Tourism Nanaimo is optimistic about this summer season based on what operators reported last year and because of an expected overflow of visitors intended for Victoria or Tofino.
During the city council meeting on Monday, April 25, Tourism NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 interim executive director Jenn Houtby-Ferguson provided council with a tourism update, as well as a brief on preliminary market research findings. She also stood in for Dan Brady, executive director of the Nanaimo Hospitality Association, to provide the associationB次元官网网址檚 activity update and performance report.
B次元官网网址淭he key findings from that was that Nanaimo was a B次元官网网址榞atewayB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址榮topB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� people werenB次元官网网址檛 coming here to stay. And we want to shift that. We want to shift from being a gateway to being a destination for travel,B次元官网网址� she said.
Efforts to develop a distinct identity for the city might include B次元官网网址渆mbracing the historyB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渟haring the uniquenessB次元官网网址� of the community, she said, with emphasis on the mining history and working port downtown.
Houtby said many tourism operators reported that July and August last year were B次元官网网址渁mong the strongest ever,B次元官网网址� despite COVID-19 travel restrictions.
B次元官网网址淲e recognize that international visitation was down, but we did see a lot of domestic visitation and we saw a lot of folks from other parts of the Island B次元官网网址� other parts of British Columbia visiting our community. And thatB次元官网网址檚 extremely positive. We expect that to continue,B次元官网网址� she said.
Future market research priorities would also focus on figuring out who the cityB次元官网网址檚 visitors are, and if those visitor profiles have changed as a result of COVID-19. Houtby-Ferguson said the organization plans to use the data to inform campaigns for this and future years.
She said goals for the municipal and regional district tax plan, commonly referred to as the hotel tax, include B次元官网网址渋ncreasing overnight visitation, supporting product development, developing industry partnerships, the marketing of public relations, community pride and accountability.B次元官网网址�
In reference to what else NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 visitors are looking for, she said an aspect she is proud of is the organizationB次元官网网址檚 continued focus on accessibility assessments.
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When asked by Coun. Ian Thorpe if Nanaimo is being considered B次元官网网址渢he centre of a wheelB次元官网网址� as a place for visitors to stay while exploring other parts of the Island, Houtby-Ferguson confirmed the idea was something the NHA was doing as a strategic priority for the summer.
B次元官网网址淭ofino and Victoria are already at a place where they canB次元官网网址檛 accept additional visitors at this time. People can day-trip from Nanaimo B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檝e re-positioned some of our itineraries to help people understand what can they see on the way,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey could stay in Nanaimo and hopefully that would mean that they would extend their stay in Nanaimo. So instead of being here, letB次元官网网址檚 say for two or three nights, perhaps they might be with us for seven nights. And they could use Nanaimo as their jumping-off point.B次元官网网址�
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mandy.moraes@nanaimobulletin.com
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