational, environmental and economic values of the community.

Vision Feedback

- Like the focus on cultural, recreational, environmental and economic

- Inclusion of benefits to residents is good, but need to ensure it doesn’t restrict ability to develop

projects that don’t benefit residents

- The ‘best experience’ seems vague/subjective

- 2012 update lacks an economic focus, and focus on repeat visitors

- Vision is too long

- Revision does not represent the intention of the funding

- Appreciate that the vision update reflects the need to increase tourism, and support resident

experience

- Needs to acknowledged Fernie as a ‘world class’ destination

- Vision need to emphasize the desire to “attract” visitors to Fernie, and to return to Fernie

- Why is Fernie unique? This needs to be identified in the Vision

- Vision should be about growing tourism; less focus on residents


Vision Summary

Overall, stakeholders were supportive of the revised Vision. There was concern around a few key components:

- It deviates from the focus of bringing new and returning tourists into the community - It lacks in the description of Fernie as a community with world class attractions (i.e. ski and bike

terrain) - The experience of coming to Fernie should be enhanced through improved services and

infrastructure In general, stakeholders appreciated the inclusion of the cultural, recreational, environmental and economic values in the statement. Acknowledging that vision statement development can take hours (if not days), and that much less time was given for this process, the input from the sessions and the key concerns listed above were used to create a revised Vision statement. It should be noted that all components of this Strategy may be revised and updated over the next 5 years. If priorities change, for example, perhaps the Vision will be changed to reflect new community priorities.

Recommendation

Recommended revised vision statement, based on input, key concerns and the Provincial Guide for RDS Vision statement development: Fernie is a world class destination that draws new and returning visitors, that encourages visitors to stay longer and spend more, and that provides tourism services and infrastructure which reflect the cultural, recreational, environmental and economic values of the community.

Goals

The 2009 Goals were refined slightly prior to the stakeholder engagement by eliminating those that were clearly actions, and cutting down the length of the statements. Participants were asked to review the 2009 Goals and reflect on the following questions:

Do the goals reflect the Vision?

Any glaring omissions?

Keep in mind that goals should be measurable: are there ways that you can see improving the ability to quantify the goals?

From the Guidelines: Goals must be identified in the strategy, as they are critical in achieving a vision. Goals should be specific, measurable and realistic. Some examples of realistic and specific goals that could be used in an RDS include: • Increase visitor traffic by x; • Increase summer visitor traffic by x; • Increase visitor traffic from x market by x.


Goals Feedback

- Should be more focused, perhaps 4 goals for each of the ‘vision’ references – culture,

recreation, environment, economy?

- Currently two goals focus on trails and 2 goals focus on river; both should be condensed into

one goal.

- Golf course goal is too specific

- Goals should be broader – focus on ‘increased outdoor recreation activities’ in general, rather

than specific activities

- Specific reference to ‘shoulder season’ not necessary – shoulder season means different things

to different people

- Trail network goal should mentioned focus on less mobile/older demographic.

- Metrics have been identified by Tourism Fernie and Forever Fernie; these should be assessed for potential use to measure goals

- Status quo goals – needs to be goals for the future - Goals should reflect Provincial goals and objectives - If you can’t quantify them they shouldn’t be on the list - Currently a list of actions - General concern around measurability/performance of goals

o Do we have key performance indicators?

o Difficult to comment on effectiveness of goals without indicators of how goals have

changed over time. E.g. has there been an increase in trail use? Visits? Events?

o Need budget allocation (or committee) to measure goals and provide indicators at next

stakeholder engagement

o Need baseline information to track each goal

- Goals seem ‘conversational’ and ‘loose’

- Could acquire qualitative assessment of goals through a visitor survey

- Take advantage of the highway to get people downtown – goal to get more ‘rubber tire’ traffic into the downtown and spending time and money in local businesses

o Measure by business increase annually – how many more visitors coming from the highway

o What is the business increase for downtown retailers o Visitor information centre downtown – could provide more details around WHY people

are coming downtown? o Chamber could engage with the businesses downtown to gauge the increase in visitors o Tourism Fernie is doing some extensive surveying

Goals Summary

There was general agreement that the goals from 2009 were too specific, and that a more concise set of measurable goals would be appropriate. Further, some metrics for measuring and monitoring goals were suggested and included visitor surveys, compilation of visitor statistics from the visitor centres. It was clear that there was a desire to have a set of very succinct goals that are not project-specific and that could be easily tracked and measured in the future.


The recommended goals have been developed based on the feedback from the stakeholders as well as the guidelines provided by the Province.

Goal Recommendations

Moving forward, specific targets should be developed associated with each goal. This is something that can be refined within the first year of the Strategy, with reflection on realistic targets for tourism growth. Further, performance indicators could be developed, drawing on the work that has been done through other processes such as Forever Fernie. The recommended Goals for the 2012-2016 RDS Strategy are significantly different from the 2009 RDS, but reflect the desire of stakeholders to see a much shorter and concise list, and also conform to the guidelines provided by the Province for the RDS strategy. Project-specific goals can be included in the project descriptions. **Note: these goals are also being reviewed by the Province to ensure they are specific enough for the plan.

1. Increase visitor traffic in Fernie’s historic downtown; 2. Increase commercial accommodation occupancy rate; 3. Increase number of events and festivals; 4. Increase local tourism economy; 5. Increase private investment; 6. Expand recreational opportunities for a wider demographic; 7. Increase visitor traffic from the business and professional sectors; 8. Improve accessibility to recreational opportunities.

As mentioned, there are processes currently in place through Tourism Fernie, the Chamber of Commerce and the downtown Museum and Visitor Information Centre that collect and compile visitor statistics. Further, Tourism Fernie is engaging visitors in online surveys (on-the-ground with iPads). There is great opportunity to set targets for each goal, and have the ability to measure and monitor progress. This should be considered as the Strategy moves forward.

SWOT Analysis

In the context of the RDS, the SWOT Analysis assesses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Fernie as a tourism destination. A SWOT analysis was conducted in 2008 with the original stakeholder group. It is useful to update a SWOT analysis to reflect changes in the local and regional economy, the impacts of regional and international competition and the priorities of tourists. A SWOT analysis can be used to assess the success of projects in the community, whether the projects when implemented take advantage of an opportunity, or address a particular threat. The 2012 stakeholder sessions were asked to review the 2008 SWOT analysis and to update it to reflect Fernie’s present situation.

From the Guide: • What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges confronting the resort municipality in developing the resort economy and community?


SWOT Analysis Feedback

Each stakeholder group were asked to provide updated strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that reflect the current situation in Fernie. The following section summarizes all of the input from the sessions. Strengths:

- Add – mountain biking, world class events, variety/diversity of events - Add – specialty shops – artisans, cheese, chocolate, etc. - Add – Localization? - Add – people in Fernie – diversity of skills, volunteers, etc. - Good family community – focus on family (attract second home owners/ long stay tourists) - Skiing/winter activities (not just ‘snow’) - Moderate winter climate - International event destination - Ski facilities (ski hill, ILL and FWA are world class) - Terrain, and the natural surroundings - Diversity in the supply of accommodations - Strong local economic base, therefore less resentment towards higher income tourists - Property tax revenue - Historical downtown core - Existence of Tourism Fernie

Weaknesses:

- Add- Accessibility – beginner/intermediate trails, trails for families, signage connectivity, coordination of trail system/planning

- Add- soft tourism experiences (bird watching) - Remove – competition? Why on list? Competition is healthy. - Add- lack of coordination of events/activities - Add- Community centre – place for indoor activities – squash, etc. - Conference centre - Trails – demographic weakness – don’t have trails that cater to older demographic (hard surface,

multi-use – includes electric bikes/scooters/golf carts). Trail to ski hill should be ‘multi-use - Nordic skiing ops. - General opportunities for older demographic - Landuse agreements for recreational trails - Connectivity of trails - Shortage of rental accommodation and challenge of seasonal renters - Tourism signage - RV Park or camping (full-hook up) - Internet service, including the fibre network and access to WIFI - Event support and high-level coordination

Opportunities - Convention Centre – HIGH SUPPORT from group on this one - Signage – transportation – getting to/from Fernie (from Calgary/Cranbrook), getting around

Fernie - VIC/Grizzly Centre – centre for research/ family


- Indoor sports facility – racquetball, etc. - Focus on attracting ‘knowledge-based economy’ – software/engineering firms, large firm

headquarters, etc. - Whitewater play facility - Adventure races/events - Lack of an all-weather facility - Economic development officer

Threats:

- Remove – competition. Why on list? Competition is healthy. - Coal-bed methane – change to ‘industrial development’. Could also be seen as an opportunities

for economic generation/increased investment for tourism benefit (note: Some member of group disagreed that CBM was an opportunity. We should focus on economic development that fits ‘Fernie’ – natural environment, quality of life, recreation)

- Increased trail erosion from increase use (events, races, etc.) = increased maintenance costs, - Affordability for tourists – from CDN$ exchange rate - Competition with other destination types (i.e. beach vacations) - Transportation – lack of and inconvenience of - Available workforce – where are employees (full-time and reliable) going to come from? - Challenges of immigrant workforce (getting employees here, managing the ‘red tape’)

SWOT Analysis Recommendation

All input from the SWOT Analysis update will be included in the 2012-2016 Resort Development Strategy. The SWOT Analysis should be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure it reflects the current situation in Fernie. Further, the weaknesses and opportunities can be reviewed against the projects to assess whether the projects are addressing the areas that need support.

Project and Budget Review

Each breakout group took a different approach to the discussion of proposed projects and budget allocations, often as a result of the interests and expertise of those sitting at the table. For many, the proposed project areas seemed appropriate – there was much discussion and feedback about how those project areas could be refined. Discussion around the management and implementation of the projects was an important component to the stakeholder sessions, and is expanded upon in a separate section. Participants were asked:

What are the priority projects?

Do we address newly identified weaknesses and opportunities?

Any gaps in the Project descriptions or opportunities that should be integrated? o Can these gaps or opportunities be addressed in the Tourism Incentive Funding?

This section summarizes the project-specific feedback gathered through the sessions. The following section summarizes the feedback on high-level management and implementation.


Project and Budget Feedback

While there was general support for the projects as they are proposed, there was concern about the allocation of funding being too thin; that funding has been allocated to many smaller projects that enhance community living for both tourists and residents and that we may be missing opportunities to allocate funding to larger projects that draw new and repeat tourists to the area. Accountability was a major concern among many stakeholders: How do we ensure that the funding allocations are being spent appropriately, and further, how do we ensure that the money spent is resulting in a tangible increase in visitors to Fernie? There were also questions around setting budgets for a 5-year timeframe when the tourism industry is so dynamic: How do we know that the priorities and projects identified today will be relevant and the best use of funding in the next 5 years? The question of project review was raised during most discussions. Stakeholders asked about the review process; How are projects selected and is there a process of review to determine whether funding should continue to be distributed to a specific project, or be reallocated? The last section of this document deals with a suggested change in the approach of budgeting and project identification. A gap that was identified in most of the discussions was that of comprehensive data gathering for local and regional tourism trends. There are multiple organizations collecting data on visitors – how they booked their stay in Fernie, where they did their research, how much was pre-planned, etc. There was concern around how effectively that data was being used, and whether there could be a more coordinated effort made to ensure that the City and tourism organizations understand why people are coming to Fernie. This would help to prioritize projects and ensure appropriate spending of funds for improved services and infrastructure. The following table summarizes the comments from the stakeholders. The comments in the table will be used to improve on the project descriptions, and to make recommendations regarding funding allocations where appropriate.

Project Stakeholder Feedback

1. Recreational Trails (Project 1A and 1B)

Paving of trails is good

Lack of participant understanding of the geographic boundaries of the funding? E.g. could funds be used for Elk River Canyon Trail? Or Trans Canada Trial to Kananaskis?

Trail to Resort is GREAT!

There are 2 snowmobile associations in Fernie

Trail money for summer maintenance should be administered through Fernie Trails Alliance (FTA)

Recommend collaboration b/w FTA and City of Fernie on Trails Master Plan and trail development – FTA has many initiatives already underway (signage, landuse agreements)

Centennial trail should be multi-use (electric golf carts/bikes)

Discussion of why Centennial Trail has funding allocated when it is years away from approval? Money in the bank is good.

Mapping is critical; big issue for snowmobile trails

Need interactive maps for recreational trails

Concern around promoting trails in Fernie without proper landuse agreements

Need better understanding of trail usage: who are the users, how are they managed?

Tracking use; occasional surveys, memberships through partner organizations (bike, Nordic, ski touring and FTA)


2. Cultural and Heritage Tourism Development Festivals

No funding is allocated for library – library events draw tourists, particularly during seasonal events (Halloween, Christmas)

Debate over the purchase of supplies for events by City. Most people in support of purchase, others preferred the City rent supplies.

Annual allocation seems high. Why is $90K allocated for coordinator?

Arts Station $ seems ‘nebulous’ – what specific projects are being funded?

Events coordinator should be used to help pull together partners for events…ensure no overlap, create a ‘Master Plan’, and bring in revenue

Change project title to focus on ‘Festivals’

Need to ensure there is no ‘double-funding’ and overlap with Arts Station coordinator

Hiring an event coordinator will deter volunteers from continue to coordinate great events; may lose volunteers

Harder to get sponsorship/donations for events with a paid coordinator

Suggestion of an events committee – ensure communication between groups of coordinators

Comprehensive calendar that oversees all celebrations/events/festivals to prevent ‘double booking’

Take funds allocated for coordinator and give more to actual events to make them bigger and better – money would go further and would result in better events

An event toolkit would be useful for event planners (i.e. how to host an event in Fernie)

3. Downtown Museum and Information Centre

Library provides services to visitors and should be mentioned

More $$ for Visitor Information Centre to have longer hours and ‘touch screen’ visuals

High priority project - allocation seems low.

Extra money could be used for enhanced visuals/interpretation

Need partnership/collaboration b/w VIC, CofC, Tourism Fernie, and Museum to collect statistics on visitation in Fernie. These organizations are all collecting statistics, but they need to be pulled together so they are useful

Need to look at how to better engage the ‘electronic’ based tourist – many tourists now rely on electronic devices for local information

Both information centres have seen increased traffic in recent years; how to continue to draw rubber tire traffic off the highway and into downtown

Museum/Visitors Centre is working well, and provides a high-quality learning experience for foot traffic downtown

4. Tourism Signage

Important to have a strategy in place

Good to have ‘local trades’ identified

Could funds be used to link signage to interpretation via smartphones?

Need to enhance landscaping around signs to be more aesthetically pleasing

There needs to be a review of the signage strategy before implementation (i.e. to ensure sizing of letters, font, etc. are appropriate)

This is important to get people off the highway; consistent and recognizable signs

5. Shuttle Service

Question over whether the shuttle serves tourists? Or employees of FAR? Does it meet funding criteria?

As a world class resort, we should have a good shuttle service.

High priority project - allocation too low – operator is taking loss

Funds used to create ‘managed shuttle service’ (could come from Incentives Investment Fund?) to ensure effective day/night shuttle

More funds should go to operator to cover losses

Isolated to ski hill and town, no in-town transportation

CBT and Tourism Fernie are conducting a research project to identify options for a


long term transportation strategy

Ensure data is collected and used to inform future decisions

6. Tourism Incentives Investment Fund

This is a ‘slush fund’. Process for applying for these funds needs a process, guidelines, and accountability. Who should have access? Who is eligible? How do people find out about it? Needs advisory/steering committee to manage. Should NOT be managed by short-term elected officials (Council). The advisory/steering committee should make decision and Council should approve.

Funding should go towards a shuttle to Calgary.

Important to have unallocated funds for projects

Whitewater park

Managed shuttle service

Collaboration on data collection/ visitor surveys

Development of ‘baseline performance Indicators’ and tracking of indicators over time to see how they are changing

7. Elk River Access Improvements

Project is good. Clearly outlined in documents.

$100K seems high…no clarity on exactly what $100K will be spent on?

Focus should be on multiple access points not just Dogwood

Change title to “Elk River Amenities”. Funds go towards more than just access (bathroom facilities, solar lights, etc.)

Dogwood Park is the only ‘decent’ access point; work on improving others so that it is a better experience for all river users

Rafting put in along highway needs infrastructure; also Elk River canyon (rafting companies)

Take out behind Stanford needs improvements

Current allocation could be reallocated to address weaknesses at all other points of access

Lighting at Dogwood takeout is not necessary

8. Golf Course

Golf course is a non-profit course that should receive funding under the initiative.

This group should convince government to change rules

9. Project Gateway Concept has changed and needs to be updated

10. Communications

Accountability of projects is a HUGE concern. How do we ensure that the projects that are funder follow the goals, vision, etc?

There must be a committee or some overseeing body of tourism stakeholders, as well as commitment from City staff to work together to ensure accountability/success of projects

Stakeholders felt uninformed. No clear sense of where money is going and how it is being spent.

Process too short. Need more time to hear from project coordinators and discuss project updates and plans.

Why were annual project updates not sent to participants? This info is needed to assess efficacy of projects.

Participants were not clear on the process for approving project funds? Supporting projects? Process seems flawed.

Why are project reports not accessible to everyone?

What is the ROI on each project? Need to understand that in order to assess.


Project Recommendations

Feedback from the table above will be used to refine project descriptions. All comments will be provided to the City and the ‘committee’ or overseeing body to ensure that as the Strategy continues to be refined, concerns around budget allocations and project descriptions are addressed. Updated draft Strategy will integrate comments from the engagements and will compile information directly from partnering organizations (i.e. Museum, Arts Station, Project Gateway) to ensure the descriptions more accurately reflect the plans for the next 5 years.

Alternate Funding Model

Acknowledging that the tourism industry is dynamic and that a 5-year Strategy should be flexible enough to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities, an alternative funding model was suggested during the stakeholder engagements. The alternate funding model would see funding allocations for Year 1 remain as proposed. For Years 2-5, funding would be grouped into 3 main ‘themes’, for example: Outdoor Recreation (including Trails, Elk River, Golf), Culture and Heritage (Museum and Info Centres, Arts Station and Culture and Heritage Strategy) and Tourism Infrastructure (Signage, Project Gateway, Shuttle, Investment Fund).

Funding for consistent services (i.e. Museum, Arts Station and Grooming) may continue through to year 5, but will require detailed reports as to the # of visitors served, the increase of visitor traffic/attendance at events, and the plan for use of funds in the upcoming year

Funding will be more loosely allocated to the ‘themes’, with specific projects to be determined and approved by the September prior to the funding year

Allowing more fluidity in the funding allocation allows for larger proposals to be developed, and an opportunity to leverage more funding

Provides more opportunity for a focussed group to review, assess and justify the funding allocation to ensure that the spending addresses the vision and goals of the strategy.

There needs to be a balance struck between investing small amounts of money to maintain or improve existing services that work, and looking at some ‘big picture’ opportunities, such as an ‘all-weather’ facility for visitor use (conference centre, recreational facility, etc.). This approach to the year 2-5 funding allocation would require significant input from an overseeing body. The following section addresses the need for such a body. PLEASE NOTE: This approach is being currently reviewed with the Province.

Management and Implementation

Perhaps the most important discussion of the sessions was that of the future implementation of the RDS, and the support that is available to ensure the RMI funding is used in the most effective manner, resulting in the achievement of the Goals and Vision of the RDS. For this discussion, participants were asked to consider the following questions:

What partnerships exist, need to be strengthened?

How to we monitor, measure and report success? Ideas?


What mechanisms need to be in place to facilitate on-going engagement and assessment of the RDS?

There was essentially unanimous support for the creation of a ‘Committee’, ‘Board’ or ‘Advisory Group’ which would be formed to serve multiple purposes. These may include (as discussed by all groups in the stakeholder engagement sessions):

Ensure timely and consistent reporting

Address challenges to implementation

Review projects and justify expenditures

Ensure the projects that are funded are resulting in real increases in tourism

Add a level of accountability to the funding process

To review and assess applications to the Tourism Investment Fund

Increase stakeholder engagement by offering a method of consistent and regular communication between the City and stakeholder groups

It was suggested by stakeholder engagement participants that representatives from different components of the tourism industry (recreation, accommodation, festivals/events, etc.) be represented, as well as a City staff. The RDS should follow sound business practices, and have a strong element of accountability for projects that are funded within the City and the community.

Management and Implementation Recommendation

A Committee should be formed as soon as possible (i.e. once the RDS Draft is endorsed by Council and sent for review to the Province). This Committee should begin reviewing the projects to develop an implementation strategy which includes the development of targets, metrics to measure success and a framework for continued stakeholder engagement and communication.

Conclusion Despite the tight timeframe for stakeholder engagement and feedback, the discussions that took place during the sessions were constructive. There appears to be a renewed desire to see the RMI funds used in the most effective way that results in real visitor increases. Further, there is a commitment from a wide range of tourism industry organizations and businesses to ensure that the RDS moves forward in a manner that follows best business practices. The stakeholder engagements that took place over February 28th and March 1st were the start of what will be a dynamic and effective 5-year Resort Development Strategy. Participants provided input from a variety of perspectives, but all showed a great passion to see Fernie’s tourism industry develop in a way that results in the town being a year-round world class destination for tourists of all ages. It is the intention moving forward that there will be continued communication with stakeholders and partner organizations.

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