THE OPPORTUNITY
Regional Tourism Organization Four wanted to know the state of market readiness of their trails and waterways tourism assets and how they could be further developed to support visitation to the region, before they began marketing these assets to consumers.
THE PROCESS
The BC Hughes development team inventoried existing assets, then crisscrossed the entire region, visiting and documenting trail and waterway tourism experiences and assessing their market readiness by scoring them against criteria developed as part of the project. Additionally, the team facilitated a group learning workshop to discuss outdoor opportunities and challenges.
THE OUTCOME
The outcomes of the project were used to developed a strategy that included recommendations to further the development of trail and waterway related tourism experiences with the goal of attracting more visitors to the region. The research allowed the identification of specific trail and waterways assets that had existing or future potential as tourism opportunities. The project resulted in the follow tourism developments.
- The identification of a regional mountain biking cluster.
- Suggestions for trail and waterway related infrastructure upgrades to better the experience for users.
- The development of the Grand River Access Improvement Standards Manual and Brand Guidelines
The upgrade of the Wilson’s Flats Grand River access point as a template for future access point upgrades.
